A People Magazine Pick for "Best New Books", an IndieBound bestseller, and an Indie Next Pick for Reading Groups
Available in hardcover, ebook, audiobook, trade paperback and large print edition.
Cooking for Picasso
COOKING FOR PICASSO is now a #1 Amazon Bestseller in Literary Sagas and #1 in Historical Fiction
Praise for COOKING FOR PICASSO
“A tasty blend of romance, mystery, French cooking, plus the hairy old painter himself. Which Girl? What Window? Read on . . .”
— MARGARET ATWOOD
“What would you do if you learned your grandmother had once whipped up meals for Pablo Picasso—and received a painting, now lost, in return? Head to the Côte d’Azur to track it down and fall in love with a chef, of course. Makeup artist Céline does just that in Aubray’s delicious, atmospheric novel. You’ll be glad you’re along for the ride.”
— PEOPLE Magazine’s “The Best New Books”
“A colorful family saga . . . about how people take what seems to be worthless and make it into something priceless. Whether it’s a woman who creates meaning from sad circumstances or a genius who finds his way through a fallow period to create his masterwork, the characters in [Cooking for Picasso] illustrate how essential bad is to good, life is to death and work is to art . . . [and] reveal that value lies not in what you own, but in who you are.”
— THE WASHINGTON POST
“Thrilling, fast-paced and engaging, COOKING FOR PICASSO is a novel that vividly portrays the South of France. Intrigue, art, food and deception are woven together in a tale of love and betrayal around the life and legacy of Picasso. Touching and true, this well-written narrative made me long for my mother’s coq au vin and for the sun of Juan-les-Pins.”
— JACQUES PÉPIN, chef, TV personality, author
“A quest for the missing Picasso worthy of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. As with any good quest, the heroine finds love along the way, too. An amuse-bouche filled with secret ingredients, covert liaisons, and hidden compartments.”
— KIRKUS REVIEWS
“With lively characters and a twisting plot, Aubray’s novel is a smart and satisfying tale of family, creativity, romance and intrigue.”
— BOOKLIST
“This touching and delectable novel invokes the breathtaking scenery of the South of France and the Côte d’Azur in 1936, when a young chef French begins a love affair with Pablo Picasso. Inspired by Picasso’s works from that time period depicting an unknown young woman, Aubray paints a beautiful story of love, art, food, and the enduring romance of the Mediterranean. ”
— FODOR'S TRAVEL
“This richly crafted tale of love, trust, art and food is wonderfully evocative of the sun-kissed Côte d’Azur, while weaving in a modern-day mystery. . . ideal for whiling away some time en vacances on the Riviera.”
— FRANCE TODAY
“Ondine meets a mysterious figure in her family’s café—with no inkling of of how he’ll shape her life and that of her grand-daughter Céline, living in present-day Hollywood. A sweet summer read!”
— COSMOPOLITAN
“Two delicious love stories held together by the bonds of family unfold through Aubray’s lyrical prose as she paints a portrait of the South of France, haute cuisine and the thrilling hunt for a missing masterpiece. With the skill of an artist, she describes Picasso at a crossroads in his life.”
— ROMANTIC TIMES
“The novel alternates between Ondine’s encounters with Picasso and the repercussions of that brief affair, and Céline’s adventures with cooking, love, and history along the Mediterranean. The real meat of this novel is in the details (both real and imagined) of Picasso’s fascinating life.”
— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Camille Aubray takes the reader on a heartfelt journey to the South of France in her new novel COOKING FOR PICASSO. Wise, atmospheric, and plain fun, Aubray expertly blends fact and fiction to create a rich and memorable tale.”
— Michelle Gable, New York Times bestselling author of A Paris Apartment
“Aubray has created a satisfying and vividly imagined tale of a young French woman’s life-changing encounter with the most unconventional artist of the modern age. Deliciously intriguing and insightful, the sensory details alone will have you thinking you’re reading the pages seated at a seaside café in the South of France. Well done.”
— Susan Meissner, author of Secrets of a Charmed Life
“Serving up an irresistible feast of art, cuisine and hidden treasures on the French Riviera, Aubray brings Picasso brilliantly to life. Her intriguing, intertwined narratives of Céline, her mother and brave grandmother are utterly spellbinding and deeply touching. This delightful, triple-layered mystery is something as rare as a page-turner with soul.”
— Anne Fortier, bestselling author of Juliet and The Lost Sisterhood
“Described with mouth-watering lushness, a love of Gallic gastronomy – and especially the food of Provence – is one of the passions shared by the three generations of French women who are tenderly but vividly depicted in this intriguing psychological portrait, which doubles as a page-turning thriller based on the search for a missing masterpiece. ”
— Alexander Lobrano, author of Hungry for Paris and Hungry for France
“Fans of Peter Mayle’s fiction will love COOKING FOR PICASSO. Camille Aubray gives us a literary equivalent of bouillabaisse – a warm and spicy combination of art, family intrigue, food and romance, set in sun-drenched Provence.”
— Erica Bauermeister, bestselling author of The School of Essential Ingredients
ALL ABOUT THE NOVEL
COOKING FOR PICASSO is a novel inspired by an intriguing interlude in the artist’s life.
Camille Aubray says: I’ve been in love with the French Riviera ever since I first set foot there, as a writer-in-residence. Returning to the Côte d’Azur again and again, I came across a true but little-known story about Pablo Picasso, which I used as a springboard for this fictional tale, Cooking for Picasso.
Here's what my publisher, Penguin Random House says about the story:
The French Riviera, spring 1936: It’s off-season in the lovely seaside village of Juan-les-Pins, where seventeen-year-old Ondine cooks with her mother in the kitchen of their family-owned Café Paradis. A mysterious new patron who’s slipped out of Paris and is traveling under a different name has made an unusual request—to have his lunch served to him at the nearby villa he’s secretly rented, where he wishes to remain incognito.
Pablo Picasso is at a momentous crossroads in his personal and professional life—and for him, art and women are always entwined. The spirited Ondine, chafing under her family’s authority and nursing a broken heart, is just beginning to discover her own talents and appetites. Her encounter with Picasso will continue to affect her life for many decades onward, as the great artist and the talented young chef each pursue their own passions and destiny.
New York, present day: Céline, a Hollywood make-up artist who’s come home for the holidays, learns from her mother Julie that Grandmother Ondine once cooked for Picasso. Prompted by her mother’s enigmatic stories and the hint of more family secrets yet to be uncovered, Céline carries out Julie’s wishes and embarks on a voyage to the very town where Ondine and Picasso first met. In the lush, heady atmosphere of the Côte d’Azur, and with the help of several eccentric fellow guests attending a rigorous cooking class at her hotel, Céline discovers truths about art, culture, cuisine and love that enable her to embrace her own future.
With an array of both fictional characters and the French Riviera’s most famous historical residents, set against the breathtaking scenery of the South of France, author Camille Aubray serves up a touching, delectable, and wise story, illuminating the powers of trust, money, art, and creativity in the choices that men and women make, as they seek a path toward love, success, and joie de vivre.
