Recipe Weekend: The Hands on French Cookbook by Elisabeth de Châtillon

  Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge,from the author, via #netgalleys. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis:

If you think French food is complicated, decadent, and heavy, think again! If you think learning and exploring another language is difficult or boring, think again! And if you think cooking French food and learning French at the same time is impossible, teacher and home cook Elisabeth de Châtillon is here to prove you wrong. It might sound too good to be true, but THE HANDS ON FRENCH COOKBOOK is full of healthy, simple French recipes that you can make for friends and family while you learn not only the French language but also a little bit about French culture in a relaxed, fun, tasty way.

Author's Note: I chose 10 recipes especially for your cooking as well as language lessons. Cooking the recipes will help you actively learn the language: “What the hand does, the mind remembers…” My favorite quote from Maria Montessori. That is why this book has been inspired by TPR (Total Physical Response), a fun, hands-on teaching tool that allows you to learn a language by incorporating specific physical tasks with commands. It’s the same way you learned your native language through looking, listening, responding and doing. You can make this cookbook your own. Learn actively some French at your own pace while cooking simple and easy recipes to follow. By the way, since it is a bilingual book in French and English, French readers will also learn English words and phrases.

Last but not the least, I wanted readers to hear how to pronounce the French words and phrases, so I recorded myself reading the main recipes in French. To listen to the recordings that go with this book, please visit www.handsonfrench.com. This will help you practice the French pronunciation as you read this book at your own pace.

Review:

Da kid has spent this last semester learning some conversational French, so she was thrilled to get this cookbook, so she could working on some French vocabulary and cooking! This is an interesting concept of showing both the English and the French, for the same recipe and instructions (as well as cooking tips prefacing recipes). It really helps you to start picking up phrases (ie pinch of salt) and vocabulary (potatoes, fruit, cup, etc). By the third recipe, I did find myself looking at the French first, trying to decipher it, before switching back to the English! Success! That really is the goal of the book- to give you a handful of very basic French recipes and teach French language while doing so. Even da kid was picking up more and more as she looked over book. If you have a high schooler or coed taking French this year, this is a must have book for them- it will REALLY help their new language skills! And the recipes are quite tasty too!

About the Author:

Elisabeth de Châtillon was born in France, has an MA in Education and Marketing, and has taught extensively in both the USA and Europe. She is also an accomplished home cook who en-joys sharing her love for French cooking by feeding her family and friends simple, good food. Her book, THE HANDS ON FRENCH COOKBOOK, was born from her combined love of teaching and cooking-and a desire to share that love and knowledge. When Elisabeth isn't working or cooking, she likes stepping on her yoga mat, meditating, swimming in the ocean and lakes, walking in the beautiful outdoors, and traveling. For more information, visit www.handsonfrench.com.