From Provence, with love

Hemmed in by the cake decorating and wedding planning books on one side and children's tchotchkes on the other, it seemed predestined that the adoring crowd assembled to hear cookbook author and cooking instructor Patricia Wells would be 90 percent female.

About 100 foodies packed the rear of Powell's Books for Cooks & Gardeners for her appearance earlier this month. Balancing glasses of wine provided by neighboring Pastaworks and savory hors d'oeuvres crafted by Navarre chef John Taboada, the well-traveled gastronomes jockeyed for seats, nearly knocking over candles, books and decorative housewares.

The clamoring did not cease once Wells appeared, looking pert and rosy-cheeked in a sunflower-yellow jacket, stylish red-framed glasses and close-cropped blond hair. Easygoing, unflappably optimistic and possessing an infectious laugh, Wells perched just inches from her fans, immediately establishing an informal tone and inviting audience interaction.

Two things you quickly realize if you hang out at specialty markets, of-the-moment restaurants and cookbook author readings: Foodie types are not shy about a) expressing their timeworn knowledge and b) imploring the wise for more tips and news to feast upon.

Wells spoke animatedly about the people of Provence (the local fishmonger, truffle king and fig expert) and the experiences (planting a patch of eggplant only to have it ravaged by wild boars, discovering a wonderful salad at an unassuming cafe), that inspired the recipes in her latest effort, "The Provence Cookbook" (HarperCollins, $29.95, 352 pages). The passionate crowd nodded, laughed and gasped with the knowing enthusiasm you might witness during a Baptist sermon.

When Wells took questions from the audience, several members repeatedly pleaded with her to update her seminal "The Food Lover's Guide to France" -- even after she said no, saying she wants to focus on new discoveries instead of traversing familiar territory. Countering, a woman suggested Wells write a similar guide to Spain, to which Wells replied that Spain doesn't sell. Au contraire, a couple of seasoned epicures cried, insisting that Spain and Spanish cooking are all the rage.

This sort of impassioned behavior around Wells is only fitting because she's such a foodie's foodie. A trained journalist, Wells has always taken a reporter's approach to food writing. She bemoans some of the popular food lit of today wherein the author, not the story, takes center stage. An alum of the Washington Post and New York Times and longtime restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune, Wells' goal is to furnish the reader with useful, provocative information.

Her eight volumes are conversational and crammed with charming anecdotes, source information and illuminating food trivia. In essence, she includes everything she would wish for in a book, conveniently paralleling what her readership craves.

"The Provence Cookbook" delights not only with enticing recipes -- such as rosemary-parmesan madeleines; golden zucchini galette; and Moroccan lamb meatballs with cucumber and mint salad -- but also with brief stories about the food purveyors of Provence, cafe addresses, wine suggestions, technique lessons and Web sites for purchasing heavenly olive oil.

Of course, the book is about Wells' dreamy-sounding life with her husband, Walter, at their lovely estate in the South of France. But the revealing snippets are gleaned from the context given to recipes and foodstuffs. Whatever the reader learns about Wells is directly related to food, place and recipe.

Linking recipes to stories also lends great legitimacy to everything Wells writes, eliciting confidence that the recipes will not only work but also result in terrific dishes.

Taboada, who says he used all of Wells' books while training in France, offered proof positive at Powell's. Choosing her recipes that would hold up as finger food and make good use of what's in season (a guiding principle for Navarre), he made a dense Summer Herb Bread tangy with yogurt and mint, spicy Baked Arugula Omelet and Wild Mushroom and Walnut Tarte Tatin (see accompanying recipes). At the end of the evening, only a few wedges of bread remained; the tart was particularly delicious.

Though pleased with the the results of the recipes, Taboada praises "The Provence Cookbook" for other reasons. "I like the broad strokes approach, that she doesn't focus on the region in a technical way but brings the culture and people to life through the recipes," he says.

Part of Wells' appeal, at least among Americans, is that she's one of us who has made good in the seemingly intimidating culinary realm of France. Raised in Milwaukee, she had a typical 1950s Midwestern upbringing. "The cookie jar was always full and the main course was kind of dull, but Mom did all her own baking and canning," she says. "I grew up feeling that I would always have good food available to me. I also knew what I wanted to do -- write for newspapers."

In journalism, as in other ways, Wells has experienced a charmed life. She got a job right out of graduate school with the Washington Post as an art critic. She moved on to the New York Times, where she contributed lifestyle and culture stories until a food writing position opened up. The only problem was that Wells was a vegetarian. Joking that she was a lapsed Catholic and reformed vegetarian, Wells gave up austerity for a life-changing opportunity.

In 1980, Wells' husband, also a journalist, was offered a post in Paris. Three years of writing about Parisian boulangeries, gourmet mustards and goat milk cheeses for the New York Times led to Wells' authorial debut, "The Food Lover's Guide to Paris,"and she has never looked back.

Not one to idle, sheturns out a new book every few years, writes for the Tribune, maintains a Web site (www.patriciawells.com) that she updates with new restaurant reviews and food finds. She also hosts nearly a dozen weeklong cooking courses each year at her home near Avignon and at her Paris apartment.

And, naturally, she's already hard at work on her next book, tentatively titled "Patricia Wells' Vegetable Harvest." "It's not a vegetarian cookbook," she notes. Rather, it gives vegetables their due, dealing with each one as a separate entity. No doubt, it will include plenty of anecdotes, celebrating not just the food we eat, but the people we meet between meals.