Tender At The Bone

Now available in paperback, a delightful, and hilarious, memoir in which leading food writer Ruth Reichl conveys her passion for food

Fast,  funny, always near the knuckle.The best kind of food writing - it makes you hungry'  Elizabeth Luard'While all good food writers are humorous.few are so riotously, effortlessly entertaining as Ruth Reichl..[She] is also witty, fair-minded, brave, and a wonderful writer'  New York Times Review of Books At an early age, Ruth Reichl discovered that 'food could be a way of making sense of the world. If you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they were.'  Her deliciously crafted memoir, Tender at the Bone, is the story of a life determined, enhanced, and defined in equal measure by a passion for food, unforgettable people and the love of tales well told.  Beginning with Reichl's mother, the notorious food poisoner known as the Queen of the Mold, Reichl introduces us to the fascinating characters who shaped her world and her tastes, from the gourmand Monsieur du Croix, who served Reichl her first soufflé, to those at her politically correct table in Berkeley who championed the organic food revolution in the 1970s.  Spiced with Reichl's infectious humour and sprinkled with her favourite recipes, Tender at the Bone is a witty and compelling chronicle of a culinary sensualist's coming-of-age.

Garlic And Sapphires

In the bestselling tradition of Nigel Slater and Anthony Bourdain, comes the sumptuous and riotous account of undercover food critic Ruth Reichl

"Genuinely touching, wonderfully revealing" NEW YORKER 
 
Garlic and Sapphires is Ruth Reichl's riotous account of the many disguises she employs to dine undetected when she takes on the much coveted and highly prestigious job of New York Times restaurant critic. 
____________________________________________________ 
 
Reichl knows that to be a good critic she has to be anonymous - but her picture is posted in every four-star, low-star kitchen in town and so she embarks on an extraordinary - and hilarious - undercover game of disguise - keeping even her husband and son in the dark. There is her stint as Molly, a frumpy blonde in an off-beige Armani suit that Ruth takes on when reviewing Le Cirque resulting in a double review of the restaurant: first she ate there as Molly; and then as she was coddled and pampered on her visit there as Ruth, New York Times food critic. Then there is the eccentric, mysterious red head on whom her husband - both disconcertingly and reassuringly - develops a terrible crush. She becomes Brenda the earth mother, Chloe the seductress and even Miriam her own (deceased) mother. 
 
What is even more remarkable about Reichl's spy games is that as she takes on these various guises, she finds herself changed not just physically, but also in character revealing how one's outer appearance can very much influence one's inner character, expectations, and appetites.

If this was just an account of life as a restaurant critic, it would be interesting enough. But Ruth Reichl somehow makes this an investigation into personality. In order not to be recognized when on the job as The New York Times' restaurant reviewer, she adopts a number of disguises and notes the effect this has on her own character and behavior. Oh, and the food: when she writes about what she's eating, I just salivate

Riotously, effortlessly entertaining - Ruth Reichl is witty, fair-minded, brave and a wonderful writer

Fast, funny, always near the knuckle - the best kind of food writing - it makes you hungry

Reading Ruth Reichl on food is almost as good as eating it

Joyous, witty and totally absorbing account of Reichl's role as food critic for the New York Times

Describing taste is extraordinarily difficult...but Reichl does it wonderfully

With a sprig of chervil in her hair, anyone would want to eat up the wonderful Ruth Reichl whole and on the bone. Food is love

Garlic and Sapphires is Ruth Reichl's riotous account of the many disguises she employs to dine undetected when she takes on the much coveted and highly prestigious job of New York Times restaurant critic. 
Reichl knows that to be a good critic she has to be anonymous - but her picture is posted in every four-star, low-star kitchen in town and so she embarks on an extraordinary - and hilarious - undercover game of disguise - keeping even her husband and son in the dark. There is her stint as Molly, a frumpy blonde in an off-beige Armani suit that Ruth takes on when reviewing Le Cirque resulting in a double review of the restaurant: first she ate there as Molly; and then as she was coddled and pampered on her visit there as Ruth, New York Times food critic. Then there is the eccentric, mysterious red head on whom her husband - both disconcertingly and reassuringly - develops a terrible crush. She becomes Brenda the earth mother, Chloe the seductress and even Miriam her own (deceased) mother. 
What is even more remarkable about Reichl's spy games is that as she takes on these various guises, she finds herself changed not just physically, but also in character revealing how one's outer appearance can very much influence one's inner character, expectations, and appetites.

Love, Adventure and a Passion for Cooking

Comfort Me With Apples

'A personal memoir, hilarious and painful in turns-A pleasure from start to finish' Guardian

Ruth Reichl began cooking at the age of seven. It was pure self-defense; her mother, who was affectionately known as ‘the Queen of Mold,’ inadvertently poisoned people, and Ruth felt she could do a slightly better job. Trained as an art historian, she ended up following her passion for food. She had a modest restaurant in Berkeley, then became the restaurant critic of The Los Angeles Times and then the New York Times before being named Editor in Chief of Gourmet Magazine. She has written four memoirs and three cookbooks, but Delicious! is her first novel. 
 
She lives in New York with her husband and son - and deeply regrets that she neglected to give them any reason to learn to cook.

In this delightful sequel to her bestseller Tender at the Bone, the beloved food writer Ruth Reichl returns with more tales full of love, life, humour and marvellous meals. Ruth Reichl's pursuit of good food and good company leads her to New York and China, France and Los Angeles.  She cooks and dines with world-famous chefs and the three star aristocracy of French cuisine, and her accounts of these meetings range from the madcap to the sublime.  Reichl lovingly recreates all her marvellous meals in such succulent detail that readers will yearn from truffles in Provence and shrimp in Beijing. Throughout it all, Reichl is unafraid, even eager, to poke holes in the pretensions of food critics, making each and every course a hilarious and instructive occasion for novices and experts alike.  She shares some of her first recipes so readers can make the Dry-Fried Shrimp she first tasted in China, or the Dacquoise served at the end of a magical visit to a Paris bistro.  Reichl also shares the intimacies of her personal life in a style so honest and warm that readers will feel they are enjoying a cosy dining-table conversation with a friend. In Comfort Me With Apples, Reichl again demonstrates her inimitable ability to combine food writing, humour and memoir into an art form.

Ruth Reichl

Reichl’s vivid descriptions of food will have readers salivating, and an insider’s look at life at a food magazine is fascinating. Her satisfying coming-of-age novel of love and loss vividly demonstrates the power of food to connect people across cultures and generations

Rich characterization, a bright New York setting, transcendent discussions of taste and food

A delightful mix of mystery, romance and mouthwatering food

Dear Mr Beard, 
 
I sent my Magic Moments off yesterday, and that made me think of you. 
 
I hope the cookies will remind Father of our life here. Or maybe I should say what life used to be, before the war changed everything . . . 
 
Hidden in the library of Delicious! magazine young intern Billie discovers the wartime letters of twelve-year-old Lulu Swan, written to distinguished food writer, James Beard. Lulu’s can-do spirit in the face of food shortages and other hardships help Billie come to terms with her own tragic past. Until one day it occurs to her: Lulu Swan might still be alive...

Ruth Reichl

Praise for Delicious!

Reichl’s vivid descriptions of food will have readers salivating, and an insider’s look at life at a food magazine is fascinating. Her satisfying coming-of-age novel of love and loss vividly demonstrates the power o ...

Rich characterization, a bright New York setting, transcendent discussions of taste and food

Irresistibly fun

Reichl’s vivid descriptions of food will have readers salivating, and an insider’s look at life at a food magazine is fascinating. Her satisfying coming-of-age novel of love and loss vividly demonstrates the power o ...

Rich characterization, a bright New York setting, transcendent discussions of taste and food

Irresistibly fun

Reichl’s vivid descriptions of food will have readers salivating, and an insider’s look at life at a food magazine is fascinating. Her satisfying coming-of-age novel of love and loss vividly demonstrates the power o ...

Rich characterization, a bright New York setting, transcendent discussions of taste and food

Irresistibly fun

Books by Ruth Reichl

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