Must-Read Food Memoirs That'll Make You Drool ...

By Lauren

The discovery of a new recipe usually involves an interesting background story. In many cultures the art of cooking - and eating - is central to national identity and heritage. Here are nine of the juiciest food memoirs recording an individual's food memories and personal journey. Take one classic Julia Child recipe, add a tablespoon of food blogger Molly Wizenberg and stir in some of Marco Pierre White's reminiscences, now simmer: before you can utter the word "diet", you'll have cooked up a sexy literary feast well worth a nibble.

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1

"My Life in France" by Julia Child

"My Life in France" by Julia Child Julia Child may be better known as the person who introduced average Joe America to the art of French cooking, but here she recounts her trials and tribulations of becoming a successful chef, moving to France, enrolling in cookery classes at Cordon Bleu and immersing herself in French culture. She doesn't boast or brag, simply retells in pages of pure enjoyment how she got to her revered position in the nation’s hearts.
Buy at amazon.com

2

"Delancey" by Molly Wizenberg

"Delancey" by Molly Wizenberg Closing each chapter with a mouth-watering recipe, Molly Wizenberg discloses in this book what happened when her husband left school without graduating to become a pizza chef. Years of pizza research later, they are still married and their love for pizza's still going strong. Beware: you'll develop cravings for melted mozzarella on crispy pizza dough while devouring this book!
Buy at amazon.com

3

"the Devil in the Kitchen" by Marco Pierre White

"the Devil in the Kitchen" by Marco Pierre White This book simply oozes sex appeal, which cannot come as a total surprise, given that the world's first celebrity chef and bad boy of the kitchen, Marco Pierre White, is the perpetrator. Recounting his UK upbringing in a working class environment to the moment when he transformed himself into one of the most revered and feared chefs in the industry, White gives us valuable insight into why he's so temperamental. Nothing to do with recipes failing or cookers breaking down.
Buy at amazon.com

4

"Miriam’s Kitchen" by Elizabeth Ehrlich

"Miriam’s Kitchen" by Elizabeth Ehrlich Published in the late 1990s, Elizabeth Ehrlich's memoir recounts how she spent her formative years being quite undecided about her Jewish heritage. Cooking family favorites with her mother, a Holocaust survivor, provides Elizabeth with the chance to hear stories and anecdotes that are not just part of immediate family history but also important to Jewish history as a whole.
Buy at amazon.com

5

"Toast" by Nigel Slater

"Toast" by Nigel Slater Remembering the reason for his life-long passion for food and cooking, chef Nigel Slater recounts the early 1960s, when British cuisine was the laughing stock of the world. Following his mother's untimely death, Slater's father hired a housekeeper. The housekeeper teaches young Nigel the basics of cooking and the rest, as they say, is British food legend. Watch the movie with Helena Bonham Carter as the housekeeper – it’s fun.
Buy at amazon.com

Famous Quotes

Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.

Plutarch
6

"a Tiger in the Kitchen" by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

"a Tiger in the Kitchen" by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan This is a delicious tale of growing up in Singapore and emigrating at 18 years of age to New York, a personal journey as aromatic as Singapore Noodles that explores not just Tan's love for food and cooking, but also her culture and family heritage.
Buy at amazon.com

7

"Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking" by Anya Von Bremzen

"Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking" by Anya Von Bremzen Anya grew up in Russia, where food was scarce, before moving to Philadelphia and Queens, New York, where the von Bremzen family were overwhelmed by the sheer variety of ingredients available. Her mother begins to cook enormous Russian family dinners and, while preparing and eating such culinary luxuries, Anya, her grandmother and mother exchange stories about their family's history. It's a rich and vibrant offering of Russian culture and cuisine.
Buy at amazon.com

8

"Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good" by Kathleen Finn

"Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good" by Kathleen Finn Kathleen Flinn presents readers with three generations of family recipes in this entertaining book, recounting tales of her lovable but eccentric Midwestern family. During a big move that takes the family across several states, where they meet extended family members at least as wacky as themselves, Flinn's immediate family eats and cooks its way through mountains of food. A heartfelt American odyssey.
Buy at amazon.com

Which of these tasty memoirs has you licking your lips?

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Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

I've read #1 and love it!

The plural of pizza is pizzas. "Pizza's" denotes possession. Even if this is an autocorrect error, it's sloppy from a writer.

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