a summer reading list for people who love food

novels and memoirs written by women who have shaped the food industry

biggggg summer reading energy

Maybe it’s the Knicks energy. Maybe it’s this stretch of 90-degree days in NYC that’s making me feel slightly insane. But I can feel it in my bones: this is going to be an absolutely feral summer.

For the first time in a while, I’m going to be in New York for the majority of it. No major trips (besides a week in Martha’s Vineyard), no flights — just hunkering down and enjoying a proper NYC summer. And one of the things I’m most excited about is lying in a park with an iced coffee, or an Arnold Palmer, or perhaps a spritz, and reading.

I’m really writing this one for myself, because I’ve been out of my reading groove and it’s time to get back in it. A while back I asked you guys for book recommendations for “people who love to cook and eat — think memoirs by all the iconic women who’ve helped shape the food industry.” You guys had a lot to say.

Today I’m sharing all the recs we consolidated- and I’m keeping this list exclusively women, because women rock, and we all already know Anthony Bourdain is iconic and needs no inclusion :)

My Recs

My Life in France — Julia Child
A slow, meandering read perfect for sleepy beach afternoons and morning coffees. You’ll feel like you’re exploring 1948 Marseille and Paris alongside Julia and really understand how her love of French cuisine unfolded.

Be Ready When the Luck Happens — Ina Garten
It’s impossible to read this book without hearing Ina’s iconic voice in your head the entire time. Full of advice and life lessons, and a genuinely motivating reminder to trust that the universe has more in store for us than we could ever imagine for ourselves. If you don’t know the story of how the Barefoot Contessa came to be… you must read.

Coming to My Senses — Alice Waters
I expected Chez Panisse to be much more central to this book, but it’s really an all-encompassing memoir about Alice Waters’ life beyond food. She had a deep community in the film industry, and it was such a good reminder that we don’t need to pour everything into a single interest or hobby- how freakin boring would that be! I was also struck by her iconic love of garlic, and how much Nonna would have agreed:

“And we learned that garlic is spoiled when it’s burned or browned in any way. I can tell right away when I go into a restaurant with bad garlic.”

AIN’T THAT THE TRUTH.

Pretty much everything by Ruth Reichl — but especially Tender at the Bone, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise and her latest (a novel!), The Paris Novel. Her food writing is seriously unrivaled and always makes me realize how limited my own vocabulary is when it comes to describing food.

Cooking for Mr. Latte — Amanda Hesser
An easy beach read that chronicles Amanda’s courtship with her now-husband, told through food, of course.

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On My Reading List

Here’s what you all suggested:

• Feast on Your Life and An Everlasting Meal — Tamar Adler

• Blood, Bones & Butter — Gabrielle Hamilton

• Finding Freedom in the Lost Kitchen — Erin French (”such a beautiful, inspiring memoir about betting on yourself and moving away from the expectations placed on you”)

• The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry — Kathleen Flinn

• Any of Laurie Colwin’s books — known for her portrayals of New York society and her food columns in Gourmet magazine

• Relish: My Life on a Plate — Prue Leith

• Honey from a Weed — Patience Gray

• An Omelette and a Glass of Wine — Elizabeth David

• How to Cook a Wolf — M.F.K. Fisher

• An Alphabet for Gourmets — M.F.K. Fisher (”not a cookbook, but it captures the love of food in such an interesting, fun, and somehow relatable way”)

• The Heart-Shaped Tin — Bee Wilson

• Summer Kitchens — Olia Hercules

• Bethlehem — Fadi Kattan

• Give a Girl a Knife — Amy Thielen

• Sweetbitter — Stephanie Danler

• The Last Course — Claudia Fleming

• In My Kitchen — Deborah Madison

• Near & Far — Heidi Swanson

If anyone wants to read along, I’m starting with Blood, Bones & Butter — it was by far the most highly recommended. Would love to hear your thoughts as I go.

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New recipe next week! I’m coming off an absolute bender of the past 2.5 weeks shooting a project I’ve been working on for nearly two years, and I cannot wait to share more :)

Chat soon,
Maddy