In Apricots on the Nile, we leave Colette Rossant as a fifteen-year-old sailing away from her beloved Cairo to her mother's family in France. It is 1947 and Paris is recovering from the war. As soon as they arrive, Colette's mother abandons her yet again, leaving her with her bossy grandmother, who finds Colette too Egyptian, and her brother who has become a stranger. Lonely and homesick, Colette soon finds solace in the kitchen and discovers her love for French food - the Sunday lunches of roasted lamb stuffed with garlic, springtime strawberries bathed in creme fraiche, the first taste of truffles in a restaurant on the Left Bank. And it is through food that Colette finds happiness in Paris, skipping school to go to the famous farmers' market in Port de Neuilly and dining in Michelin-starred restaurants with her new stepfather, a hotelier who shares her love of eating. Then at sixteen she meets a dashing young American holidaying in the city - and despite all opposition from her family, never looks back.

Filled with delectable recipes, Return to Paris is a moving, evocative memoir and food writing at its most sensual and vivid.

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