An atlas of flavors to awaken the senses of young readers

Which parent has not already found themselves, halfway between the bakery and the house, with a nibbling baguette, halved by a little greedy mouth? The pleasure of hot bread is irreplaceable. And as chef Olivier Roellinger tells us in the preface to this book, when it comes to food, “everything starts with pleasure” : “Breathing, smelling, chewing, swallowing, swallowing. »

That’s why the little teddy bear biting into his fresh bread on the next page awakens all the senses. There will be a lot of meaning in this great album, with unusual and daring associations.

In unknown land

Each double page indeed takes the advantage of grouping foods according to their flavor. First of all, there is the sweet, of course: alongside the candies are a sweet potato, a beetroot and ketchup. We stay in the classic with the salty, the bitter and the acid, but it is then that we venture into unknown territory. Children are invited to discover umami, the Japanese “fifth flavor” so difficult to define in words. It’s easier with examples: there is soy sauce, dried anchovies, parmesan or seaweed broth.

Then come the spicy, fatty tastes (doughnuts, fondue and salmon: indigestion special!), fried and roasted, smoked, fresh (cucumber, milk and mint in water)… But also pages that will necessarily make the intolerant noses of under 18: the taste “it stinks” (punished, in English, because the whole book is bilingual), with the delicious and fragrant tropical durian, the “disgusting” taste: oysters, brains and molds of Roquefort… And another, perfectly subjective, where everyone can make an inventory of his memories: the “taste of childhood”. A delight that this large format album, equipped in addition to a super bookmark in the shape of a crispy baguette.