Bruno's Challenge: And Other Stories of the French Countryside (Bruno, Chief of Police) - Hardcover

Walker, Martin

 
9780593534229: Bruno's Challenge: And Other Stories of the French Countryside (Bruno, Chief of Police)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0593534220 ISBN 13: 9780593534229
Verlag: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2022

Inhaltsangabe

Martin Walker presents his first collection of stories featuring all the familiar characters from his Bruno novels and the glories of the Périgord region of France, with ample helpings of food and wine.

"Whether preparing nettle soup, liaising with the Police Nationale or reading boar scat, Bruno remains focused and efficient.... Turn immediately to Martin Walker’s new platter of delicious morsels.”—The Washington Post

After a prisoner breaks parole to see his son on Christmas, Bruno must track him down before he throws away his chance at eventual freedom. When a Senegalese man’s coffee sells superbly at the market, some café owners become incensed by the new competition and take matters into their own hands. As a Swiss tourist and a St. Denis native fall in love over the fruit-and-veggie stall, one of their family members takes drastic steps to break them up. A fledgling tour bus business is sabotaged, leading Bruno to take a closer look at a town love triangle. Called in to investigate a case of stolen oysters, our beloved policeman reunites with an old flame to catch the shellfish thieves.
 
In story after story, Bruno settles town disputes, mediates family quarrels, and tracks down lawbreakers in his adored village of St. Denis and its environs. Featured meals in the collection include a fatty Christmas goose, a savory nettle soup with crème fraîche, and a fluffy quiche Lorraine.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

MARTIN WALKER, after a long career of working in international journalism and for think tanks, now gardens, cooks, explores vineyards, writes, travels, and has never been more busy. He divides his time between Washington, D.C., and the Dordogne.
 

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Bruno’s Challenge

It was market day in St. Denis, and Bruno Courrèges, the town policeman, was strolling between the stalls along the rue de Paris on his morning patrol with his basset hound, Balzac, at his heels. He was shaking hands with the men along the street and exchanging the bise with the women from twelve to ninety when he saw his friend Ivan at Maurice’s vegetable stall, clutching his stomach.

“Putain de merde,” Ivan gasped when Bruno asked what was wrong. “I’ve got the most terrible pain in my gut. I had a few twinges last night, but this is—aargh.” He fell to his knees, his shopping bag spilling strawberries and heads of lettuce.

Bruno was about to call the pompiers, the local fire brigade that also provided the emergency medical and ambulance service, but realized there was no way they could get through the crush of stalls and shoppers that filled the rue de Paris. He put an arm around Ivan and half carried him down the narrow alleyway that led to the rue Gambetta, where he commandeered Maurice’s handcart, loaded Ivan aboard and began pulling him back to the main square in front of the mairie. He called Fauquet, owner of the local café, to help. With Balzac trotting ahead to clear their path over the pedestrian walkway beside the bridge, they hauled a groaning Ivan over the river, through the parking lot in front of the bank and into the medical center.

“Bruno, you may have to do the cooking tonight.” Ivan gasped as they set him down and the receptionist went in search of a doctor.

“Don’t worry about anything, Ivan,” Bruno said automatically. “Let’s just see what’s going on with you.”

The doctor on duty was Fabiola. She ignored Bruno and bent over Ivan to ask what the problem was, and he pointed down to just above the groin. She opened his shirt and put a stethoscope to his belly while her other hand took his pulse.

“Ambulance, urgent, for Périgueux hospital, possible burst appendix,” she called out to the receptionist.

“It’s the golden wedding anniversary of Patrice and Monique,” Ivan said through gritted teeth, his face creased with pain. “I can’t let them down. I’ve already bought the chicken, cheese and wine. Thirty guests, some canapés with the apéro, soup, chicken tarragon with puréed potatoes, salad and cheese, yogurt mousse with strawberry . . .”

Ivan broke off to groan, and Bruno said, “Ivan, I only cook for small tables of friends. There’s no way I could manage thirty. Let me see if I can get someone else to help out.”

“You cook for thirty at the tennis club all the time,” said Fabiola, before telling Fauquet to ask Dr. Gelletreau for a pack of sterilized instruments.

“I can put together one simple course with lots of help,” Bruno said. “But this is a special occasion. Patrice was on the council when they hired me, and Monique taught me half of what I know about cooking. We’ve got to do well by them.”

“Sounds like you owe them your best efforts,” said Fabiola as the ambulance arrived with a brief burst of its siren. She grabbed her medical bag as the pompiers came in with a stretcher. Dr. Gelletreau handed her a sealed pack of instruments, which Ivan eyed with alarm. She had to go with Ivan in case his appendix burst on the way.

“Don’t be silly, Bruno,” she said. “You can pull it off. You have friends. Sort it out.”

Ivan pressed a key into Bruno’s hand, winced and then said, between gasps, “I was going to make that tomato soup of Pamela’s and something with strawberries for dessert. The wine’s in the pantry, and Stéphane will drop off the cheese.” He closed his eyes and squeezed Bruno’s hand. “Thanks, I knew I could count on you.”

Ivan was laid out in the back of the ambulance, Fabiola joined him, and they were off.

Fauquet turned to Bruno and said, “Fabiola’s right, you know. You can handle the dinner. Still, it’s a pity this happened after the Japanese girl left.”

Bruno shook his head sadly. Ivan had, over the years, introduced the palates of St. Denis to the wonders of global cuisine, thanks to his love life. He had gone on vacation to Spain and returned with a Belgian girl who added to his restaurant’s menu many different ways with mussels, from normande and à la crème to Rockefeller. She made a broth called waterzooi that was very warming and tasty on a wintry night. Then he had gone to some Italian beach and returned with an Austrian girl, or perhaps she was German, and suddenly St. Denis understood what a glorious dish a well-flattened Wiener schnitzel could be in the right hands, washed down with a glass of Grüner Veltliner. Then in Turkey he had fallen for a Spanish girl, and Bruno still yearned for her gambas al ajillo and her dulce de leche.

When Ivan had announced that his next destination would be Thailand, the gastronomic fantasies in the town ran wild, only to be dashed when he returned with a young Australian woman he’d met on the island of Ko Samui. But hope soared again once the locals tasted what Mandy could do with her fusion cuisine that blended Malay, Vietnamese and Thai dishes. St. Denis went into mourning when Mandy left to begin a wine course in Bordeaux, but then came a wonderful surprise. Miko, a Japanese teacher of French, enjoying an Eiffel scholarship to study French culture, ate at Ivan’s restaurant, stayed for the summer and enchanted the customers with yakitori chicken and shrimp tempura.

So now, with Miko gone, much as the locals admired Ivan’s way with the familiar dishes of the Périgord, the gastronomic pride of France, they could hardly wait for his next vacation. Indeed, there were lively discussions as to whether he should be sent to India, Tuscany or Hong Kong. There was even talk of crowdfunding to help finance his trip. But Miko’s departure had sent the usually cheerful Ivan into a mood that St. Denis decided to call introspection, for fear that it might turn out to be a real depression, and then where would they be? And this spring Ivan had taken no vacation at all, consoling himself by offering his customers the occasional moules à la crème, paella à la mode de Consuela or, on one treasured occasion, pad krapow moo saap, a Thai gem of fried basil and pork.

Bruno stopped at the Hôtel de Ville to tell the mayor, his employer, that he would be otherwise engaged that day. The mayor simply nodded; Fauquet had already called him.

“Since I’m one of the guests tonight, I’m very happy you’re stepping in,” the mayor said. “Let me know if you need a hand peeling potatoes, setting tables or any other unskilled work.”

Bruno thanked him, left his uniform jacket and cap in his office and went back to the market to recover Ivan’s shopping basket. He let himself into the restaurant and went straight to the pantry to see what other supplies he would need. On the counter beside the stove, he found a copy of the menu, written in Ivan’s italic hand.

Kir royal de Ch Lestevenie et canapés de pâté de chevreuil

La soupe froide de tomates à la mousse aux herbes

Poulet à l’estragon avec sa purée de pommes de terre et ses haricots verts

Salade verte et ses fromages du coin

Gratin de fraises Monbazillac

Café

Vins

Brut, Ch de Lestevenie

Bergerac Sec de Ch des Eyssards, 2020

Ch la Vieille Bergerie, cuvée Quercus, blanc, 2018

Ch Bélingard,...

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Verlag
Alfred a Knopf Inc
Erscheinungsdatum
2022
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0593534220
ISBN 13 
9780593534229
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Anzahl der Seiten
240
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar

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