The flavors of France by Alain Ducasse is a elegant cookbook highlighting selective moments of a impressive culinary career. Ducasse is a innovative French Chef who at the time this book was published had three restaurants, one in Paris, one in Monte Carlo and one in Province. The cookbook attempts to draw from all three culinary sources. The book is divided into food categories such as vegetables, sweets, etc. The authors then further categorize each section into recipes that exemplify the style of each restaurant. This "tri level" style makes for interesting reading but can be confusing for a novice cook. It can be difficult to differentiate between the classical "Paris" style and the supposedly casual "Provençal" style. To give the Chef credit though, he does claim that the simplest presentations can be the most difficult to execute.

I enjoyed reading this book and I would certainly cook from it. I did get the definite impression that Alain Ducasse seems to have a personality to match each restaurant. I felt that the book could have been a little more focused on one element of his culinary empire instead of trying to embrace it all at once. I definitely have mixed views about the format. However, the photographs and text are very visually appealing. I would recommend this book.