The Anchovy Toasts of Austin De Croze

One of the first cookbooks I ever bought was a translated edition of Austin de Croze’s What to Eat and Drink in France (1931), a book dedicated to presenting France to gastronomic tourists as “a diamond with a thousand facets.”

This extraordinary book became the basis for my “Regions of France” festivals at Chez Panisse starting in 1973. For all regions anywhere near Provence we would spread this anchoiade on baguettes, bake them on tra