One of the challenge points on the Better World Books 2017 Reading Challenge is to read a food memoir. Whether you’re participating in the challenge or not, food is a universal topic. Food memoirs go beyond recipes and take us into the worlds of learning to cook, traveling to new destinations and flavors, connecting with our families and pasts and even learning how to make delicious meals and memories. Take a bite out of one of these or many food memoirs for some delicious and diverse reading.
Learn more about our reading challenge here, and join our Goodreads Reading Challenge Group for more suggestions!
Delancey by Molly Wizenberg
Author and blogger, Molly Wizenberg writes about the ups and downs of opening a pizzeria. Get a copy.
Licking the Spoon by Candace Walsh
Food, family and identity often find themselves intermingled. Walsh navigates these things by looking to cookbook authors as she rebuilds and reimagines her life. Get a copy.
Day of Honey by Annia Ciezadlo
Food in a time of war and a place of unrest can by as nourishing to the soul as it is to the body. This is what Ciezadlo discovers as she witnesses firsthand life, marriage and food in the war-torn Middle East. Get a copy.
Miriam’s Kitchen by Elizabeth Ehrlich
Distanced from the reality of her Jewish heritage, Ehrlich reconnects with the past as she cooks with her mother-in-law, Miriam. Get a copy.
Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good by Kathleen Flinn
Taking the reader back to her childhood, Flinn captures the memoirs of home-cooked meals, her parents’ pizza parlor and more recipes from her family that make up her culinary roots. Get a copy.
Recipes for Disaster by Tess Rafferty
Telling the tale of her comedy career, Rafferty takes the reader on a recipe-filled adventure in cooking, eating and making memories. Get a copy.
Heat by Bill Buford
Buford feels the heat in this memoir about learning from some of the best in the food business. Get a copy.
Beaten, Seared, and Sauced by Jonathan Dixon
This memoir reveals the real world of training at one of the most elite cook schools, the Culinary Institute of America. Get a copy.
Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
Dissatisfied with where her career is, Powell takes on the project of blogging about cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Get a copy.
My Life in France by Julia Child
Arriving in France unable to even cook, Julia Child learns that and far more as she becomes a cookbook author and culinary celebrity. Get a copy.
What are your favorite food memoirs?
You absolutely MUST HAVE “The Language of Baklava” by Diana Abu-Jaber, who is Jordanian-American, and writes about her father’s obsession with food. It is laugh-outloud hilarious, and the food she discusses will leave you drooling. It’s one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.