Taste and See
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Food is often the topic of books – usually in a multitude of colourful cookery books with tempting recipes to read and savour though rarely to actually cook! We have also had travel books featuring the food of different countries, and even memoirs featuring culinary memories from the past.
My Family and Other Rock Stars is a recent one by Tiffany Murray. It includes recipes which her mother made for the many rock stars who came to the famous recording studios at Rockfield from Freddie Mercury to David Bowie. There are also a growing number of fictional books featuring food – one memorable one for me was based in a Tea Shop famous for its Cheesecake. The recipe was included at the end and I remember attempting to recreate it for a Reading Group supper years ago. Needless to say I was not hugely successful though the members of the Group were kind enough to eat it anyway.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus comes to mind as well -a quirky best seller from the past few years, which features an eccentric Chemist whose take is that cooking and baking is basic chemistry and accidentally creates a popular TV cookery series.
I have recently read Butter by Asako Yuzuki It’s the story of a journalist Rika who meets a convicted serial killer Kajii in a Tokyo Detention Centre in order to write an article for her newspaper. It takes a long time for Rika to win the confidence of Gourmet cook Kajii and involves a few lessons in discerning and appreciating tastes as Kajii sets culinary challenges for Rika. Kajii is expert at using subtle mind games to get what she wants and is renowned for using her cookery wiles to lure her victims to their deaths. She begins to use the same tactics on Rika throwing her whole life into uproar. This is an interesting insight into the Japanese mindset as well as shining a light on the lives of ordinary people both in Tokyo and the rural areas. Butter will never taste the same after reading this – it is something to savour and appreciate especially as Japan has suffered butter shortages in past years and seems to be central to most of the gourmet dishes mentioned. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had been more familiar with the Japanese dishes which were being described but it was intriguing and quite different from any other book I’ve read recently.
As with baking and cookery the best way to appreciate a book is to taste and see for yourself – and then spread the word around afterwards to your friends to encourage them to read too so you can discuss the book further!
