Cover of From Hearth to Table: A Guide to Traditional French Fireplace Cooking, showing a wood fire burning between two iron andirons in an old stone hearth
Cover of From Hearth to Table: A Guide to Traditional French Fireplace Cooking, showing a wood fire burning between two iron andirons in an old stone hearth

Long before I lived in a stone house with a fireplace big enough to stand in, I was cooking over open fires as a French Colonial reenactress, from Fort de Chartres in the Pays Illinois to Old Fort Niagara. Twenty years of iron pots, banked coals and burnt fingers taught me that a hearth is not a mysterious stone chamber. It is a stove, with hot spots and cool spots, and once you learn to read it, it will simmer, roast and bake for you.

I put everything I know into From Hearth to Table, an 81-page guide to traditional French fireplace cooking. Inside you’ll find:

  • how a French fireplace works, and how to build, manage and bank a cooking fire safely
  • the equipment worth owning, from the Dutch oven to the old marmites you’ll find at the brocante
  • the coal-counting method for controlling heat, with charts for converting modern recipe temperatures
  • classic recipes adapted for the hearth: pot-au-feu, cassoulet, country bread, tarte Tatin and more
  • a seasonal cooking guide, the historical methods of Massialot and Menon, and printable checklists and planners

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