Out: Provence. In: Tuscany.

There was a time when Americans were consumed with all things Provencal—the food, the art, and of course, Peter Mayle’s memoir, “A Year in Provence,” which was such a big hit it spawned even more Provence-related books. “Then came what I’ve come to think of as the Italian ascendancy in this country, and everything changed — triggered not only by the undeniable appeal of Italy and Italian food but by forces as disparate as the popularity of pizza, the high prices and stiff formality of French restaurants and the refusal of France to join President Bush’s war in Iraq,” writes David Shaw in the Los Angeles Times. The movie “Under the Tuscan Sun,” of course, didn’t hurt. But as Shaw writes in an article for the Food section titled, “A nod to bouillabaisse diplomacy,” Provence is now sending chefs stateside to cook up more interest in the region.

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