‘Worth the Journey!’ trumpeted the Guide Michelin. Crammed into a dilapidated vintage car driven by her eccentric father, seven-year-old Pascale Beale raced across Europe from one three-star restaurant to another. These world-famous temples of La Haute Cuisine, Pere Bise, Paul Bocuse, La Pyramide, all had a profound effect on her culinary aspirations, and it was only natural that she eventually follow their illustrious chefs’ footsteps into the realm of cooking.

These gastronomic pilgrimages always left a drizzly London behind and headed south into France and summer. Her new book takes us there, too, in both title and spirit. A mouth-watering succession of recipes are like so many stops on a favorite road trip, each to be savored along the way, friends and family in tow. With delicious photographs illustrating the tempting menus, you can easily envision yourself pulling up a chair at a sunny table and tasting the essence of summer in the meal before you.