Patricia Wells has made her reputation principally as a food reporter, her extensive travels through France chronicled in splendid books such as The Food Lover's Guide To Paris and Bistro Cooking, and she is at her best when faced with the challenge of describing and interpreting someone else's work, as in her collaboration with Joel Robuchon, Cuisine Actuelle.
Her new book, however, sees Ms Wells reporting on herself, for Patricia Wells At Home In Provence is a lavish description of her very lovely farmhouse, Chanteduc, in northern Provence, and of the food she cooks there for herself, her husband Walter and her friends. The reporter's instinct is second nature to her, however, for much of her food is either directly inspired by dishes created by chefs or her neighbours, and Ms Wells then gives her spin on the idea.
It should all make for a charming, inspired text, especially with the added bonus of photography by Robert Freson, who is the finest food snapper in the business. And yet, the text never really comes to life, spending too much time being self-conscious, a fact not helped by the often inane prose. There are some nice ideas, and I am sure anyone who ever attended one of Ms Wells's cookery classes in Chanteduc will want a copy, but the reality is that when it comes to the reporter turning herself into the subject, there really isn't that much to write about.
Patricia Wells At Home In Provence, Kyle Cathie, £19.99 in the UK.