This is the second of three memoirs by Ruth Reichl (so far). Ms. Reichl has been in the news of late, as she was the editor of Gourmet magazine, which recently ceased publication. She has hinted that maybe now she will write another memoir, covering her time at Gourmet.
Having previous read "Garlic and Sapphires," an accounting of her time as the restaurant critic for the New York Times, I knew that I would be reading a book full of food. From communal kitchens in Berkeley, to the gourmet restaurants of Los Angeles, from back room kitchens in China and Thailand to the markets of Spain, the food described tempts even me to try something like calves brain.
This particular book begins in Berkeley, and spans Ruth's first marriage, her first food writing jobs, and the loves and losses she experienced during this time. This is a wonderful story of how a woman finds herself and her place in the world.