One of the best recipe books I have ever used. French home cooking rather than haute cuisine. Almost all of the recipes are exquisitely flavoured, made from simple ingredients, and quick and easy to read. Quantities are not too exacting, which keeps the fun in cooking them. Most recipes include butter, or either wine, eggs or cream, as one would expect with traditional French cooking. Some of the dated instructions, such as "simmer the soup for about 15 minutes, then take it off the fire" give a sense of how timeless great food is. The black and white photos of French cities, towns and bucolic countryside, rather than of recipes, makes it a unique recipe book in a world short of originality. Highly recommended!