Why We Cook

February 15, 2021
After a year spent likely cooking more at home, readers will rejoice in this inspiring collection of writing and art about the beautiful, loving act of preparing a meal. With contributions from food writers, chefs, farmers, restaurateurs, and cookbook authors, this book explores the role of food in private and public life. These writers share early culinary memories, career anecdotes, global food traditions, examinations of how our food is sourced from the Earth, and recipes galore. Readers will find profiles of chefs like Jen Castle and Blake Spalding of Hell's Backbone Grill, a secluded organic restaurant near the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and glimpse a day in the life at the BIPOC-centered Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York, which is committed to eradicating racism in the food industry. Plus, the recipes: Senegalese chicken yassa, Japanese soba, French canel�s. The shared experience of cooking, the ancient art of preparing and sharing nourishment, binds the entire collection, with contributors sharing how food ties them to countries of origin, heritage, and family. They share how the passion and the healing nature of cooking transcend all borders of geography and time. With Gardner's gorgeous watercolor illustrations, this book is a love letter to food and those who feed us.

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April 1, 2021

Asking herself why cooking is such an inspiration, illustrator Gardner sets out to answer this question and more. Through two years of research and interviews with more than 100 women in the food world, including professional chefs, farmers, journalists, authors, food justice activists, restaurateurs, critics, entrepreneurs, and home cooks (among others), Gardner expands on the "nuanced relationships women have with food and cooking"; this brief includes anyone who identifies as a woman. Illustrated by Gardner, the book includes narratives that recall memorable meals, kitchen portraits, essays, quotes, recipes, profiles, and responses to questions and themes as part of the "In Conversation" segments, along with stats from Gardner's survey of more than 350 women. Readers can explore themes outlined in the table of contents or use the contributor index to find a particular woman's contribution. VERDICT The range of voices shine a light on racial diversity in the culinary world in this visually evocative, comforting book. Easy to dive into at any point when seeking inspiration or a sense of community through food and cooking, this book is a good conversation starter.--Gricel Dominguez, Florida International Univ. Lib., Miami

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