ACQUIRED TASTES

Robin Sachs delivers a delicious rendering of Peter Mayle’s droll pronouncements on the joys of having enough money to pamper one’s most exotic tastes. In his sexy rugged voice, Sachs offers Mayle’s mouth-watering recipe for preparing truffles as well as advice on the proper way to eat true caviar (with iced vodka, of course) and how to eat paté correctly. With patrician elegance and undisguised smugness, Sachs relates Mayle’s thoughts on keeping a mistress; live-in servants; second homes; choosing an excellent cigar; the pleasures of custom-made shoes, suits, and shirts; and the difference between four-ply cashmere and something that feels like your grandmother’s overstuffed armchair. An updated forward by Mayle and charming musical interludes introduce these amusing pieces, which first appeared in GQ in the 1990s. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2012]