Byron on the marriage of women and lobsters
Iconic literary food moments
Our recipe for this episode was a simply divine lobster and salmon mousse. A little bit of research on the subject revealed that lobsters have long held a rather peculiar and persistent fascination to the literary community. One only has to think of Lewis Carroll's Lobster Quadrille, Annie Hall, or the dark comedy Lobster. But the most iconic literary food moment would have to be awarded to Lord Byron, and we added a lobster reference from Elizabeth Gilbert for good measure.
Natasha Lester’s fabulously fun Sidecar follies
Cocktail concoctions
Word of Mouth TV went to town (or should we say Paris) for the Natasha Lester episode, launching the evening with the oh-so-French cocktail, the Sidecar. The origin of the Sidecar cocktail is disputed but it is believed to have been invented towards the end of World War 1 in either London or Paris. It was, of course, named after the motorcycle sidecar, a-la Two Fat Ladies, and the Ritz Hotel in Paris claims to be the drink's birthplace.
Straight from the authors’ mouths
Recommended reads
It's been raining - hooray!! And there's nothing better for rainy days than curling up with a great book. This week, Natasha Lester leads off Word of Mouth TV's latest book recommendations with Louise Allan's Sisters' Song, and we finish off with some fantastic cookbooks - because rainy days are also perfect for a bit of kitchen fun.
Natasha Lester’s lobster and salmon mousse
Portrait of a recipe
Natasha Lester's novel, The Paris Seamstress, is a gorgeous romantic story of intrigue, danger and love set in France and in the USA during WWII. In the book, her heroine Estella Bissette flies back to Paris on a dangerous mission in a boat plane on which she enjoys an amazing meal of piping hot soup, lobster and smoked salmon. That was all the inspiration we needed to concoct this delicious lobster and salmon mousse - with caviar of course! And champagne!!
The Paris Seamstress – Natasha Lester
Kate's review
A dual-timeline novel that moves between the 1940s and contemporary times, The Paris Seamstress is a gorgeously rich and romantic novel about young women finding their way in the world. The story begins with Estella Bissette, a young apprentice seamstress working with her mother at a fashion designer’s atelier in Paris. She dreams of designing her own dresses but the Nazis are closing on France, and no-one knows what the future will hold.Episode 8: Natasha Lester – The Paris Seamstress
Word of Mouth TV interviews Natasha Lester, author of The Paris Seamstress - a feast for fashionistas and romantics everywhere. The Paris Seamstress has gained accolades from all corners of the world, which is appropriate given it spans the globe, taking readers from Paris to New York and Australia and back again. And it's not just a fashion feast; we served Natasha a divine lobster and salmon mousse with caviar, inspired by a scene in the novel. Enjoy!
