Book Lover’s Day is on August 9!  We encourage you to grab or download a good book, then settle down in your favorite reading place.

Looking for a good book to read?  We asked some of our staff to share their favorite foodie book.

Gaelle Feliz, Client Innovation Project Manager: 

Gaelle’s #BookSelfie

“I really enjoy Food Anatomy – The Curious Parts and Pieces of our Edible World, by Julia Rothman. This is a beautifully illustrated book that talks about the different kinds of food and the way it is prepared all over the world. You can learn something new by flipping to a random page!”

Bernadette White, Community Relations Officer:

Bernie took a #BookSelfie with her favorite foodie book (and favorite dog!)

“My favorite food-related book is Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. The book is a history of how salt has influenced the world- from being a seasoner to preserver of food, to being the epicenter of an Independence movement. We take this often used mineral for granted- and this book highlights the mighyy power of NaCl.”

Diane Zapata, Director of Volunteer Services:

“My favorite food book is a book from my favorite restaurant: The Parthenon Cookbook: Great Mediterranean Recipes from the Heart of Chicago’s Greektown by Camille Stagg. My father worked in Chicago when I was a kid, and after going to the Parthenon for lunch, he started taking our family there for a treat. This was the only restaurant in the city that my Dad would take us to. The restaurant always had lamb on a spit in the window, gyros carved from a rotating spool, and flaming saganaki followed by shouts of ‘Opa!’  The restaurant used to get so packed, they would serve complementary shots of ouzo to people waiting for a table. Sadly, the restaurant closed last year – so I rely on the recipes from this book to connect me to that wonderful place.”

Alex Blake, Food Sourcing Coordinator:

“My favorite food-related book is Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. What I like most about Anthony Bourdain and his writing is that he clearly loves food and the kitchen culture, but wants people to know that it’s not a glamorous life. I also love that he is very much aware that the vast majority of the food Americans eat (even at the fancy restaurants) is prepared by Mexican and Central-American immigrants who he specifically calls the best chefs he’s ever met. This book was a groundbreaker when it came out and is still relevant today.”

Celeste Chapman, Development Operations Manager:

“I recommend two books one by, and one about M.F.K. Fisher.  M.F.K. Fisher’s writing on food is foundational and transformative to the changes in American food culture. As They Were by M.F.K. Fisher is a collection of 19 essays – reading this is like taking a gastronomical holiday through time and space. Her writing places you at the table with her tasting the trout at a restaurant in Switzerland.  It is fascinating to then read her biography, Poet of the Appetites – The Lives and Loves of M.F.K. Fisher by Joan Reardon, through which it is made clear the contrast between art and the more complex realities of life.”

Cat Cvengros, Vice President of Development and Marketing:

“My favorite food book is actually a fascinating reference tome called, The Food Lover’s Companion. I love it because you can learn about new (to you) or obscure ingredients, like what I learned last night when trying something new with asparagus: amasake (or amazake) – a Japanese fermented drink made from koji and cooked rice. Amasake ranges in texture from relatively thin to as thick as a milkshake and can be served cold or hot. It is available in various flavors in natural food stores and Asian markets. I was using it to flavor braised asparagus, which turned out deliciously.”

Joan Sanborn, Food Sourcing Senior Manager:

“The most recent book I read for my book club is Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, which is set for film release on August 17th.  This books mentions food a lot! The characters debate where to get the best noodles in Singapore and there are many footnotes describing exactly what the food mentioned is comprised of and its significance. As I saw in a review on line: In the bestselling novel Crazy Rich Asians, author Kevin Kwan fills his pages with juicy drama involving Singapore’s elite families, and he almost devotes the same amount of space to the Southeast Asian nation’s mouthwatering food.”

Olivia Kirkland, Marketing Coordinator:

Olivia’s #BookSelfie

“My favorite food-related book is Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. If there was ever a book to make me want to become a vegetarian, this would probably be it. It will challenge how you view eating meat. Foer forces you to take a hard, long look at the meat industry, and illustrates that it’s the HOW we eat meat that’s the problem, not the just the fact that we do it. That said, I still eat meat on the regular, so go figure. At least it will afford you a hefty dose of guilt!”

Olivia Teter, Head of Client Innovation:

“I really enjoyed My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki. The book explores the differences between Japanese and American culture and comments on both.”