Like so many others, David Lebovitz dreamed about living in Paris ever since he first visited the city in the 1980s. Finally, after a nearly two-decade career as a pastry chef and cookbook author, he moved to Paris to start a new life. Having crammed all his worldly belongings into three suitcases, he arrived, hopes high, at his new apartment in the lively Bastille neighborhood.

But he soon discovered it’s a different world en France.

From learning the ironclad rules of social conduct to the mysteries of men’s footwear, from shopkeepers who work so hard not to sell you anything to the etiquette of working the right way around the cheese plate, here is David’s story of how he came to fall in love with—and even understand—this glorious, yet sometimes maddening, city.

When did he realize he had morphed into un vrai parisien? It might have been when he found himself considering a purchase of men’s dress socks with cartoon characters on them. Or perhaps the time he went to a bank with 135 euros in hand to make a 134-euro payment, was told the bank had no change that day, and thought it was completely normal. Or when he found himself dressing up to take out the garbage because he had come to accept that in Paris appearances and image mean everything.

The more than fifty original recipes, for dishes both savory and sweet, such as Pork Loin with Brown Sugar–Bourbon Glaze, Braised Turkey in Beaujolais Nouveau with Prunes, Bacon and Bleu Cheese Cake, Chocolate-Coconut Marshmallows, Chocolate Spice Bread, Lemon-Glazed Madeleines, and Mocha–Crème Fraîche Cake, will have readers running to the kitchen once they stop laughing.

The Sweet Life in Paris is a deliciously funny, offbeat, and irreverent look at the city of lights, cheese, chocolate, and other confections.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

About David Lebovitz

David Lebovitz lived in San Francisco for twenty years before moving to Paris. He baked at several notable restaurants before starting his career as a cookbook author and food writer. He’s the author of four highly regarded books on desserts, and has written for many major food magazines, sharing his well-tested recipes written with a soupçon of humor. His popular, award-winning blog, www.davidlebovitz.com, entertains readers from around the world with sweet and savory recipes as he tries to unravel the complexities of living in Paris.

Editorial Reviews

The title of the fifth book from Lebovitz, celebrated pastry chef and Chez Panisse alum, is a bit of a misnomer: this feisty memoir-with-recipes is just as tart as it is sweet. Writing with the same cheeky tone that has made his blog one of the most popular food sites on the Internet, Lebovitz presents an eclectic collection of vignettes illustrating his experiences living as an expatriate in Paris. After reading accounts of perpetually out-of-service public toilets and hospitals that require patients to BYOB (bring your own bandages), one begins to question what, exactly, Lebovitz finds so intoxicating about the City of Lights. It certainly isn’t something in the water, but it just might be in le chocolat chaud. With this book, for the first time Lebovitz expands beyond his standard repertoire of desserts and includes a smattering of savory recipes. These range from such classic French dishes as a warm goat cheese salad to nostalgic American favorites like oven-roasted pork ribs with ketchup marinade. This is not to say Lebovitz’s legions of sweet-toothed fans will be disappointed—many of the 50 recipes are made with plenty of butter and sugar; a flawless rendition of dulce de leche brownies is sure to become the home baker’s equivalent of that très chic little black dress, returned to again and again. – Publishers Weekly

American baker Lebovitz, alumnus of California’s famed Chez Panisse, moved to Paris following his partner’s untimely death. There he found a culture whose rituals and courtesies mystified him. It took him a while to get used to personally greeting every clerk and shopkeeper, to consuming every morsel of food using both fork and knife, and to coping with an uncommonly wily bureaucracy fond of enforcing self-contradictory regulations. He discovered the social necessity of pressing every wrinkle out of his clothes, even from his jeans and his towels. Recipes dominate the text, many of them Lebovitz’s signature chocolate dessert creations. Some of these pastries display their Parisian provenance, an absinthe cake in particular standing out. But he also includes popular Mexican mole and crispy pork carnitas, about as exotic to most Parisians as one could imagine. An annotated list of food and equipment sources brims with good information. –Mark Knoblauch, Booklist

After the unexpected death of his partner, and with over a decade of experience as a pastry chef, David Lebovitz decides it’s time to change course in his life. Looking for the inspiration and awe he first experienced in Paris just after college, he sells off everything he owns, save for three suitcases, and finds himself a wee Parisian apartment in the Bastille. Lebovitz’s first taste of the mystifying workings of Paris is the painter his landlord hires, who still shows up for touch-ups and other duties weeks after the job is done and paid for. The list of perplexing behavior that peppers the more than two-dozen subsequent chapters of this memoir-with-recipes includes bank tellers who don’t have change, stores that are closed when they should be open, locals who eat bananas with a knife and fork, and all those blatant line-cutters and nose-pickers. Everywhere Lebovitz turns is more puzzling French behavior — which is never a match for his witty takedowns. – NPR Book Review

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I am on the gluten free diet and I have subscribed to several web sites who send me recipes, some weekly and some less frequently.  One is www.glutenfreechecklist.com and the recipes come daily and some are very interesting.  A few days ago I got one for “Easy Garlic-Basil Chicken” and gave it a try tonight.  I changed things up a bit for Garlic Basil Chicken, using boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of bone-in, and marinated the chicken instead of just coating, but all in all, it was a big hit – moist, flavorful, and easy.  It will be added to the recipe favorites we cook often.  The little guy cleaned his plate…

Another issue when one is gluten free is the use of packaged foods.  Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out if a product truly is gluten free.  I am lucky - I can eat gluten and not have a reaction (usually, anyway).  But I do try to eat as gluten free as much as I can and save the cheating for something I really want.  Pudding is one of my favorite desserts and before the diet, we often had Jello instant pudding as a dessert.  Quick, easy, and ready on a whim before supper, it was the perfect quick dessert.  But Kraft won’t tell me in easy terms if it is gluten free.  As a result, I don’t make it often.  But we love pudding.  I’ve tried a couple of homemade recipes, but they are often cumbersome and take too many steps and take too long to cool. The flavor is either too intensely chocolate or anemic.  Another gluten free website that I get recipes from is www.befreeforme.com and I found a terrific gluten free Chocolate Pudding there.  It’s rich, creamy, and delicious.  Try it and I guarantee that you’ll enjoy it as much as we did!

For more information see my cooking blog at Susan M. Voss’ Cooking Blog.

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½ cup sugar

2 Tbs. corn starch

2 cups milk

1 ½ ounces semisweet chocolate (mini chips work well)

1 egg, lightly beaten, in a bowl

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium sauce pan.  Add milk slowly while whisking until well blended.  Continue whisking over medium heat and add the chocolate slowly.  Bring to a boil and continue whisking for five minutes.  Add the hot mixture to the egg slowly, return to pan, and continue stirring until thick and bubbly (about 45 seconds).  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour into dishes and cover with plastic wrap touching the top of the pudding.  Refrigerate and serve.

For more information see my cooking blog at Susan M. Voss’ Cooking Blog

Ingredients:

Vegetable cooking spray
1/4 c. plus 2 tsp. sugar, divided
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. evaporated skimmed milk
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. amaretto
6 egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/2 tbsp. grated semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp. minced almonds, toasted

Beat egg whites (at room temperature) and cream of tartar at high speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg white mixture, chocolate and almonds into yolk mixture. Spoon evenly into prepared souffle’ dishes. Freeze for 2 hours. Remove from freezer and wrap in aluminum foil. Souffle’s can be frozen up to two weeks. Place 4 frozen souffles in 2 (9 inch) square baking pans. Add hot water to pans to depth of 1 inch. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until puffed and set. Serve immediately.