Typical Mayle - Peter Mayle

Not only is Mayle partially responsible for that, but he appeared on a recent whistle stop promotional trip to Dublin, looking more tanned, fit and relaxed than any writer has a right to be. As I said, easy to dislike, if he wasn't so charming and obviously in love with his subject matter: France and all her quirks and oddities.

Mayle's new book, 'Bon Appétit: Travels through France with knife, fork and corkscrew' is essentially a gourmand's guidebook to the epicurean highlights of France, written in the frequently imitated but rarely bettered Mayle style. Any reader of his earlier books knows that food is frequently mentioned and always celebrated. Surely writing this book was a logical progression from his earlier works? Not according to Mayle.

"I fell into it by accident," he says. "I was taken to a church service by a French friend of mine who knows that I like slightly odd things and it turned out to be a mass for truffles. I was fascinated by this and was talking to some people at lunch after the service. I said 'I can't imagine this happening anywhere else in the world. It's one of these extraordinary things the French do to celebrate their stomach,' and this guy said, 'are you interested in that? Well,' he said, 'I have a cousin who is married to the brother of the son of the nephew of the man who organises a frog fair up in Vittel. I can put you in touch with him.' I went there, it was terrific. And then someone said, 'if you like this kind of thing, there's a snail festival going on in May.' And I went to that and by then I thought there's maybe something here that I could make a book of because it was all great fun for me and it was fascinating. So I got back after the snails and I did some research and I got this tremendous program of events all over France connected with food and drink."

Writing this book was the perfect job for a man who lists lunch as one of his hobbies. "I do love lunch," he remarks enthusiastically. "To me it's a sort of symbol of not working in an office." Mayle does seem to have an idyllic life. "I work in the mornings from nine to one and then basically I'm written out. By the end of the morning I feel I've done something to earn my crust. I deserve to lunch properly and then I go out in the afternoon and walk it off or work it off or something. It seems to work for me. It's a nice healthy interest."

Mayle's tangible appreciation for food - and France - stems from his first discovery of "real food" as a young trainee on a business trip to Paris, what he refers to as "the loss of my gastronomic virginity". Brought up in an England where everything was still rationed after the war, Mayle declares that he got through the first sixteen years of his life without ever having any kind of memorable gastronomic experience. His first meal in Paris, which he lovingly describes in 'Bon Appétit', was more than just a culinary adventure - it was a life-changing event, turning Mayle into a lifelong Francophile.

He delights in the French attitude to food. "One of the great geniuses of the French," according to Mayle, "is that they've taken a necessity - which is to eat and drink - and turned it into a wonderful daily pleasure." When asked if he would ever return to live in England his answer is a swift, "never in a minute, no." After reading his mouth-watering descriptions of truffle festivals, wine marathons and yes, even celebrations of frog-leg and snail eating, few would disagree.

Caroline Hennessy

'Bon Appétit: Travels through France with knife, fork and corkscrew' is published by Little Brown, price £9.99stg.