The Cocktails of the Ritz Paris


Book Description

The former bartender at the Ritz Paris's legendary Bar Hemingway reveals the intoxicating secrets for concocting the world's greatest cocktails--with more than 50 drink recipes and full-color illustrations throughout."




The Hotel on Place Vendôme


Book Description

Set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of World War II, The Hôtel on Place Vendôme is the captivating history of Paris’s world-famous Hôtel Ritz—a breathtaking tale of glamour, opulence, and celebrity; dangerous liaisons, espionage, and resistance—from Tilar J. Mazzeo, the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot and The Secret of Chanel No. 5 When France fell to the Germans in June 1940, the legendary Hôtel Ritz on the Place Vendôme—an icon of Paris frequented by film stars and celebrity writers, American heiresses and risqué flappers, playboys, and princes—was the only luxury hotel of its kind allowed in the occupied city by order of Adolf Hitler. Tilar J. Mazzeo traces the history of this cultural landmark from its opening in fin de siècle Paris. At its center, The Hotel on Place Vendôme is an extraordinary chronicle of life at the Ritz during wartime, when the Hôtel was simultaneously headquarters to the highest-ranking German officers, such as Reichsmarshal Hermann Göring, and home to exclusive patrons, including Coco Chanel. Mazzeo takes us into the grand palace’s suites, bars, dining rooms, and wine cellars, revealing a hotbed of illicit affairs and deadly intrigue, as well as stunning acts of defiance and treachery. Rich in detail, illustrated with black-and-white photos, The Hotel on Place Vendôme is a remarkable look at this extraordinary crucible where the future of post-war France—and all of post-war Europe—was transformed.




Ritz Paris


Book Description

"This celebration of the grand culinary tradition at the Ritz Paris features inspirational stories of three great men and is completed with sixty recipes. Today, having climbed the ranks at L'Espadon, Michel Roth is now at the helm of this Michelin two-starred restaurant. His menus pay tribute to the heritage of Escoffier, using his classical standard as the backdrop for outstanding contemporary cuisine. The spectacular, award-winning egg-shaped macaroni and truffles dish inspired by Escoffier appears among the sixty featured recipes. Superb photographs accompany each recipe, inviting the reader behind the scenes of this legendary culinary monument."--Provided by publisher.




French Pastry at the Ritz Paris


Book Description

Indulge yourself with the finest pastries in the world, created by the award-winning pastry chef of the legendary Ritz Hotel in Paris Welcome to the universe of François Perret, pastry chef at the Ritz Paris. Savor sumptuous pastries and cakes: the famous honey madeleine, or the Poire BelleHélène en cage, and explore too this legendary hotel on the Place Vendome. Perret writes about his inspiration for his top ten creations, and then five haute pâtisserie desserts are each interpreted in three different variations: as an appetizer (la touche), as a main dessert, and as a light, sweet finishing flourish (la sucrerie). The book concludes with Perret's favorite: marble cake nestled in its pretty box stamped with the name of the famous hotel; the dessert unveils itself like a precious gem.




Mistress of the Ritz


Book Description

A captivating novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II—while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hôtel Ritz in Paris—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue. “A compelling portrait of a marriage and a nation at war from within.”—Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network Nothing bad can happen at the Ritz; inside its gilded walls every woman looks beautiful, every man appears witty. Favored guests like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor walk through its famous doors to be welcomed and pampered by Blanche Auzello and her husband, Claude, the hotel’s director. The Auzellos are the mistress and master of the Ritz, allowing the glamour and glitz to take their minds off their troubled marriage, and off the secrets that they keep from their guests—and each other. Until June 1940, when the German army sweeps into Paris, setting up headquarters at the Ritz. Suddenly, with the likes of Hermann Goëring moving into suites once occupied by royalty, Blanche and Claude must navigate a terrifying new reality. One that entails even more secrets and lies. One that may destroy the tempestuous marriage between this beautiful, reckless American and her very proper Frenchman. For in order to survive—and strike a blow against their Nazi “guests”—Blanche and Claude must spin a web of deceit that ensnares everything and everyone they cherish. But one secret is shared between Blanche and Claude alone—the secret that, in the end, threatens to imperil both of their lives, and to bring down the legendary Ritz itself. Based on true events, Mistress of the Ritz is a taut tale of suspense wrapped up in a love story for the ages, the inspiring story of a woman and a man who discover the best in each other amid the turbulence of war. Praise for Mistress of the Ritz “No one writes of the complexities of women’s lives and loves like Melanie Benjamin. In Mistress of the Ritz, Benjamin brings wartime Paris brilliantly to life. . . . Intense, illuminating, and ultimately inspiring!”—Elizabeth Letts, New York Times bestselling author of Finding Dorothy




Along the Infinite Sea


Book Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of Husbands & Lovers comes another riveting novel of the Schuyler sisters—where the epic story of star-crossed lovers in pre-war Europe collides with a woman on the run in the swinging '60s... In the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler's problems are in a class of their own. To find a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries—the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician—she fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction. But the car's new owner, the glamorous Annabelle Dommerich, has her own secrets: a Nazi husband, a Jewish lover, a flight from Europe, and a love so profound it transcends decades. As the many threads of Annabelle's life before the Second World War stretch out to entangle Pepper in 1960s America, and the father of her unborn baby tracks her down to a remote town in coastal Georgia, the two women must come together to face down the shadows of their complicated pasts. AN INDIE NEXT AND LIBRARY READS PICK A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR THE BEST OF SKIMMREADS 2016




Coco at the Ritz


Book Description

A riveting and prismatic novel of the eternally enigmatic Coco Chanel in the aftermath of World War II. Though her name is synonymous with elegance and chic, the iconic Coco Chanel had a complicated dark side, and in late August 1944, as World War II drew to a close, she was arrested and interrogated on charges of treason to France. Many of the facts are lost to history, partly through Chanel's own obfuscation, but this much is known: the charges grew out of her war-time romance with a German spy, and one morning two soldiers from the French Forces of the Interior—the loose band of Resistance fighters, soldiers and private citizens who took up arms in the wake of the Liberation of Paris—led Chanel from her suite at the Ritz Hotel in Paris to an undisclosed location for questioning. What transpired during her interrogation, who was present, and why she was set free when so many other women who’d been involved with German men (willingly or otherwise) had their heads shaved or were imprisoned, remains a mystery. In this brilliantly insightful and compulsively readable novel from the author of I am Madame X, Gioia Diliberto explores the motivations of this complex woman and portrays the gripping battle of wits that could have been her interrogation. Was Chanel truly a collaborator? Though the Occupation of France offered a stark contrast between good and evil, few people are wholly heroes or villains in wartime. Most citizens, as the writer André Gide noted, were like old shoes floating in murky waters: battered and torn, riding the turbulent flow, just trying to survive. By turns raw and vulnerable, steely and flawed, Chanel emerges from these pages as a woman who owns her decisions, no matter the consequences. Rich with history and filled with emotional truths, Coco at the Ritz is a story about the choices one woman made when the stakes were the highest. In today’s world, it is a cautionary tale about the necessity of standing against evil when it stares you in the face.




École Ritz Escoffier, Paris


Book Description

"Good cooking is the foundation of true happiness," said Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935), the pioneer of modern cuisine and the first executive chef of the Ritz Hotel, Paris. Today, the École Ritz Escoffier pays tribute to the great chef by teaching the art of French cooking to amateurs and seasoned professionals alike. This book celebrates the values prized by Escoffier and by hotelier César Ritz: professionalism, creativity, and conviviality. An absolute must for anyone seeking to improve their knowledge and techniques, the book includes 100 recipes for meat, fish, vegetables, foie gras, pasta and rice, international dishes, hors d'oeuvres, and desserts. Each recipe is illustrated and includes clear explanations and a step-by-step guide. An homage to the prestigious school, which is still in its original home at the Ritz Hotel on the Place Vendôme, Paris, this beautiful book is more than a reference; it offers the savoir-faire and secrets of a gourmet chef who has inspired cooks for more than 150 years.




Ritz and Escoffier


Book Description

Now in paperback, the critically acclaimed Ritz and Escoffier. In a tale replete with scandal and opulence, Luke Barr, author of the New York Times bestselling Provence, 1970, transports readers to turn-of-the-century London and Paris to discover how celebrated hotelier César Ritz and famed chef Auguste Escoffier joined forces at the Savoy Hotel to spawn a scandalously modern luxury hotel and restaurant, signaling a new social order and the rise of the middle class. In early August 1889, César Ritz, a Swiss hotelier highly regarded for his exquisite taste, found himself at the Savoy Hotel in London. He had come at the request of Richard D'Oyly Carte, the financier of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operas, who had modernized theater and was now looking to create the world's best hotel. D'Oyly Carte soon seduced Ritz to move to London with his team, along with Auguste Escoffier, the chef de cuisine known for his elevated, original dishes. The two created a hotel and restaurant like no one had ever experienced, in often mysterious and always extravagant ways, where British high society mingled with American Jews and women. Barr deftly re-creates the thrilling Belle Epoque era just before World War I, when British aristocracy was at its peak, women began dining out unaccompanied by men, and American nouveaux riche and gauche industrialists convened in London to show off their wealth. In their collaboration at the still celebrated Savoy Hotel, the pair welcomed loyal and sometimes salacious clients, such as Oscar Wilde and Sarah Bernhardt; Escoffier created the modern kitchen brigade and codified French cuisine in his seminal Le Guide culinaire, which remains in print today; and Ritz, whose name continues to grace the finest hotels, created the world's first luxury hotel. The pair also ruffled more than a few feathers. Fine dining and luxury travel would never be the same--or more intriguing.




Ritz Paris


Book Description

The legendary Ritz on Paris' Place Vendôme is more than a luxury hotel; its very name evokes dreams of the City of Light. International luminaries from the worlds of high society, fashion, art, literature, cinema, finance, and diplomacy have illuminated its rooms, from the Duchess of Windsor, Coco Chanel, and Ernest Hemingway to Maria Callas, Marc Chagall, and Marlene Dietrich. After four years of careful restoration, the Ritz Paris has again opened its doors, a glamorous star taking the stage of the Place Vendôme with renewed spirit. This radiant volume overflows with elegant imagery illustrating the Ritz's esteemed guests and showcasing the impeccable work of architect Didier Beautemps and interior designer Thierry W. Despont.