From Publishers Weekly
When she was a teen, Rossant, whose mother was French and father was Egyptian, moved from Cairo back to Paris (where she was born) with her widowed mother to live with her grandmother in the upscale 17th arrondissement. This book charts Rossant's years in Paris and ends shortly after her marriage to an American. Although Rossant (Memories of a Lost Egypt) came of age in Paris during one of its headiest times-the 1950s-she doesn't offer much in the way of descriptions of the era. Instead, her memoir is personal, describing her struggles with her distant mother and her stern, difficult grandmother. It was hard for Rossant to get used to life in Paris: the city was gray and lifeless compared with lively Cairo; Rossant had to hide the fact that she'd been educated at a convent in Egypt (her Jewish grandmother in Paris would've been angry); her mother seemed to be interested solely in shopping and meeting men; and she had to get used to eating an omelette aux fines herbes for a snack instead of her usual semit, the Egyptian version of a soft pretzel. By exploring the wonders of French cuisine, Rossant found her way. She shares recipes throughout the book, interspersing them among anecdotes (e.g., when she butted heads with her grandmother, the cook's pain perdu [French toast] comforted her). This is mostly a pleasing memoir, but contradictions and repetitions in the text abound. These oversights will frustrate close readers, but those interested in food will still enjoy Rossant's careful explanations of meals and markets.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In the first volume of her memoirs, Memories of a Lost Egypt (1999), food writer Rossant recounted her earliest upbringing in Cairo, Egypt. In this latest book, Rossant picks up the narrative with her 1947 removal to Paris. There she lives with her exceptional grandmother, having been deserted by her mother, who returned to the author's beloved Egypt without her daughter. During the war years, Rossant's grandmother had worked to disguise the family's Jewish origins, and this induced ambivalence in the youngster's self-image. Rossant initially found French food decidedly inferior to that of her beloved Egypt. The family cook, Georgette, soon convinced her otherwise, and Rossant fell in love with Camembert, swiftly followed by the discovery of Breton crepes. Enriched by the provisions of her father's will, Rossant began to travel and to explore French cuisine. This second part of Rossant's memoirs continues the tradition of interspersing text with recipes for dishes both simple and complex, from pain perdu to a whole goose and its artfully stuffed neck. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
Betty Fussellauthor of The Story of Corn AND My Kitchen WarsLike an earlier Colette, Rossant writes with such engaging warmth and humanity that the reader is instantly drawn into the rites of passage of a schoolgirl in Paris, whose mixed heritage is difficult but whose love of food ripens into the fruitful loves of a woman grown.


Book Description
"My first meal in France, in a hushed and formerly elegant dining car, was a revelation. The menu was absurdly simple; there was a choice of an omelette aux fines herbes or a sandwich jambon beurre. I chose the omelette and was delighted by the flavors of chives, tarragon and chervil mingling in the creamy lightness of the eggs, all so new to me. If the food in France was so good even in a train, I thought I might have a happy life here after all." In 1947, as Paris recovers from the war, young Colette returns to the city of her birth after eight years spent among warmhearted Egyptian relatives in Cairo. Initially Paris seems gray and forbidding to the young Colette, especially after her mother abandons her to the disinterested care of her stern grandmother. Yet Paris will prove the place where Colette awakens to her senses. Her transformation from "l'Egyptienne" to "la Parisienne" begins when she is taken under the wing of the family cook, Georgette, who introduces Colette to the city's markets and inspires a love and talent for French cooking. The streets of Paris soon become Colette's own as she navigates to and from her lycée -- occasionally skipping class altogether, thus beginning a decades-long habit of making room for adventure in an otherwise disciplined life. Colette is sixteen when her mother returns with a new husband, and although initially suspicious of the round man with the twinkling eyes, she soon realizes she has a soul mate in Almire Ducreux, her new stepfather. Mira introduces Colette to her first truffle and her gastronomical self. He will also be the only one to support her when she falls in love and runs away with a young American, scandalizing her proper French family. With Return to Paris, Colette Rossant proves herself the true heir of M. F. K. Fisher. In clear, understated prose she writes of a life lived and enjoyed passionately. Memories and family stories segue gracefully into descriptions of great meals and recipes. This is food writing at its finest.s


About the Author
Colette Rossant is the author of eight cookbooks and the memoir Memories of a Lost Egypt. A James Beard Award-winning journalist, she is a columnist for the Daily News and a contributor to many food and travel magazines. She is pictured above with her husband, James, at their home in New York City.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Paris, 1947: Colette Rossant returns to Paris after waiting out World War II in Cairo among her father's Egyptian-Jewish relatives. Initially, the City of Light seems gray and forbidding to the teenage Colette, especially after her thrill-seeking mother leaves her in the care of her bitter, malaisé grandmother. Yet Paris will prove the place where Colette awakens to her senses. Taken under the wing of Mademoiselle Georgette, the family chef, she develops a taste and talent for French cooking. The streets of Paris soon become Colette's own as she navigates the outdoor markets and café menus and emerges into her new, gastronomical self.

Return to Paris is an extraordinary coming-of-age story that charts the course of Colette's culinary adventures -- replete with expertly crafted recipes and family photographs. An exploration of passion in all its flavor and texture, Colette's memoir will live in the hearts and palates of readers for years to come.

FROM THE CRITICS

New York Daily News

[A] great book to curl up with...filled with workable, intriguing recipes.

Publishers Weekly

When she was a teen, Rossant, whose mother was French and father was Egyptian, moved from Cairo back to Paris (where she was born) with her widowed mother to live with her grandmother in the upscale 17th arrondissement. This book charts Rossant's years in Paris and ends shortly after her marriage to an American. Although Rossant (Memories of a Lost Egypt) came of age in Paris during one of its headiest times-the 1950s-she doesn't offer much in the way of descriptions of the era. Instead, her memoir is personal, describing her struggles with her distant mother and her stern, difficult grandmother. It was hard for Rossant to get used to life in Paris: the city was gray and lifeless compared with lively Cairo; Rossant had to hide the fact that she'd been educated at a convent in Egypt (her Jewish grandmother in Paris would've been angry); her mother seemed to be interested solely in shopping and meeting men; and she had to get used to eating an omelette aux fines herbes for a snack instead of her usual semit, the Egyptian version of a soft pretzel. By exploring the wonders of French cuisine, Rossant found her way. She shares recipes throughout the book, interspersing them among anecdotes (e.g., when she butted heads with her grandmother, the cook's pain perdu [French toast] comforted her). This is mostly a pleasing memoir, but contradictions and repetitions in the text abound. These oversights will frustrate close readers, but those interested in food will still enjoy Rossant's careful explanations of meals and markets. Agent, Gloria Loomis. (Mar.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

When Rossant arrived at her grandmother's Paris apartment in 1947, the kitchen immediately became her favorite room. "I was immediately drawn to it, just as I had sought solace in the kitchen of my Cairo childhood." For an emotionally deprived teenager who had just been uprooted from her beloved Egyptian home, "comfort food" became just that: a rare source of consolation and pleasure in a hostile, unfriendly world. This sequel to Rossant's Memories of a Lost Egypt recalls her adolescence in post-World War II Paris. Quickly abandoned by her flirtatious and restless mother, Rossant struggled to get along with her harsh and demanding grandmaman while trying to get reacquainted with her estranged brother. At the same time, she discovered the glories of the local cuisine. Indeed, Rossant's mouth-watering descriptions of her most memorable meals are the best part of the book; her prose is sensuously alive ("wild strawberries no bigger than a nipple"), although the recipes (Roast Goose with Stuffed Neck) are not always doable for the average cook. When she describes her love affairs, however, Rossant lapses into women's magazinespeak. Still, this is recommended for larger collections where culinary memoirs by Ruth Reichl and Patricia Volk are popular.-Wilda Williams, "Library Journal" Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews