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Learn to COOK - Trip to the Beach, A
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List Price: $29.95
Our Price: $49.20
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio Cassette
Format: Bargain Price
Number Of Items: 6
Publication Date: 2000-10-10
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Editorial Reviews:
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A Trip to the Beach is about the maddening, exhausting and exhilarating challenges Melinda and Robert Blanchard faced while trying to live the simple life after moving to Anguilla to start a restaurant - and the incredible joy when they somehow pulled it off. As their cooking begins to draw 4-star reviews, the Blanchards and their kitchen staff - Clinton and Ozzie, the dancing sous-chefs; Shabby, the master lobster-wrangler; Bug, the dish-washing comedian - come together like a crack drill team. Anyone who's ever dreamed of running away to start a new life on a sun-drenched island will find the Blanchards' seductive, funny tale of pandemonium and bliss unforgettable.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: How Could You NOT Like this Book?
Comment: The bitter reviews are totally undeserved and off-base. I felt like I was reading about some other book.
The Blanchards, who were probably the worst business people in the western world decide to open a little beach bar restaurant on the island of Anguilla. Things change when they find the perfect place, but the rent is thousands per month--way too much to build a beach bar. It has to be a fancy restaurant. Did it occur to them to negotiate or look for a cheaper place? They didn't say it did. So, they start designing and planning. They soon learn that most everything has to be imported from elsewhere. Melinda flies home to Vermont to pack everything and put the house on the market and then to Florida to buy EVERYTHING they'll need to build and furnish the restaurant. Bob is back in Anguilla supervising the construction. This is all Very Expensive. Just the customs duty on everything was staggering. Luckily, they had sold their former business which provided them with the dollars they needed--although, they came perilously close to running out of money.
The Blanchards respect and care for the people of Anguilla is obvious. The people of Anguilla seem to have accepted the Blanchards as citizens and friends. In fact, they still have most of the staff they originally hired when they started the restaurant.
I especially enjoyed the sailboat race story. Bob was asked to help build and crew a boat for some locals. He was thrilled to be asked. When he asked about how they were going to get a sail the group told him they hoped he would pay for it. "How much"? he asks. They tell him $2,400 and he says, "OK"!
The Blanchards worry about their son in college in Washington state, but there are no long winded boring phone conversations with him as someone else reported.
This book is not at all a "cure for insomnia" in fact, I found the opposite to be true. I stayed up too late reading it.
While I'm not sure I would like the Blanchards if I knew them and I'm a little disappointed that their newest venture means they can't spend much time on the island they wanted to spend the rest of their lives on--I still loved the book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a thoroughly heartfelt account of a brave couple
Comment: The Blanchards have done what a lot of us dream of doing: a fun job without bosses in a fun country with fantastic weather--at least in season! Aside from providing a thoroughly enjoyable account of their move to Anguilla, the book is also a passionate description of how one can make a dream come true, and with not that much money at all. Having said that, their repeated references to the Anguillan "paradise" maybe a bit excessive when one considers the horrible red-tape, vicious hurricanes and logistic nightmares they had to deal with. But perhaps that is what makes this book really excellent: it is a realistic view of the pros and cons of the Blanchards' choice, devoid of sticky romanticism and with no trace whatsoever of the smugness and superiority complexes one often finds in writers who move to a foreign country and tell their story.
Customer Rating:
Summary: VERY GOOD READING.....AND TRUE
Comment: This book is very well written, and even better it is true about the island life. My husband and I moved to Anguilla (not because of the book but for a job offer) and when I read the book, I was amazed at how well the Blanchards made it a reality. The book is wonderful and the island is even better, if you get a chance to travel to Anguilla, you should.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Dreamy
Comment: This book made me want to quit my job and move to the islands. I love the first-hand view of how difficult that really is when there's no major shopping options or supplies for miles. I can't wait to buy the Blanchard cookbook -- they are true pros!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Loved this peaceful interlude!!!
Comment: This was a great book to escape to. If you love cooking and the beach, then this book is for you. Mel shares recipes, tells the tales of changing lifestyles, and paints an incredible picture of the island. I am ready to go pack and have dinner at Blanchards!
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