Carole Bumpus is a retired family therapist turned travel writer and culinary memoirist. In her first book of the Savoring the Olde Ways series, Carole takes readers on an intimate food tour of the Champagne, Alsace, Lorraine, and Paris regions of France. After being introduced by a mutual friend, Carole builds a special friendship with Josiane and her mother. Wanting to understand what brings and keeps European families glued together through generations of happiness and hardship, Bumpus begins by interviewing Josiane’s mother. Hearing about traditions passed down and the challenges of cooking during the war, the plan for a culinary tour of France is born among the women. Unfortunately, after travel delays out of their control, Josiane’s mother passes away before they can make the trip. Determined to make a dream trip a reality, Carole and Josiane set off to start a journey of a lifetime in honor of the woman who inspired it all.
The beginning of a trip of a lifetime, Savoring the Olde Ways: Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, takes readers along on an intimate view into the culinary lives of the people in Northeastern France. Each chapter is full of delicious descriptions of food and heartwarming traditions, where history has had a powerful impact on both. Culture does not stop at borders. Bumpus encounters recipes from Italy and French recipes influenced by Germany cuisine. Following World War II, people from surrounding countries came to France in search of work and brought their traditional recipes with them. The Alsace and Lorraine regions of French went back and forth as being part of France and Germany. Carole and Josiane spend an evening with three generations of a family that experienced this flux of their nationality over the course of a century. Family and tradition helped to keep families strong during troublesome times in history.
The French have a reputation for being rude, but Carole finds everyone she meets to be nothing but warm and inviting. Each home the women visit, the residents are eager to share their recipes, memories, and traditions. Josiane brings Carole to the regions she and her family grew up in and they take part in the long tradition of Sunday family dinner. Traditions like this are becoming less common in modern culture, but it is very important to the families who are keeping it alive. The importance and similarity of the family traditions that Bumpus encounters shows that we all aren’t that different.
Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table is only the beginning of a rich leisurely tour through France. Each chapter is full of the warmth of family, mouthwatering food, and the importance of history. The journey continues in Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table: Book Two and Bumpus’s Italian adventure in September to Remember: Searching for Culinary Pleasures at the Italian Table.
Published version