Book Review: "To Kill A Cook" by W.M. Akers

What a fantastic, fun book this was! I just stumbled upon it and was completely hooked. And, of course, I’m hungry now, too!

“This is part of what I love about eating in restaurants. Every course is its own adventure, and even when the food is lousy there’s always the suspense of what’s coming next.”

New York City, 1972. Bernice “B.B.” Black is a restaurant critic. It’s a job she absolutely loves. She’s been obsessed with food and restaurants since she was 19 and had her first fancy meal at a famed French restaurant.

One morning she stops by Laurent’s, the French restaurant that birthed her love of food. The chef, Laurent Tirel, is a friend and mentor, and he’s agreed to cater her fiancée’s birthday party. But when B.B. arrives, she is horrified to find that Laurent has been murdered, and his severed head is the centerpiece of a mold of jellied aspic.

She is utterly devastated but at the same time, B.B. is determined to figure out who murdered Laurent. And there are lots of suspects, including Laurent’s son, several of his employees, a mob boss…and it doesn’t seem like the police have a clue. But can she solve the murder before she winds up cooked?

I can’t get enough of books about chefs, cooking, and restaurants, so this was right up my alley. B.B. is a feisty, complex character, juggling a lot of personal issues as she’s trying to find a killer. I loved how well W.M. Akers captured 1970s NYC, too. Hope this is the start of a series!!

Book Review: "What I Ate in One Year (and related thoughts)" by Stanley Tucci

“Sharing food is one of the purest human acts.”

If you had told me a few years ago that I would absolutely love a book in which someone essentially listed what they ate over the course of a year, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But then again, if it wasn’t Stanley Tucci telling me about his meals, it might not have been the experience this book was.

I fell in love with Tucci’s earlier book, Taste, and also really enjoyed his show, Searching for Italy. There’s just something so appealing about his love of good food, sharing it with family and friends, and mastering the preparation of it, not to mention recognizing the errors he or others made.

A diary of sorts, Tucci recorded what he ate in 2023, sometimes sharing specifics—location, his dining companions, what he thought of the food—and sometimes just being general. At times he’ll talk about why he liked or didn’t like a particular dish; other times he’ll share a memorable anecdote. (Even some recipes!) He and his wife Felicity both love to cook and entertain, and they do a great deal of it in the book.

You won’t want to read this on an empty stomach, especially if you’re a fan of Italian food. Tucci’s literary voice is so clear and direct—he doesn’t beat around the bush when he has something negative to say. Boy, I’d love to grab a meal with him or just talk food!!

“Part of the beauty of a certain dish or a meal is that it is ephemeral. It can be repeated but it will never be the same. Like the performance of a play. The lines and staging will be the same, but the result will always be a little different.”

Book Review: "Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family" by Hannah Howard

In Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family, a food writer pays tribute to the women in the food industry who served as role models or mentors, juxtaposed with key events in her life.

As I’ve said before, I’m totally obsessed with food and cooking (and eating, of course), so when I see a memoir by a chef or food writer (or eater, lol), I, well, devour it. I enjoyed Hannah Howard’s last book, Feast, so I was really excited for this one.

The food industry has always been male-dominated, so Howard thought it was important to highlight the women she has met through her career—chefs, cooking teachers, restaurant/cafe owners, cheese makers, food purveyors, buyers, etc. But while each anecdote is important, Howard also shares her own struggles amidst these profiles.

She discusses what it’s like to be a woman in the food industry who has struggled with an eating disorder, and spends a significant amount of the book addressing the challenges she and her husband faced with having a child. It’s a powerful look at how even when you work in a fascinating field that people may envy, you still can face real problems.

Howard imbues her work with a great deal of emotion, and those who have struggled with fertility and/or eating disorders may find some of the book triggering. I would have liked more food-related content (I have a one-track mind), but this was an interesting read!!