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Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink Audiobook
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(3.99) - 531 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Since its earliest days, The New Yorker has been a tastemaker–literally. As the home of A. J. Liebling, Joseph Wechsberg, and M. F. K. Fisher, who practically invented American food writing, the magazine established a tradition that is carried forward today by irrepressible literary gastronomes including Calvin Trillin, Bill Buford, Adam Gopnik, Jane Kramer, and Anthony Bourdain. Now, in this indispensable collection, The New Yorker dishes up a feast of delicious writing on food and drink, from every age of its fabled eighty-year history. There are memoirs, short stories, tell-alls, and poems–ranging in tone from sweet to sour and in subject from soup to nuts. M. F. K. Fisher pays homage to “cookery witches,” those mysterious cooks who possess “an uncanny power over food,” while John McPhee valiantly trails an inveterate forager and is rewarded with stewed persimmons and white-pine-needle tea. There is Roald Dahl’s famous story “Taste,” in which a wine snob’s palate comes in for some unwelcome scrutiny, and Julian Barnes’s ingenious tale of a lifelong gourmand who goes on a very peculiar diet for still more peculiar reasons. Adam Gopnik asks if French cuisine is done for, and Calvin Trillin investigates whether people can actually taste the difference between red wine and white. We journey with Susan Orlean as she distills the essence of Cuba in the story of a single restaurant, and with Judith Thurman as she investigates the arcane practices of Japan’s tofu masters. Closer to home, Joseph Mitchell celebrates the old New York tradition of the beefsteak dinner, and Mark Singer shadows the city’s foremost fisherman-chef. Selected from the magazine’s plentiful larder, SECRET INGREDIENTS celebrates all forms of gustatory delight.
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"If it weren't for the inclusion of essays dating back nearly 100 years, this would be total foodie fluff. Thoroughly enjoyable foodie fluff, of course, but still . . . But some of the older essays give this a little more substance, and of course, the fact that it's a series of magazine articles mean that you can read a bit here, a bit there, in any order you want, when you're in the mood for this sort of thing."
— Chris (4 out of 5 stars)
Secret Ingredients Listener Reviews
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" Hey, if you like food, like to cook, or just like to read about both this is an entertaining book. Some older articles are in here, but they are still good to read. It's an easy pick up, put down book. Great bedside reading, though watch out, you might get out of bed for a snack! "
— Elisabeth, 2/9/2014 -
" Started out slow, picked up pace with exciting and interesting articles, then kinda fizzled out at the end. Loved the articles which explored interesting and unheard of delicacies. Even enjoyed articles about food processes I knew very little about, ie; cheese nun, the art of tofu. Also, very much enjoyed the Julia Childs article/bio, but overall found the entire collection together to be lacking. I find the New Yorker always has such interesting food-related articles, that it was kind of a let-down when a collection of said-related articles did not provide as great reading. Perhaps some of teh writing was outdated, and could not keep me as enthused to read about soem French bistro in the 1920s... (no that can't be it, 'cause the Dorothy Parker article was one of my favorites). Hard to explain what I found lacking. Recommend subscribing to New Yorker and looking up current issues articles regarding food/restaurants/booze/and food. Perhaps a good bedside-table book, to open and read an article, put away, move on to the next great literary treat, repeat... "
— Sean, 1/25/2014 -
" Unfortunately, I just couldn't plow through the dense collection. I'm sure there is some great writing about food in here -- after all, it's a collection from the pages of the New Yorker. I suspect it had more to do with my lack of time than a true lack of value in the book itself, and I think this is a failed read I'll come back to later when I have more time to explore the variety of essays. "
— Anne, 1/25/2014 -
" As always, The New Yorker fills us up with good things. Esecially love Trillin and Bourdain at his snarkiest. "
— Liz, 1/25/2014 -
" Wonderful essays, short stories, from 1920's to now. some very funny, too. "
— Sharon, 1/18/2014 -
" A perfect book to pick up and read a chapter a night. Love the food stories and food facts from the varied authors. "
— Wendy, 1/17/2014 -
" I should have known this wouldn't be to my style, as I don't lke the New Yorker. I left this one after three discs into it. I love food writing but most of these essays were too wordy and foodie for me. If you are also a person less interested in accounts of the restaurants of the 1920's and 1930's in France than in good entertaining writing about food, check out Ruth Reichl's books, Anthony Bourdain's A Chef's Tour, Julia Child's My Life In France, or Julie and Julia - all of which were great reads! "
— Holly, 1/16/2014 -
" Good book to pick up read an article, put down and pick it up again. All and all a good read. "
— Lance, 1/14/2014 -
" I love reading 2-3 of these between novels. Funny how the different "foodies" over time show up in eachother's articles ... "
— Abbie, 1/12/2014 -
" My husband (who is a chef) and I are reading this to one another and eating it up story by story. It is inspiring him and making me hungry. Good combo right? "
— Jesse, 12/31/2013 -
" I am currently reading a chapter or two a day... "
— Autumn, 12/29/2013 -
" Keeping to the high standards of The New Yorker Magazine, these essays and a smattering of food related cartoons for spice will have you smiling, chuckling, and guffawing. Wonderful collection. "
— Peg, 12/10/2013 -
" I had to return this to the library before I finished it, but I enjoyed most of the essays I read. I'll probably pick it up again sometime. "
— Whitney, 12/2/2013 -
" Most of them are great, but anything by Dorothy Parker or Calvin Trillin makes me pee my pants "
— Bryan, 11/26/2013 -
" Cheese nun! Raw cheese forever. "
— Mahria, 11/22/2013 -
" I liked it for the reasons that I did and hated it for reasons similar. Food writing is stupid, but so is everything else. Woody Allen's piece is very funny. "
— Clark, 11/18/2013 -
" Lots of great reading - a collection of New Yorker articles ranging over many topics and eras. Tremendously enjoyable. "
— Dan, 11/7/2013 -
" I read this book in my foodie lit class. Loved it. Highly recommend it for foodies! :) "
— Lori, 6/20/2013 -
" Delightfully snooty; the combination of New Yorker + cooking will always brighten my day. "
— Erica, 4/26/2013 -
" A feast for the mind to be nibbled or devoured! "
— Christine, 4/26/2013 -
" Entertaining, but definitely not something to look forward to before bed. "
— Maureen, 2/18/2013 -
" This book has been an amazing read! It's a HUGE collection of articles and there've only been a few that I didn't find totally worth reading. Glad I bought it on my kindle b/c the paperback edition looks heavy! Am almost done w/it and am feeling sad that it'll be over soon! "
— Lee, 12/23/2012 -
" A collection of New York writings and cartoons about food and drink. An appetizing browse. "
— Virginia, 10/31/2012 -
" If you can get past the first few chapters written by annoying Francophiles, the rest of the compilation is a great read. The variety of writing is worth the time with some truly compelling works combined with some really creative ones. "
— Melissa, 6/14/2012 -
" Fun read for a wannabe foodie (me). "
— Margot, 4/11/2012 -
" A little bit of everything from serious culinary journalism to goofy humor. There are a few hairs in the soup that kept me from giving it five stars, but it's very tasty overall and the spectacular selection of short stories as the "dessert course" are worth the cover price by themselves. "
— Owen, 12/30/2011 -
" This collection of food writing from "The New Yorker" covers the decades from the 1930s to the 2000s. It features fiction and non-fiction, from authors both famous (Anthony Bourdain, M.F.K. Fisher, Dorothy Parker) and non-famous. I had no idea that just reading about food could be so enthralling. "
— Susan, 8/19/2011 -
" Once I got past the first section, which had a terrible pox of italics, all was well (despite what appears to be a significant overrepresentation of seafood). "
— Sarah, 4/30/2011 -
" a lovely romp thru the new yorkers collection of columns about food. i love the magazine and enjoyed this collection "
— Jeanne, 4/18/2011 -
" A collection of New York writings and cartoons about food and drink. An appetizing browse. "
— Virginia, 3/5/2011 -
" Good book to pick up read an article, put down and pick it up again. All and all a good read. "
— Lance, 2/14/2011 -
" Keeping to the high standards of The New Yorker Magazine, these essays and a smattering of food related cartoons for spice will have you smiling, chuckling, and guffawing. Wonderful collection. <br/> "
— Peg, 1/24/2011 -
" A feast for the mind to be nibbled or devoured! "
— Christine, 1/11/2011 -
" I had to return this to the library before I finished it, but I enjoyed most of the essays I read. I'll probably pick it up again sometime. "
— Whitney, 12/30/2010 -
" If you can get past the first few chapters written by annoying Francophiles, the rest of the compilation is a great read. The variety of writing is worth the time with some truly compelling works combined with some really creative ones. "
— Melissa, 11/22/2010 -
" I liked it for the reasons that I did and hated it for reasons similar. Food writing is stupid, but so is everything else. Woody Allen's piece is very funny. "
— Clark, 9/27/2010 -
" Liked everything but the fiction. How does the New Yorker's fiction manage to infuriate me so much? "
— Christie, 4/2/2010
About David Remnick
David Remnick has been the editor of the New Yorker since 1998 and a staff writer since 1992. His books include the Pulitzer Prize–winning Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire, King of the World: Muhammed Ali and the Rise of an American Hero, The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama, and two collections of his magazine pieces.
About the Narrators
Erin Bennett is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a stage actress who played Carlie Roberts in the BBC radio drama Torchwood: Submission. She can be heard on several video games. Regional theater appearances include the Intiman, Pasadena Playhouse, Arizona Theatre Company, A Noise Within, Laguna Playhouse, and the Getty Villa. She trained at Boston University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Blair Underwood is an author and award-winning actor, director, and producer. He lives in Los Angeles, California.