Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2021 Read Harder Challenge
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Task 11: Read a food memoir by an author of color
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Dec 07, 2020 01:06PM
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From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home was really good. It's not strictly a food memoir, but a lot of it was about food.
Some ideas: Yes, Chef
Eat a Peach
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food
Stealing Buddha's Dinner
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South
Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir
The Language of Baklava: A Memoir
A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family
Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants
Mango and Peppercorns: A Memoir of Food, an Unlikely Family, and the American Dream
Jessica wrote: "Some ideas: Yes, Chef
Eat a Peach
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food
Stealing Buddha's Dinner
[book..."
Thank you! Mango and Peppercorns sounds especially interesting, as I love Vietnamese food but don’t get to try it as often as I’d like.
Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India by Madhur Jaffrey or the wonderful The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty.
I think I'm going to read In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers from the Eight African Countries That Touch the Indian Ocean by Hawa Hassan.
Some of my recommends are already listed, but here are some more:Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen
Life Without a Recipe
Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir
Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America
Monsoon Diary: A Memoir with Recipes
Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah
Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir was really good! I read it this year and highly recommend it.
Food tasks in challenges for 2020 had me looking into a bunch that will fit for this 2021 task, so I'm eager to explore some stuff I saved and never got to for this one.
I will be reading Eating India: An Odyssey into the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices which has been on my bookshelf for several years.
Where I Come From: Lessons from a Latino Chef This one would count double for #11 and #15 in the challenge
I’m excited about this prompt. Very original. I have been wanting to read, The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty.
Seconding the rec for Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine--one of my top books for 2020. Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want is an amazing one if you're looking for something by an LGBTQ author.
The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem and/or Our Harlem: Seven Days of Cooking, Music and Soul at the Red Rooster which is only available on Audible.
notes from a young black chef by kwame owuachi
I'd love any recs for books kind of off the beaten path for this one, as I'm not normally a fan of food books or memoirs. Although Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants looks interesting!
Lynn wrote: "The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem and/or Our Harlem: Seven Days of Cooking, Music and Soul at the Red Rooster which is only available ..."Thanks for that suggestion: I had some extra Audible credits to use, so I've downloaded Our Harlem: Seven Days of Cooking, Music and Soul at the Red Rooster.
Can highly recommend The Time Machine. It's about him trying to recreate his mum's cooking to remember her. Really lovely and moving. It's very short and 25p from the sale of each copy goes to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.
I'm currently reading Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds for this year's "about a food you haven't tried" prompt. Not done yet, but it's good so far!
Any suggestions for a book for this prompt by an LGBTQ author?
Rebekah wrote: "Any suggestions for a book for this prompt by an LGBTQ author?"Highly recommend Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want!
Stupid question: does Georgia (the country not the state) count for this? I don't really know what the term POC / author of colour includes / how far it goes.
For this I am choosing the The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South.
I read Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants and it was fun and fascinating. I only had 4 books by authors of colour on my foodie non-fic to-read list:
- Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir (a popular one in this thread!)
- The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities
- Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds
- Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China
But there's so many good recommendations in this thread too.
I stumbled across A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family by Cheryl Lu-Lien Lan and it fits the prompt perfectly!
Julia wrote: "Stupid question: does Georgia (the country not the state) count for this? I don't really know what the term POC / author of colour includes / how far it goes."Georgians (the country) are primarily Caucasian so typically I do not think they would be considered a person of color. However, you may find a specific author who is not white from Georgia which would count.
For people looking for a book in this category...If you can find it, I highly recommend Pig Tails 'n Breadfruit by Austin Clarke. It's food and memoir and Barbados.
I'm probably going to read Indian-ish: Recipes and Antics from a Modern American Family, by Priya Krishna, because I think it will be vegetarian-friendly.
Jamie wrote: "notes from a young black chef by kwame owuachi"Same!
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I was going to read it for a 2020 reading challenge task, but didn't end up getting to it, so I think I'm going to use If I Can Cook/You Know God Can: African American Food Memories, Meditations, and Recipes by Ntozake Shange.
I don't have a plan yet for this year, but wanted to let anyone looking know that Yes, Chef (Marcus Samuellson) is a really good read. I read it for the 2016 Read Harder. And if you do audiobook, he narrates the book himself and does a good job of it.
I wanted to read Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai but i'm not sure it counts as it is quite short. I mean, i'm going to read it anyway but it may not qualify as i've heard it described as a "pamphlet" many times.
Tiny Moons sounds interesting and like a good choice. There is no page minimum stated.
Rachel wrote: "Lynn wrote: "The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem and/or Our Harlem: Seven Days of Cooking, Music and Soul at the Red Rooster which is on...Thanks for that suggestion: I had some extra Audible credits to use, so I've downloaded Our Harlem: Seven Days of Cooking, Music and Soul at the Red Rooster."
I hope you enjoy it as much as I am!
I have on my TBR “notes from a young black chef: a memoir” which looks interesting! This is a new genre for me
I've had Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir on my TBR list (and my Kindle) for a number of years now. This might be the year!
Bobby wrote: "I'm probably going to read Indian-ish: Recipes and Antics from a Modern American Family, by Priya Krishna, because I think it will be vegetarian-friendly."This is vegetarian friendly. I read it this year and enjoyed it. I have tried some of the recipes and am also vegetarian.
Rebekah wrote: "What about Good Seeds: A Menominee Indian Food Memoir, by Thomas Pecore Weso? Would that work?"Indigenous authors definitely count!
Kelsey wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Any suggestions for a book for this prompt by an LGBTQ author?"Highly recommend Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want!"
Is Ruby Tandoh a POC?
Liza wrote: "Kelsey wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Any suggestions for a book for this prompt by an LGBTQ author?"Highly recommend Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want!"
Is Ruby Tandoh a POC?"
She’s part Ghanaian, and has referred to herself as a person of colour in interviews and such.
I just finished Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes. It's a fun, quick read and I recommend it highly. I think cookbook as graphic novel is a great idea, and she includes fun facts about each recipe and how it connected to her memories of childhood and her mom.
i read Eat a Peach. If you are interested in 2010 food culture and chefs behaving badly and then sort of atoning you will enjoy the read.
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