Foodie Books

originally posted September 23, 2009

As with any genre, there are oodles of interesting books to read in the subject. Here’s some I’ve read and enjoyed. Do you have recommendations?

The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection by Michael Ruhlman 4.75 of 5 Bwoops! This has to be one of my favorite foodie books! It also is likely one of the most influential in my life. I proceeded to take a boot camp at CIA, Hyde Park the next month after reading it and then enrolled in culinary school a few months after that. I’m sure my parents had no idea when they gave it to me what a ball of yarn it would unravel and as quickly as it did. (Maybe I don’t give them enough credit however.)

It’s actually three stories in one, each unique and each entertaining. The first is the journey of a wannabe master chef seeking certification. The testing is grueling and only one or two chefs in a group of ten ultimately receive certification, after paying $10,000 to take the ten day exam. I found this section riveting!

The second story is of Michael Symon of Cleveland’s Lola Bistro. (If I were on Iron Chef… this is who I’d pick!) His style is quite different than that of the third and final story, self-taught chef Michael Keller of Napa Valley’s legendary French Laundry. While these stories weren’t quite as page-turning as the first, there were valid points to be made from reading them and overall I could read each page over and over and over. My husband got mad at me for ignoring him because I couldn’t put the book down. In particular, there’s a scene with Thomas Keller and REALLY FRESH meat that continually appears in my memories.

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl 4 of 5 Bwoops! This book is hilarious! The lengths that Ms. Reichl goes through to disguise herself in order to receive a true restaurant review without recognition are unbelievable. That’s a passion for your job! She’s similar to a kid at Halloween, planning the costume and fully engaging to play the part.

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World’s Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn 3.75 of 5 Bwoops! This book is as much personal conquest as it is foodie. That doesn’t mean it lacks entertainment, but I might qualify it as more of a chick read.

My Life in France by Julia Child 4.25 of 5 Bwoops! I was also greatly influenced by this book once I found out Julia was 40+ when her career really hit its stride. There’s hope for me yet! This is partially the basis for the movie Julie and Julia, but there are some parts editted. Julia has a life many of us envy- I sure do! I’d kill to live in France as she did and travel back to Cambridge, MA to retire. (I used to live in Boston so Cambridge would be fine with me!) If the genre isn’t your fruit de mer however, you likely won’t find this book as entertaining as some others.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell 4 of 5 Bwoops! The second half of the movie that takes its name, this book triggered laughter, tears, anger and I’m not sure how many other emotions. It too was influential in that Julie Powell was stuck at a job of no interest to her, yet compelled by her mother to stay away from pursuing her passions for more practical path. I can easily say I’ve been there! I tried practical for 20+ years in the workforce and every year it became more and more difficult to put up with it. Thank goodness my husband encouraged me to pursue my dream! (It will be interesting to read this in three to four years after school is over. It’s got to be better than corporate America!! I can’t imagine what could be worse!)

The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones 3.5 of 5 Bwoops! Judith Jones was Julia Child’s editor and as with any professional her career didn’t rotate around only one person. This book chronicles her career. Lucky dog she was! My husband recently read the book and found it entertaining so my initial thought that you’d have to be a true foodie to get enjoyment from it may be exaggerated.