Book Review: The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

Are you a Francophile? Do you have an affinity for French cuisine? Do you have a basic understanding of the French language? If so, then this book is right up your alley!

Unfortunately, though I have visited Paris, I do not speak a lick of French and I think French food is chocked full of much-too-scary ingredients that I don't have any interest in trying (hare, oysters, duck confit, etc etc etc).

The Hundred Foot Journey, by Richard C. Morais, started out very well. I picked up the book because I had read that it had been made into a movie, and the movie starred Helen Mirren, and it was about food. So of course I had to read it. 

**This review may contain spoilers**

Hassan Haji is an immigrant from India who finds his culinary calling in the kitchen of his family's Indian restaurant. After his mother dies, his family immigrates (more like RUNS) to London. Hassan's father, feeling lost, packed the car full of the family and takes a culinary tour of Europe. The car finally breaks down in France, in a small town in the countryside. On a whim, Hassan's father purchases the large house for sale next to their broken down vehicle and decides to open up an Indian restaurant in an area of France where it is likely no one has ever tried an Indian dish. Little do they know, however, that the inn across the street is home and restaurant of a famous 2-star chef, Madame Mallory, who becomes insanely jealous that such an exotic restaurant is ruining the ambiance and drawing in a good deal of customers. 

After several failed attempts at closing down their restaurant, Madame Mallory finally breaks down and tries their Indian food, discovering that Hassan, who is manning the kitchen, has a real talent for cooking and she believes he has the potential to be a great chef. She takes Hassan under her wing, after a hunger strike outside of the Haji's home, and molds him in her wake. 

I thought the first have of this book was great fun, lots of Indian dishes and flavors and spices I could understand and I could picture the meals in my head. I also listened to this on audiobook and the narrator had a great way of pronouncing both the Indian and the French words and accents of the speakers. 

After Hassan leaves Madam Mallory and goes out into the culinary world is when I became a bit bored with the story. While it was very well written it didn't hold much for me in terms of my interest. I really disliked how a lot of French dishes were named, but not described, as I had no idea what they were.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend it, again, for Francophiles and those who enjoy French cuisine.