Staff Picks

Part memoir, part manifesto, in Eat Like a Fish Bren Smith—a former commercial fisherman turned restorative ocean farmer—shares a bold new vision for the future of food: seaweed.

Through tales that span from his childhood in Newfoundland to his early years on the high seas aboard commercial fishing trawlers, from pioneering new forms of ocean... Read more »

If you enjoyed Minor Feelings, then you’ll love Crying in H Mart.

“This memoir is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of grief as well as a tender look at the complex relationship between a mother and daughter bridging generational and cultural gaps through the comforting creation of food. This book had me simultaneously sobbing and starving. A perfect read.”

LeeAnna, Blue Cypress Books

Taste

“Stanley Tucci brings the listener on a sumptuous and mouth-watering tour through his life, guided by his tastebuds and family traditions. As a reader from an Italian American family, many of Tucci's stories were a mirror to my own childhood and extended family, making this audiobook a complete joy. Tucci's epic travels, movie adventures, and bonds with loved ones are all framed by food. Recipes are peppered throughout the book, accompanying memories as a way to relive and process prized and pivotal moments. I'm not remotely a good cook, but I thoroughly loved listening to Tucci divvy out his cooking knowledge. This is not to be missed.”

Riona, Books & Books @ The Studios of Key West

World Travel

“There are not words for how much I miss the voice of Anthony Bourdain. A new collection of his writings put together with Laurie Woolever (his assistant for 10 years) details his favorite places on earth and with notes on how to visit them. As we prepare to travel as safely as possible again, it's comforting to have Bourdain as my companion if only in the brief and beautiful, irreverent and never-to-be-matched words he has left behind. ”

Kelly, Fountain Bookstore

A story about the trials and triumphs of a Black chef from Queens, New York, and a White media entrepreneur from Staten Island who built a relationship and a restaurant in the Deep South, hoping to bridge biases and get people talking about race, gender, class, and culture.
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY GARDEN & GUN •... Read more »

From Scratch

“I just finished wiping away my last tear as I close the curtain on From Scratch, a brilliant, compelling memoir. Tembi Locke lost her larger-than-life Italian chef husband at an early age to cancer. The book is a love letter to him as well as to enchanting Sicily and its aromatic, tantalizing food. But more than anything, it is the most memorable and thoughtful gift that her daughter will ever receive. I highly recommend the audio version which is read by the author. From Scratch is one of the best memoirs that I have ever read and one of my top five best books that I read this Summer.”

Melinda, Buttonwood Books and Toys

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Miami Herald • Newsday • The Huffington Post • Financial Times • GQ • Slate • Men’s Journal • Washington Examiner • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus Reviews • National Post • The Toronto Star • BookPage • Bookreporter

“I wanted the lettuce and... Read more »

Eat a Peach

“Unapologetically honest and raw, "Eat a Peach" is David Chang's no holds barred account of his rise to fame in the culinary world. David writes candidly about his complicated upbringing, mental illness, crippling anxiety and self doubt, and major anger management issues as he dishes up subversive, accessible food to the masses.  I appreciated how Chang's praise of his peers, mentors and aspiring chefs was peppered throughout the book. "Eat A Peach" doesn't shy away from anything, including Chang's fight against racism and his answer to the #meetoo movement.  If you are a foodie or enjoy a look behind the scenes of a business, you'll devour this memoir!The audio narrated by David Chang is excellent!”

Jessica, Main Street Books Davidson

Bestselling author and world-renowned chef David Lebovitz continues to mine the rich subject of his evolving ex-Pat life in Paris, using his perplexing experiences in apartment renovation as a launching point for stories about French culture, food, and what it means to revamp one's life. Includes dozens of new recipes.
 
When David Lebovitz... Read more »

Like so many others, David Lebovitz dreamed about living in Paris ever since he first visited the city in the 1980s. Finally, after a nearly two-decade career as a pastry chef and cookbook author, he moved to Paris to start a new life. Having crammed all his worldly belongings into three suitcases, he arrived, hopes high, at his new apartment in... Read more »

In the technicolor glow of the early seventies, Jessica B. Harris debated, celebrated, and danced her way from the jazz clubs of the Manhattan’s West Side to the restaurants of the Village, living out her buoyant youth alongside the great minds of the day—luminaries like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. My Soul Looks Back is her... Read more »

The inspiring and deeply personal memoir from highly acclaimed chef Dominique Crenn

By the time Dominique Crenn decided to become a chef, at the age of twenty-one, she knew it was a near impossible dream in France where almost all restaurant kitchens were run by men. So, she left her home and everything she knew to move to San Francisco, where... Read more »

An Onion in My Pocket

“Deborah Madison is the author of four award-winning vegetarian cookbooks and was the original chef at the famed Greens Restaurant in San Francisco. In this memoir, she shares stories from her childhood in California to her twenty years lived in a Buddhist monastery and beyond and her life experiences that paralleled the reshaping of the culinary world towards more fresh, diverse, vegetable-forward foods.”

Jennifer K., Blue Willow Bookshop

Save Me the Plums

“Disclosure: I am not a foodie even though I am married to a former chef. What sparked my interest in Save Me The Plums was the subject - Gourmet Magazine. Although neither of my parents could cook to save their lives, we always proudly displayed and saved every copy of Gourmet Magazine that came with our yearly subscription. I listened to the audio which is read by the author, Ruth Reichl, who went from food critic to editor in chief of Gourmet Magazine. Most times, I don't like the author reading their own books because of the poor delivery. Not in this case - Reichl does a fabulous job with her reading. The details of the inner workings of Conde Nast were fascinating. Although she was not a self-proclaimed feminist, she knew instinctively how to handle tense situations as well as difficult people. I enjoyed hearing about everything from the strong personalities of the staff to the beautiful offices and test kitchen. There are also mouthwatering recipes included in this memoir. I may not have been a foodie when I began Save The Plums but thanks to Ruth Reichl, I have a whole new appreciation for food and a successful food magazine. I highly recommend this delicious memoir.”

Melinda, Buttonwood Books and Toys

“You can almost taste the food in Bill Buford’s Dirt, an engrossing, beautifully written memoir about his life as a cook in France.” —The Wall Street Journal

What does it take to master French cooking? This is the question that drives Bill Buford to abandon his perfectly happy life in New York City and pack up and (with a wife and three-year-old... Read more »