One of the pleasures of reading David Lebovitz’s new book, “The Sweet Life of Paris”, besides the scrumptious recipes (absinthe cake, fromage blanc soufflé, dulce de leche brownies), are the spot-on observations he makes about what it’s like to live as an ex-pat food writer and Chez-Panisse-trained chef in the City of Lights. Lebovitz writes an entertaining blog that, like his book, does not merely concentrate on food topics, but he is of the belief that to know the culture of a place, you really have to know its people.
Having spent a couple of years living in the French capital myself, I found myself nodding my head as Lebovitz attempted to answer the question: what is a Parisian like? We all know the expected answer –that they’re arrogant and rude, and almost a year ago, we wrote about how the French were the world’s rudest people. We also have heard that the French think of themselves as truly special and unique, with a rich culture of literature, art, music, fashion, food, theatre etc., that is the envy of the world.
