Felicity Cloake

Fun, slightly quirky, ultimately a little blasé and 'lite' being a mix of cycling travelogue and food book kind of got in the way of both of them. But very british for all that.

Felicity has apparently undertaken a similar tour before - around France, and this time thought the Great Brtiish Fried Breakfast would be a worth counterpoint to the miles. However the idea was conceived just as Covid hit, and undertaken just as the rules were lifted, so many of her experiences are limited by that - and as such the book hasn't aged that well onlya couple fo years later it feels a little forced, and the penury of those times has faded.

Although the cycling barely features she rode 2388km which is very impressive, especially as early on she tore a hamstring and took the train quite a bit. 48 breakfasts are recorded, not all in great detail - many were just a bun or a roll from a garage. Again this slightly 'lite' take on things mars some of the otherwise pretentious seriousness to which a breakfast can be taken.

I'm a fairly serious breakfast person, but have recently taken to weekends only, and so probably an ideal audience for this book, somehow a few of the ideas didn't really work for me. Covid prevented her visiting some of the key manufacturers which was a shame. But the central point - whether it's kippers or bacon or marmalade is that Service is a very hard industry and the best quality isn't cheap and comes from small producers who will go out of breakfast if we don't support them.

Probably not a book intended for visitors, it expects a degree of familiarity with the british countryside and locations, with our food and culture. But also goes to show just how varied and interesting that can be. Although the cycling isn't given much description, it's partly because she doesn't have many issues which is a great reason to cycle - and you fully deserve full fry up when you're putting in the miles.… (plus d'informations)

On the great culinary dispute of Western Europe (and if there isn’t one, there should definitely be!) I stand firmly on the Italian side, paying small attention to France whole ostentatiously eating the most beautiful and simple dish of fresh pasta.
However, I have to confess that if anything has recently made me interested in exploring a bit more of the French cuisine, it was this book. The best, funniest and buttery-est travel book I’ve read so far, it has Felicity Cloake going on a true odyssey of French cuisine while cycling around the whole country - and still managing to keep track of all croissants sampled on the way (complete with her own ranking system).
Highly recommended, without any doubt.… (plus d'informations)

Felicity Cloake, food writer for The Guardian, has written an amusing account of her bicycle journey around France sampling the key cuisine from each area she passes through – cassoulet in the southwest, boeuf bourguignon in Burgundy, and fish soup in Marseille. She includes recipes, tips on purchasing food in France, and hilarious accounts of camping in the rain, entering posh restaurants in her oil-streaked cycling apparel and clickety-clack shoes, and persuading her non-cycling friends up yet one more hill. One More Croissant for the Road is for people who love food, France, and/or cycling. Just one tip – you may want to prepare a gourmet snack before sitting down to read.… (plus d'informations)