Bonjour Kale

March 7, 2016
In summer 2011, Beddard, a young former ad exec, joins her husband in Paris on his new business adventure and begins one of her own. She was raised in Pittsburgh by a single mother who appreciated a wide variety of vegetables, so while Beddard is in France, she yearns for kale instead of more typical American comfort foods. Given the popularity of kale in the U.S., she’s surprised to find how difficult it is to come by in France. With a few hurdles along the way—such as communicating with shop owners in French—she enlists the help of local farmers, and eventually launches the Kale Project. Parisian food writer and chef Bruno Verjus invited Beddard to his restaurant and applauded her efforts; author Elaine Sciolino interviewed Beddard her for the New York Times, giving the Kale Project an international spotlight. Voilà, she brings legume oublié, the forgotten vegetable, back to France. With colorful descriptions of travel and the conversational tone of a best friend, Beddard’s story is full and satisfying. Agent: Bridget Wagner Matzie, Zachary Schuster Harmsworth.