Bread and Chocolate

by Fran Gage

The former owner of a well-known patisserie in San Francisco writes about her life with food. Each chapter begins with a brief essay--recalling a friend's favorite food, discussing a food trend, remembering a first encounter with a certain dish--followed by recipes that pick up the theme. Gage combines the informality of a journal with some fairly sophisticated recipes (vegetable timballo, for example), producing an ingratiating, unpretentious memoir with the charm of Under the Tuscan Sun. Bakers will be especially attracted to Gage's musings on pastries and her chapter devoted to chocolate (the chocolate pound cake sounds particularly enticing). Foodie memoirs are threatening to become a cliche, but Gage's amiable account reaffirms the genre's appeal: to evoke the way a well-lived life can be joyously anchored to the sight, smell, and taste of food.