Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for the opportunity to read The French Ingredient by Jane Bertch. VERY enjoyable! I cheered for Jane during the ups and the downs now she's one of my heroes.

An enjoyable read of an American woman who went to France to work in banking. While there, she discovered banking was not her passion, and, despite having no training, opened a cooking school in Paris. What a brave person!
Ride along with the author as she describes the joys of France, as well as the difficulties. It's no stretch to say that Americans are wired completely different than the French! Experience her mistakes and issues, and revel in the fact that she never once gave up, no matter how hard it got.
This is a fun read. Similar to a more grown-up version of "Emily in Paris". I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I LOVED this book!

The cover and the idea of cooking was what drew me in. But, Jane's struggles as an entrepreneur were what I really connected with. The up's and the down's were easy to connect with as a small business owner.

If you like reading about food, friendship and faith that all will work itself out in the end, this is the book for you! I highly recommend reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the privilege to read an arc of this book.

All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The French Ingredient.

I visited Paris for the first time last year and I'll never forget the sights but most of all, I'll never forget the food!

The French Ingredient is a heartfelt memoir about a woman with no culinary skills or background who, after a career in banking, decides to open a cooking school in Paris. Quelle horror!

Jane is brave and independent and makes many attempts to make friends, establish a life in Paris, and figure out what it means to be Parisian.

She learns more about her newly adopted country she discovers her passion, her love of all things French, meets and makes wonderful friends and colleagues, establishing connections with locals and the community, and finding her true self.

I love memoirs where the author is a stranger in a strange place, though the author visited Paris as a college graduate, she still had to learn 'what it means to be French.'

Learning and adapting to social, professional, and personal norms in her new country; how to be political, how to make friends (nowhere near as easy as it is in the US), how to survive (personally and professionally) during a terrorist attack and an unforeseen health epidemic, all these learning experiences shaped the author, made her stronger, resilient, and gave her a new perspective on the French people, society, and culture.

It's clear the author loves her new home, the people, culture, and food, but she also knows there's nothing wrong being an American.

Jane Bertch tells her memoir on how a young woman from Chicago moves to London and then gets an opportunity to work in the banking industry in Paris. She soon realizes that the French have very different attitudes to Americans and it takes her several years for them to even partially accept her. After 6 years even though she is thoroughly enjoying living abroad she decides to give up her career and try something different.
She and a partner open an English speaking cooking school called La Cuisine, which is not the traditional style, It will offer chefs to teach small groups of under 10 in a 4 hour class in preparing 1 item such as macaroons, or croissants, etc. The business struggles from the beginning then picks up steam only to hit a brick wall with a variety of issues from mass killings to covid, They struggle but today are a very successful enterprise and in much demand.
Her writing was fantastic, honest and she tells her story flawlessly . I highly recommend this inspiring book.
5 + stars

This charming memoir tells the story of a Chicago girl moving to Paris. After a few years there, she decided to open a cooking school. It delightfully tells of her struggles with the French ways of doing business, and surviving despite protests, strikes, terrorist attacks, and other disasters of the last few years.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This was a lovely memoir about pursuing your dream. A bonus that it happened in one of the most beautiful cities in the world!

Great book about going after your dreams and following your heart. I enjoyed the setting immediately because: it’s France! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars.