The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

Richard C. Morais has created a wonderful story that blends the cultures and tastes of two very different parts of the world in his new book, The Hundred-Foot Journey.

The novel opens in Mumbai and focuses on an Indian boy named Hassan Haji whose life began in a room above his grandfather's restaurant. Tragedy leads the Haji family to move to London where they set up an humble kitchen serving the likes of spicy fish curry, hot kadai and Kingfisher beer. Across the street is Madame Mallory's Le Saule Pleureur's, a French restaurant where the waiters serve wine, not beer, and where silver spoons and forks are positioned not just on the dining tables, but perfectly on them.

One evening, Madame Mallory and her companion, Monsieur Leblanc, visit the Indian restaurant, decorated with plastic roses and Air India posters. They dine, not on a bouillabaisse, but on "thick and gooey" Goa fish stew, chicken tikka marinated in pink spices and lemon, yogurt-marinated lamb liver sprinkled with pine nuts, yellow rice, unleavened bread and much more. There, even as Madame Mallory complains of the diner's lack of sanitation, she marvels about the young chef Hassan's cooking abilities, saying simply, "He has it. ... Talent. ... Talent that cannot be learned."

After anything-but-typical negotiations, Madame Mallory persuades Hassan to walk the short distance from his family's restaurant to hers and work for her. That hundred-foot journey leads Hassan into a new world of etiquette and food. There, he learns how to set the table as a fine French restaurant would. He learns the difference between a Pacific oyster and a Brittany oyster. He learns not just of kholrabi but of its varieties. He prepares stewed hares marinated in white wine, sweet German mustard and more, accompanied by mint-infused couscous and a cucumber-and-sour-cream salad topped with a handful of lingonberries.

Through Madame Mallory, Haji meets a young woman who will play a key role now and later in his life. And through Madame Mallory, Haji also meets -- and becomes part of -- the world of fine French cuisine.

Haji's journeys, as told by Morias, should interest those with a love of food, travel and just plain good writing. It's a fast read, not one with recipes or maps, but one replete with slightly eccentric characters (Haji's father and Madame Mallory among them) and incredible imagery ("... gradually the hardness in Papa's face dissolved, and it was something quietly miraculous, like watching a chilled lump of goose fat warming in a hot pan."). It's the kind of book you'll want to keep on a shelf nearby.