Host an Evening Your Book Club Will Remember
Some books are discussed over coffee and forgotten. Others stay with you long after.
The Pilgrims Table was written for conversation—for evenings that go deeper than the story itself and prompt moments when a simple question becomes something more.
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Why ThisBook Works for Book Clubs
A novel built around a dinner table conversation is a novel built for book clubs.
In The Pilgrim’s Table, five strangers arrive at Chez Mer, a small pilgrim inn at the edge of Spain, each carrying the weight of a journey far greater than the miles they walked. Over a single evening of food, wine, and honest conversation, they discover that the stories they’ve been carrying alone are the ones that need to be said out loud.
The novel’s structure mirrors the experience of a great book club: people from different backgrounds sit together, share what they’re really thinking, and leave changed by the listening. Claudia’s escape from a controlling marriage, Alex’s battle with addiction, Dan and Jenny’s questions about retirement and identity, Isabella’s unfinished grief for her brother, and Matthieu’s rediscovery of why he cooks – each story opens a door into themes your group will want to walk through together.
Set along Spain’s Camino de Santiago, the story is accessible to readers of all backgrounds – no prior knowledge of pilgrimage required; the location serves as a metaphor for the journey each character undertakes. What it does require is a willingness to sit at the table and be present, which is all a good book club asks.
Key Discussion Topics
Transformative Change
What does it take to leave a life that no longer fits? Each character confronts the cost – and the freedom – of choosing differently.
Food as Love
Matthieu’s cooking is an act of care, not performance. The novel explores how feeding someone can be the most sacred form of hospitality.
Vulnerability & Connection
The pilgrims share more with strangers in one evening than with the people they left behind. Why is honesty sometimes easier with those who have no history with us?
Faith & Seeking
What does it take to leave a life that no longer fits? Each character confronts the cost – and the freedom – of choosing differently.
Home & Belonging
Matthieu’s cooking is an act of care, not performance. The novel explores how feeding someone can be the most sacred form of hospitality.
Grief & Healing
The pilgrims share more with strangers in one evening than with the people they left behind. Why is honesty sometimes easier with those who have no history with us?
Discussion Questions
Ten questions designed for a single meeting. Additional questions are available in the Leader’s Guide.
Claudia cannot open the gate at Chez Mer, though she crossed the Pyrenees and walked more than 1,600 kilometers to get there. What do you think the gate represents, and why does it defeat her at this particular moment?
Alex draws a sharp distinction between arriving as “a pilgrim who is in recovery” versus “a recovering alcoholic who is on a pilgrimage.” Why does that distinction matter so much to him? Is there a version of that distinction in your own life?
Matthieu describes leaving the Grand Hotel Suisse by saying he “reached the summit at fifty and understood he had been climbing the wrong mountain.” Have you ever achieved something important only to realize it wasn’t what you actually wanted?
Dan and Jenny communicate as much through silence and small gestures – an elbow, a hand on a knee – as through words. What does the novel suggest about how long partnerships develop their own language?
Isabella carries a stone from her brother Miguel’s garden for nearly a thousand kilometers. She cannot leave it at the ocean, but she can hand it to Matthieu for his walk. What is the difference between surrendering grief and entrusting it to someone else?
Food is central to this story – not as decoration, but as a form of care. Matthieu says his grandmother taught him to “feed people what their bodies and souls need.” How does the novel use meals to advance intimacy between the characters?
The novel takes place over a single evening. How does this compressed time frame affect the honesty of the conversations? Would these characters have revealed as much over a longer acquaintance?
In the epilogue, each character’s progress is deliberately imperfect. Isabella has not returned to her brother’s apartment. Alex still has hard days. Dan and Jenny’s new life includes a leaky roof. Why do you think the author chose to resist a tidy resolution?
Matthieu has never walked the Camino himself, yet he serves as host and witness to those who have. What does the novel say about the value of someone who receives stories versus someone who creates them?
The book’s title refers to a physical table, but also to the idea that sharing a meal with strangers can be a sacred act. Has a meal ever changed you? What made it different from ordinary eating?
GROUP ACTIVITIES
The Guest Journal
Provide index cards or a shared journal. Ask each member to write a brief entry as the characters do in Chapter 12 – where they’ve been, what they’re carrying, and one thing they want whoever reads it next to know. Share aloud or leave sealed for the host.
Shell Inscriptions
Purchase inexpensive scallop shells from a craft store. Give each person a shell and a fine-tip marker. Write a word, a name, or a message – the way pilgrims leave shells at Chez Mer. Take them home or leave them with the host as a collection.
Cook the Menu
Prepare Matthieu’s dinner as your book club meal. Assign the leek and potato soup, Coq au Vin, and plum clafoutis to different members, or make it a collaborative cooking evening. Full recipes are provided below.
Map the Journey
Print or project a map of Spain showing the Camino routes. Trace each character’s path: Claudia from Le Puy, Alex from Saint-Jean, Dan and Jenny on the Frances, Isabella from Seville. See where their routes converge at Muxia. A map is provided in each book and in the From the Book resources.
The Stone Exercise
Bring a collection of smooth stones. Ask each person to hold one during the discussion as Isabella carried hers. At the close, invite anyone who wishes to name what they are carrying – and set the stone down. No explanation required.
Camino Playlist
Play the novel’s soundtrack during your meal. Highlight “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor, which several characters hear from Claudia’s iPhone in the opening chapters. Folk and acoustic music at a walking pace sets the tone. A curated playlist is available on Spotify and on the book website at thepilgrimstable.com/playlist
Suggested Meeting Outline
Designed for 60-minute meetings.
0:00 – 10:00
Arrival & Icebreaker
Welcome the group with “Buen Camino!” as Matthieu greets each pilgrim. Serve food and drinks. Open with one icebreaker question from the Leader’s Guide – something personal but light to warm the table.
0:10 – 0:20
First Impressions & Character Connections
Which character did you connect with most, and why? Allow each person a minute to share. This round often reveals the themes your group most wants to discuss.
0:20 – 0:45
Deep Discussion
Select 3-4 questions from the discussion list. Let the conversation flow naturally – if the group is deeply engaged with one question, stay there. The best pilgrim dinners find their own shape.
0:45 – 0:55
Reflection & Prayer
Shift to the prayer points or personal reflection questions. Close the formal discussion with the “guest journal” activity if time allows.
0:55 – 1:00
Closing & Action Steps
Share the action steps from the Leader’s Guide. Let the conversation continue informally – Matthieu would never rush anyone away from the table.
Recipes from the Story
Bring the dinner at Chez Mer to your book club table.
Meme’s Leek & Potato Soup
First Course – Chapter 6
“Here is what leeks taste like when someone has paid attention to them. Here is what a potato becomes when given enough time and enough care.”
Ingredients
- 4 large leeks, white and light green parts, sliced
- 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Fresh thyme sprigs
- Salt and white pepper
- Flat-leaf parsley, minced
Method
Melt butter in a heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add leeks and onion. Cook slowly – fifteen minutes at least – until completely soft and sweet. No browning. Patience is the ingredient the recipe doesn’t list. Add potatoes, stock, and thyme. Simmer 25 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove thyme. Blend until smooth (or leave slightly chunky for a rustic texture). Stir in cream. Season with salt and white pepper. Serve in warmed bowls with fresh parsley and good bread alongside. Serves 6.
Meme’s Coq au Vin
Main Course – Chapter 7
“This was the recipe passed through four generations of the Dubois family, each cook adding her refinements while preserving the one element that made it work: patience.”
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (4 lbs), cut into pieces
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 lb pearl onions, peeled
- 8 oz mushrooms, quartered
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 bottle dry red wine (Burgundy or Cotes du Rhone)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp Cognac
- 3 bay leaves, 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- Salt, pepper, flour for dusting
Method
Brown the bacon in a heavy pot until crispy. Remove and reserve the fat. Season and lightly flour the chicken. Sear in the bacon fat until golden on all sides. Remove. Saute the pearl onions, carrots, and garlic in the same pot. Deglaze with Cognac. Return the chicken and bacon. Add wine, stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to a 325F oven. Braise for 2.5 hours – low and slow – until the sauce has reduced to a glossy, wine-dark concentration that coats the back of a spoon. Add mushrooms in the final 30 minutes. Serve family-style from the pot at the center of the table, with roasted potatoes and good bread. Serves 6.
Plum Clafoutis
Dessert – Chapter 8
“The simplicity of it – after the soup, after the wine, after the weight of everything the table had held – was almost an exhalation.”
Ingredients
- 1 lb small dark plums, halved and pitted
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- Butter for the dish
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Method
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a shallow baking dish generously. Whisk eggs and sugar until light. Add milk, cream, and vanilla. Sift in flour and salt, whisking until smooth. Pour a thin layer of batter into the dish. Bake 5 minutes until just set. Arrange plums cut-side up over the batter. Pour remaining batter around them. Bake 40-45 minutes until puffed and golden, firm at the edges and just yielding at the center. Dust generously with powdered sugar. Serve warm. Serves 6-8.
Wine pairings: A Ribeira Sacra Mencia pairs beautifully with the Coq au Vin, as Matthieu serves in the novel. For the soup course, try a cold Albarino from Rias Baixas. For a non-alcoholic option, sparkling water with lemon – a nod to the carafes Matthieu places in each pilgrim’s room.
Prayer Points & Reflection Topics
For groups who incorporate spiritual reflection into their discussions.
- For Courage in Transition: Claudia walked away from twenty-three years of a life that was slowly erasing her. Pray for anyone navigating a season of difficult change – for the courage to take the first step and the faith to keep walking when the path is unclear.
- For Those in Recovery: Alex names his struggle honestly: “still trying, some days easier than others.” Pray for those carrying the daily discipline of sobriety, healing, or rebuilding – and for the sponsors, counselors, and communities who walk alongside them.
- For Marriages in Motion: Dan and Jenny’s thirty-seven-year partnership is strong but still evolving. Pray for the marriages in your group – for the grace to keep growing together rather than settling for comfortable silence.
- For the Grieving: Isabella cannot yet return to her brother’s apartment, and the novel honors that. Pray for those carrying grief without a timeline – that they would find the right pace for their own healing, not the pace others expect of them.
- For Those Who Serve: Matthieu feeds strangers because his grandmother taught him that cooking is love made tangible. Pray for the hosts, caregivers, teachers, and servants in your community whose quiet labor makes space for others to be seen.
- For Sacred Tables: Pray that your own gathering would be a place where honesty is safe, where listening is a gift, and where the bread is always within reach.
Download the Leader’s Guide
A comprehensive PDF with everything on this page plus bonus discussion questions, detailed icebreaker questions, extended prayer guides, a printable meeting outline, and facilitation tips. Free for book club leaders.
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