One of the finest voices of French food is an American. Patricia Wells has lived in France since 1980 (dividing her time between Paris and Provence) and was restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune (1980–2007) and the French weekly L’Express (1988–1991).

The author of 15 books, Wells won four James Beard awards. Among her acclaimed titles are The Provence Cookbook, The Paris Cookbook, Simply French, and Bistro Cooking. In 2015, she published My Master Recipes: 165 Recipes to Inspire Confidence in the Kitchen —with Dozens of Variations.
Born in Milwaukee, Wells followed her path to journalism with The Washington Post and later The New York Times. When she accepted the job at the Tribune, she hadn’t intended to make France her home for the long term, but she and her husband, Walter, fell in love with the country, its people, and its food. And there she’s made a life of sharing it with others. Her contributions to French culture led to her being awarded, in 1989, the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She’s continued those contributions at her cooking school, At Home with Patricia Wells, which she founded in Provence in 1996 and where she instructs students on the intricacies and the joys of French food. She even has an iPad and iPhone app, “The New Food Lover’s Guide to Paris,” which offers all the latest on eating around the City of Light.