European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 04, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Completely revised & enlarged dailym4gazine taking French leave by Linda White travel editor a briton has challenged the big boys of French restaurant ratings and is getting rave  Blonna turned his Auto rally and gourmet eating hobbles into a venture that has seen the publication of five books. His French leave which hit the bestseller list in 1981, is now revised and enlarged As French leave 3. This Book is designed As a companion to the Michel in red guide. Binns notes the number of Michel in stars for restaurants in his listings and he takes Michelin to task for being slow to award or withdraw accolades. He also lambasted some of the Best known French chefs the Brothers Troi Gros of Roanne Paul Bouse of colonies a Mont a or for living on their reputations. He notes the talents of some of the younger chefs who have yet to receive the blessings of Michel in. And he says the Best French chef is actually Swiss Fredy Girardet who has a restaurant at Crossler Switzerland. Banns style is opinionated chatty and full of Good information. The Book makes Good browsing and whets the appetite As Well. Banns takes his food seriously. He not Only remarks on the restaurants but gives a top notch discussion of French cheese and wine devotes a Page to cocktails and includes a glossary to menu terms. He even gives specimen letters in French Tor making reservations. Binn8 maps Are his own doing he has navigated in numerous Road rallies and discovered that he had a Talent for total recall of maps. He highly recommends the Back roads and byways he even suggests getting lost. It s one of the Best ways to discover the country. His latest Book. Best of Britain gives suggestions for drives in the British Countryside. It also remarks on the improvement in Quality of British cooking. Banns makes no attempt to rate All of Britain but picks out his 15 favorite regions from he Derbyshire Dales to the scottish Lochs. And he takes on the British guidebooks a guides Egon Ronay just As he does Michel in and Gault Mellau in France. Let it be said that. In both cases he offers bouquets As Well As criticism unique is the ii Only. Section of French leave. If Only says banns some restaurants would offer More Hall bottles of  if Only some establishments would Stop using plastic  the customers come in for their share too. If Only he says More British and North american visitors to France would Slop assuming that value for Money Means  the Best of Britain has a similar Section of his bouquets brickbats and Boos. Bouquets for the special Welcome the British give their Guesta Boos for the cover charge. Banns books Are do it yourself almost All the Way. He quit his Job with a big american computer firm to go it on his own As a consultant then gave that up to write and publish his books. He works out of his family Home Cal item House which he mortgaged to go into the publishing business. The first edition of franc leave displaced James Harriot s Yorkshire and David Attenborough s Ufa on Earth from the top of the Best seller list. When he sent a review copy to american food critic Craig Claiborne. Claiborne hopped a concorde to meet and interview banns. French leave 3 is available in stars and stripes bookstores for $7.50. The Bestol Britain however is not. It can be found in some English bookshops on the continent. Competition among the guidebooks by Lynne Terry United press International c housing a guide to France used to be easy. You just picked up a copy Fml Chelan s red Bible of hotels  the dozens of new guidebooks that have hit the Market Are making the task More difficult. Besides new editions covering hotels and restaurants there Are volumes for gourmets oenophile a and people with lots of Money to spend other new guides Cater to sports enthusiasts and there is even a volume for nudists. Michelin which Sells 650,000 copies of its classic guide to Fiance annually around the world is not worried by the new Competition. Our Book is the most comprehensive said Michel in spokesman Alain Arnaud. We cover All of France not just the main  a guide cornering an increasing share of the Market is the Gault Millay volume. When Henri Gault and Christian Millay published their first guide to France 12 years ago it was a Welcome Relief. The two French food journalists have a lust for food Ami drink that the apparent in their witty criticisms. I like Gault Millay because Thoy Are More modern said Ian Cronshaw an australian who refined his palate in France. They Are Happy to be in a restaurant but angry when the food is  with shelf Guidebook sales increasing 5 percent a year Gault Mellau launched a new $9.50 volume this year called a guide to the wines of France. Printed in French this Book gives All the basics about wine from grape types to service plus provides 1.500 listings of vintners where you can buy 4,000 recommended vintages. The Hachette publishing House has put out a series of Blue guides Lor culture lovers since 1907, seven years after Michelin launched its first edition. In 1984 Hachette came out with a new volume now Odem guide which included More than just culture said Marie Pierre Levallis an assistant editor at Hachette. After All people have changed their Way of  Hachette s guide to France 1985 is one of the Best of the new guides and Well Worth $12.50. It is concise Well Laid out and chock full of hotels restaurants camping Sites and Holiday and sports activities. It has enough history and folklore to satisfy the most demanding travellers but also includes information about transport weather medical facilities and Post offices. The publishers sold 130,000 copies last year. Publisher Roland Escaig also put out a new guide this year the immodesty titled Bible of hotels and restaurants France 19bs. Editor Michelle Calallen said this guide was written for tourists with Money to  the presentation is inelegant and marred by advertisements but for $9 you gel listings in French of the better establishments plus comments on noise Levels parking service atmosphere and decor. Calallen said the publisher Hopes to sell 40,000 copies the year but said Tho Guido which is in French is not geared to compete with Michel in. We Are competing with Gault Mellau she added. Bordas published a new Book this year guide to Leisure activities and vacations in France which was written for tourists who want to do something with their vacations according to editor Christian Doremus. The Book is costly at $16 and comes Only in French but it has an impressive list of 10,000 vacation ideas spanning Mountain climbing to religious pilgrimages. French journalist Michel Smith s vacation and weekends at the farm is not new but it is still the Only guide in French which lists Farmers who Welcome vacationers. Smith Personalty visited All the farms listed unless otherwise marked and gave ratings based on hospitality Comfort gastronomic excellence and Rural authenticity. Wednesday september 4, 1985 Sis photo by Dot Dudlo Fanth Cook hat imputation to Tkv up to. The stars and stripes Page 13