Saturday, February 16, 2013

Chasing Flavor: Memoirs by Chefs & Food Writers

Here at abcreads we love food.  We love making it, eating it, and of course reading about it!  Everybody has their favorite celebrity chefs...here are some memoirs by a couple of our favorites, along with some other foodie reads.



If you like full flavor, try: Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson

Born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, now an American citizen living in Harlem, Samuelsson's memoir of his long journey "chasing flavors" is an interesting read.  From his childhood helping his grandmother Helga in the kitchen to winning the James Beard Foundation's "Best Chef: New York City" in 2003 when he was executive chef at Aquavit (you can also find his Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine cookbook in the library catalog), you will admire his focus in the kitchen despite intense anxiety and stay for the story of his rediscovering his African roots even as he puts down new roots in the U.S.


If you like unconventional dining, try: Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton

Endorsed by heavy-hitters such as Anthony Bourdain, Mario Batali, this memoir by New York restauranteur Gabrille Hamilton is a fierce and lyrical history of her journey to becoming a chef.  It's about food, family, the difficulties on the road to finding your life's work, and making to-do lists that include "Why is meringue weeping?  Braise rabbit.  Tweak gremolata ratio.  Have baby."

But you don't have to be a chef to write a foodie memoir!  Here are some of the latest gastronomic reads from the library catalog for the gastronomically inclined:


Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen by Donia Bijan

Four Kitchens: My Life Behind the Burner in New York, Hanoi, Tel Aviv, and Paris by Lauren Shockey

Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War by Annia Ciezadlo

Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life by Kim Severson

Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India by Madhur Jaffrey


For older posts about cooking, search the blog for posts labeled "cookery" and/or "food".

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