Paysanne opened its doors in 1988 to what has since been described as ‘a roar of apathy’. Bob & Barbara Ross had spent the previous four years running a pub in the heart of North Wales and having tired of sending out frozen lemon meringue pies and chicken in a basket (this was the 1980s!) they wanted to up their game and put into practice all the marvellous creations Barbara had been reading about in Elizabeth David books since the ‘60s.

This book tells the epic story of Paysanne’s three-decade stint through a scrapbook/family album of images, newspaper clippings and mementos; through tales of evenings going spectacularly wrong and of heroically-snatched victories. It showcases the classic recipes that have been stalwarts for all these years, and also the latest staples that Bob & Barbara have picked up in the Languedoc since moving out there in 2003.

About the Author

A lifelong cinema devotee, Cai had hoped to break into the film business as a scriptwriter, having studied the craft at university. After initial successes, selling a script and co-writing a BBC Radio Wales sit-com, the well ran unexpectedly dry. As a stop-gap that was only supposed to last six months, he took over the running of Paysanne in 2003, when his parents retired to the south of France. ‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’ is a lyric that springs to mind, since he is still there today running it with the head chef.

Life as a restaurateur has enabled Cai to indulge in his love of food, often to marvellous excess. Over the past decade he has been feeding his writer hunger by penning articles about food and films for, among others, Cinema Retro magazine, Calibre Quarterly, HeyUGuys and BBC Good Food.