White House Chef by Walter Scheib

I was ridiculously excited about this book because food+politics=awesome in my mind. Walter Scheib was White House Chef under the Clintons and the first half of W. Bush’s administration. He writes about his experiences cooking for these very different families and shares some of his favorite recipes. This is a wonderful insider’s look at what goes on in the White House. At times, the book gets a bit repetitive and political bias tries its best not to seep in but it is pretty obvious who Scheib liked cooking for more and I can only assume that his political leanings followed that trend as well. This is not something you have to read cover to cover (though I obviously did). It makes for a good coffee table book and is definitely light reading. Fun stuff.

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Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

I know I’m a little behind on reading this book but oh well. Frankly, I’m not sure why the book caused such a sensation. Based purely on writing ability, I was unimpressed with Bourdain’s overly simplistic style and habit to end every chapter with a one sentence paragraph. Based on content, although Bourdain did illuminate the pressures and stresses of a restaurant kitchen, such description was overshadowed by his insipid yet obnoxious personality. He makes no apologies for his crassness, rudeness, and irresponsibility.  I grew increasingly frustrated that he kept messing up after been giving so many chances. I appreciate his love for food and adoration for the kitchen, but there is a difference between appreciation and respect. The book was a fast read, and I suppose I did learn a little about the non-glamorous side of cooking at a high-end restaurant but at the end, I was still left thinking “so what?”

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The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

The New York Times named this book one of the ten best books of 2006 and I’ll have to agree with their literary authority.  The Omnivore’s Dilemma chronicles Pollan’s attempt to learn about the food on his plate–both where it comes from and how it is produced.  Pollan is an intriguing and compelling writer who engages the reader to crave learning more about seemingly uniteresting subjects.  My favorite part of the book was Pollan’s attempts at mushroom hunting, an activity that I never thought would be fun at all.  Also highly amusing/interesting was Pollan’s wild boar hunting adventures.

Though not quite as muckracking as Upton Sinclair or more recently, Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Pollan does expose some disturbing facts.  His section on organic farming is particularly interesting and alarming.  We assume “organic” means “better,” but do we really know?  It is impossible not to feel bad for the small farmer or get angry at inane agricultural laws.

Like this review (I’m on winter break and not feeling very academic right now), at times the book was jumpy and occasionally dry.  Still, overall, the overwhelming and copious amounts of research are presented in a creative manner.   He can tell a good story while interweaving facts along the way.  If you want to know how your food goes from Point A to Point B to your stomach, Pollan illustrates this chain quite well.

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Newsweek likes Food Books

And tells you which ones to buy here

Can’t Stop Reading About Food

Ruth Reichl is now officially my hero. Not only does she know basically everything in the world about food, but she is also an incredible writer. I could not put this book down. I love reading about her experiences as the New York Times food critic and how it affected both her family and her friendships. The job is not as glamorous as it sounds; in effort to disguise herself to the restaurants, Reichl sacrificed her own individuality and personality as she morphs into the character of her disguse. The book includes some of Reichl’s restaurant reviews and favorite recipes.

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-Carey

Yay! Another Food Book Review!

For those of us born in a post-Julia Child world, this book gives a wonderful American gourmet history, especially about foodie notables Alice Waters, James Beard, Wolfgang Puck, and several others. It was informative and a relatively quick read; author David Kamp clearly did his research. One definitely has to be interested in gourmet eating to enjoy reading this though–I’m not sure how well topics such as the rise of Chez Panisse or the demise of Lutece would resonate to non-foodies. Also, though not a focus of the book, Kamp does shed some light on Food TV and vindicates Emeril Lagasse as actually quite a good chef. I’d recommend a snack while reading–all the discussion of fine dining made me quite hungry.

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-Carey

A Book Review (Food-Related, of course)

I have two chief passions in life: food and writing. Therefore, as I embarked on my search for the perfect beach read, “Heat” by Bill Buford, ex-fiction editor of The New Yorker, seemed like the only appropriate choice. For his mid-life crisis (I assume), rather than ditching the wife and purchasing a new red convertible, Buford attempts to learn the intricacies of cooking Italian food, via apprenticing under the potbellied, wine-drinking, foul-mouthed, dirty-minded Food Network star, Mario Batali.

Buford’s humorously detailed accounts of his failed efforts at chopping vegetables, cooking pasta, and cutting meats are entertaining, but also point to something much deeper: cooking like a real Italian is a lot more difficult than learning the difference between ravioli and tortellini (which, interestingly enough, is more complex than just the shapes of the pasta). Authentic Italian cooking involves blood (Buford manages to slice his hands on several occasions), sweat (Batali claims that customers should always be able to taste the chef’s sweat), and tears (intra-chef dynamics and hierarchies are a tricky business), literally.

The sections from within the kitchen of Batali’s upscale Manhattan restaurant, Babbo, were the most colorful and relatable: it was hard not to cringe at moments when Buford is ordered to replate the dishes he works so diligently on. But, the sections when Buford travels to Italy, immersing himself in a rich culinary tradition much deeper than what an American restaurant can offer, were the most informative. They provided a wealth of information about cooking history and technique. Additionally these sections gave a rare glimpse into a fascinating culinary culture that has been developing long before the United States even existed.

Without Buford’s kitchen misadventures or other food-related antics (at one point, he carries a full pig inside his apartment), “Heat” would be a little dry and overcooked, so to speak. However, instead, Buford succeeds at putting a smile on his reader’s face while teaching them something at the same time.

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-Carey