s French cuisine the best in the world or has it lost its magic? Bestselling New Yorker magazine writer Bill Buford dons a white hat and works in a series of French kitchens to investigate whether French food is all it's cracked up to be. Bill leaves fancy French food behind and goes back to basics at the foot of the French Alps. He works in a bakery, kills a pig, makes cheese, gathers herbs and cooks in a small family restaurant in order to understand how to cook simple French food to perfection.