Pierre Franey cooks with his friends - Pierre Franey

For this book, the late Pierre Franey---originator of the popular "60-minute Gourmet" column for The New York Times, author of thirteen books, and star of the popular PBS cooking shows "Cuisine Rapid," "Cooking in America," and "Cooking in France"--traveled throughout Europe, cooking with seventeen friends. All are top chefs or restaurateurs who have recognized the need to cook in a lighter, healthier way, both for their costumers and for themselves. In France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, these chefs combine moderate amounts of butter, cheese, and oil with fresh local produce and masterful combinations of herbs to create healthy, satisfying, and delicious food.

Among Franey's friends were Paul Bocuse, Michel Guerard, and Marc Meneau in France; Fredy Girardet in Switzerland; Pierrs Wynants of Comme Chez Soi in Belgium; and Antonio Belles of the tapas bar in the Hotel Arts in Barcelona. These world-famous chefs provide both classic and innovative recipes, such as Bocuse's Black Bass with a Potato Crust, and Guerard's Pan con Tomate, a staple of Catalonian cuisine. Franey contributed some one hundred of his own health-conscious recipes, inspired by watching his friends cook and visiting their local markets. These include such tempting dishes as Spicy Shrimp and Squid Salad, Penne with Baby Spinach and Fresh Peas, and Sauteed Apples in Calvados.

The result of Franey's journey is an international sampling of delicious health-conscious cooking from great European chefs and from Graney himself, who was one of America's most loved culinary figures.