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The Art of Eating
This book is the essence of M.F.K. Fisher, whose wit and fulsome opinions on food and those who produce it, comment upon it, and consume it are as apt today as they were several decades ago, when she composed them. Why did she choose food and hunger, she was asked, and she replied, 'When I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth, and the love of it . . . and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied.'
Includes five of her most popular works:
Serve It Forth (1937)
Consider the Oyster (1941)
How to Cook a Wolf (1942)
The Gastronomical Me (1943)
An Alphabet of Gourmets (1949)
Includes five of her most popular works:
Serve It Forth (1937)
Consider the Oyster (1941)
How to Cook a Wolf (1942)
The Gastronomical Me (1943)
An Alphabet of Gourmets (1949)
749 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
About the author
M.F.K. Fisher
83 books476 followersMary Frances Kennedy Fisher was a prolific and well-respected writer, writing more than 20 books during her lifetime and also publishing two volumes of journals and correspondence shortly before her death in 1992. Her first book, Serve it Forth, was published in 1937. Her books deal primarily with food, considering it from many aspects: preparation, natural history, culture, and philosophy. Fisher believed that eating well was just one of the "arts of life" and explored the art of living as a secondary theme in her writing. Her style and pacing are noted elements of her short stories and essays.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 306 reviews
March 30, 2008
This is my all time favorite book, I cannot live without it. I keep a copy at my bedside and take another copy travelling with me. I reread it constantly and reference it in conversation.
It is about life and food. How does that not relate to every single person in the world.
I first read this collection after returning from living several months in Borneo, where I finally built up the motivation to change my career path and continue my schooling overseas in England. Back home, I found the book on my mother's bookshelves and set about reading it, and it only furthered my determination to do what I needed to do abroad.
Five years later, having travelled to Morocco, Spain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, back to Borneo, all in the name of my studies, and with my degree in hand, I kept this book with me. It educated me in recognizing the soul of food. I've read a few other MFK Fisher books, but none have been as usual as the art of eating.
Whenever I see used copies, I snap them up, and give away to friends.
It is about life and food. How does that not relate to every single person in the world.
I first read this collection after returning from living several months in Borneo, where I finally built up the motivation to change my career path and continue my schooling overseas in England. Back home, I found the book on my mother's bookshelves and set about reading it, and it only furthered my determination to do what I needed to do abroad.
Five years later, having travelled to Morocco, Spain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, back to Borneo, all in the name of my studies, and with my degree in hand, I kept this book with me. It educated me in recognizing the soul of food. I've read a few other MFK Fisher books, but none have been as usual as the art of eating.
Whenever I see used copies, I snap them up, and give away to friends.
June 3, 2007
even if you're not a foodie, this is a really wonderfull book. no one writes about food like MFK Fisher and no one writes about food better than MFK Fisher. it brings tears to my eyes. i mean, fuck Anthony Bourdin and Kitchen Confidential (even though i enjoyed it) because MFK was writing about offal and wolves long before Anthony Bourdin decided to start wearing Dead Boys tee shirts and taping television shows where he tries absinthe.
January 2, 2023
This was the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher and published in 2004. This beautiful and rich book has been on my coffee table for a few years, as I have enjoyed reading this as the mood struck me. This edition is a compliation of her works that includes five of Ms. Fisher's previous books: Serve It Forth; Consider the Oyster; How to Cook a Wolf; The Gastronomical Me; and An Alphabet for Gourmets. Some of these books have been reviewed, some not.
In the Foreward by Joan Reardon, she states that an introduction is needed because in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication The Art of Eating mandates putting this seminal work into the context of twenty-first century gastronomy. Ms. Reardon notes that it has become a benchmark in all that is original and memorable in America's culinary writing during the first half of the twentieth century with her fresh vision. While studying in Dijon in the early 1930s, M.F.K. Francis was exposed to French wines and food and steeped in the rich tradition of Continental gastronomical writing. That coupled with her rich tradition of fresh and seasonal ingredients nurtured in California mentored by variously trained cooks in her family's kitchen as well as her fascination with the language and lore of culinary history. This anthology of essays is a gorgeous book for anyone who has an interest in the culinary arts and all that it has come to mean to each of us. This beautiful volume will remain on my coffee table where I have access whenever the mood dictates.
In the Foreward by Joan Reardon, she states that an introduction is needed because in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication The Art of Eating mandates putting this seminal work into the context of twenty-first century gastronomy. Ms. Reardon notes that it has become a benchmark in all that is original and memorable in America's culinary writing during the first half of the twentieth century with her fresh vision. While studying in Dijon in the early 1930s, M.F.K. Francis was exposed to French wines and food and steeped in the rich tradition of Continental gastronomical writing. That coupled with her rich tradition of fresh and seasonal ingredients nurtured in California mentored by variously trained cooks in her family's kitchen as well as her fascination with the language and lore of culinary history. This anthology of essays is a gorgeous book for anyone who has an interest in the culinary arts and all that it has come to mean to each of us. This beautiful volume will remain on my coffee table where I have access whenever the mood dictates.
June 20, 2008
MFK Fisher is just so great - I'm humbled by the rightness of her writing and it sounds utterly corny to say that this is a book about love, life, and dignity. There is so much here - I read the Roman and Edwardian shopping lists of "Serve it Forth" to Jeff on our last road trip and we laughed like crazy, followed by her tips on how to keep your cat and dog fed when the chips are down. The quiet, powerful protest of the center book, "How to Cook a Wolf", was so touching to me - how to remain human in the face of an increasingly inhuman world. I'm just finishing "The Gastronomical Me" and it's both heartbreaking and fierce - a hard look at what we do for love that travels from her days as an innocent newlywed in Dijon to the impending war and exile from her beautiful Swiss home. Just marvelous. I so wish this fabulous dame was a friend of mine; she is the most bright, audacious, self-aware, funny dinner guest one could hope to have.
July 29, 2008
I found this book to be 90% insufferable, 10% wonderful and unlike anything else I've ever read. This book is kind of old, so a lot of the insufferable-ness is just how old fashioned the writing style is. But a lot of the author's attitudes were also pretty obnoxious - her description of nuoc mam was downright racist. While I'm sure her palette is a million times more sophisticated than mine, there are some things that she doesn't appreciate which are perfectly delicious. This book is a compilation of several books that were originally published separately. I recommend just reading "How to Cook a Wolf."
January 4, 2019
Finished Serve It Forth and putting aside for now. Fisher's writing is best when she's personal, and even the tactile squalor of a kitchen is sexy in her hands.
Favorite passage:
Favorite passage:
There are only three things I need, to make my kitchen a pleasant one as long as it is clean.
First, I need space enough to get a good simple meal for six people. More of either would be wasteful as well as dangerously dull.
Then, I need a window or two, for clear air and a sight of things growing.
Most of all, I need to be let alone. I need peace.
From there--from there, on the sill of my wide window, the plan is yours.
October 13, 2009
This book is comprised of essays largely un-connected to each other. This allows the book to spend a year on a table near where you often sit, so that every week or so you can pick it up and follow Ms. Fisher to France, or California, or out to sea. Ostensibly, she writes about food. But she does so in such a way that you learn what she's been learning--by sharing in her series of insights into herself, and relationships then humanity at large.
Also, this book will light a fire under your relationship with your kitchen. I didn't even know that my concern for a frying pan or my interest in peeling an orange had frozen. This book melted the ice away.
Also, this book will light a fire under your relationship with your kitchen. I didn't even know that my concern for a frying pan or my interest in peeling an orange had frozen. This book melted the ice away.
April 6, 2016
After finishing the book, I have to say that the reason for the middling rating is...it's me, MFK, not you.
While nearing the end of "Z is for" , it hit me like a ton of bricks - I finally understood that I am not the intended reader. I am not a foodie. I eat to live, not live to eat. Sure, I enjoy food, but not to the extent that I need to to 'get' this book - I don't have the interest/passion. Why didn't it occur to me earlier? If I was obsessed, this may have been a bible for me, but I'm not.
Below is my running notes/reviews of the books as I finished them:
While nearing the end of "Z is for" , it hit me like a ton of bricks - I finally understood that I am not the intended reader. I am not a foodie. I eat to live, not live to eat. Sure, I enjoy food, but not to the extent that I need to to 'get' this book - I don't have the interest/passion. Why didn't it occur to me earlier? If I was obsessed, this may have been a bible for me, but I'm not.
Below is my running notes/reviews of the books as I finished them:
July 23, 2014
Five books is a lot of pages in which to deal with her tone. She has a lot to say, but she's overly fond of her two Frenchmen (Brillat-Savarin & Escoffier) and substantially more impressed with herself than is seemly. Also, based on her recipes, it would seem that she likes food to be approximately 20% butter at all times.
I know that she speaks to her moment, and I am fine with the occasionally anachronistic nature of her prose (such as the love affair with butter and the way she unproblematically embraces heavy boozing). However, the class snobbery of it was grating. For all the praising of "good peasant food" and "real bread" (meaning, brown loaves), these are essentially moments of culinary slumming. She may like the food of working people, especially as a lark, but it certainly doesn't make her one of the peasants.
The best parts were the years between wars and into WW2, as her travels and life in Switzerland and France give so much indirect insight into how non-political and non-military people were coping with the tensions bubbling so near the surface. The tales of her crossing on Italian and German ships in the '30s are fascinating.
I know that she speaks to her moment, and I am fine with the occasionally anachronistic nature of her prose (such as the love affair with butter and the way she unproblematically embraces heavy boozing). However, the class snobbery of it was grating. For all the praising of "good peasant food" and "real bread" (meaning, brown loaves), these are essentially moments of culinary slumming. She may like the food of working people, especially as a lark, but it certainly doesn't make her one of the peasants.
The best parts were the years between wars and into WW2, as her travels and life in Switzerland and France give so much indirect insight into how non-political and non-military people were coping with the tensions bubbling so near the surface. The tales of her crossing on Italian and German ships in the '30s are fascinating.
February 13, 2008
Listen to this and tell me you don't want to read these essays: "People ask me: Why do you write about food, adn eating and drinking? ...The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry. But there is more than that. It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the other."
March 15, 2017
Utterly Pretentious Tome
Part cookbook; part romance novel; mainly trash.
A compendium of 5 books: the first is a nice read; the fourth is tolerable. The rest is a disconnected spewing of everything from the sublime to the ridiculous. The two decent books don't even come close to making up for the agony of enduring the other three.
The author is totally full of herself. She forgets the people who have to consume the drivel she produces. Overly preoccupied with Lucullus, Ms. Fisher wastes more time invoking him than in discussing the many men in her life who were her contemporaries and she alludes to have loved. The only person who gets more attention in all of this than the optimate Roman politician is the author herself, whom she describes in a way that is far, far too sweet and wonderful to stomach.
Do yourself a favour and skip this far too lengthy and overwhelmingly miserable read.
Part cookbook; part romance novel; mainly trash.
A compendium of 5 books: the first is a nice read; the fourth is tolerable. The rest is a disconnected spewing of everything from the sublime to the ridiculous. The two decent books don't even come close to making up for the agony of enduring the other three.
The author is totally full of herself. She forgets the people who have to consume the drivel she produces. Overly preoccupied with Lucullus, Ms. Fisher wastes more time invoking him than in discussing the many men in her life who were her contemporaries and she alludes to have loved. The only person who gets more attention in all of this than the optimate Roman politician is the author herself, whom she describes in a way that is far, far too sweet and wonderful to stomach.
Do yourself a favour and skip this far too lengthy and overwhelmingly miserable read.
May 30, 2008
Having known for years I should not be putting off reading M.F.K. Fisher on the grounds that being a "food writer" was somehow intellectually provincial, I probably nonetheless did just that.
There is also probably no great insight to be gained from putting her in the context of what I have been reading lately, but I have been particularly enjoying the contrast between her unabashedly (and joyously) literary style and the coolly persuasive journalistic élan of Michael Pollan or Marion Nestle's succinct and pragmatic summaries of nutritional biochemistry.
This collection (over 700 pages) compiles five separate books Fisher published from the late 1930s onward - I shall not try to plow through the whole thing in a matter of days but I have read "Consider The Oyster" which has juxtaposed itself nicely with Mark Kurlansky's "The Big Oyster".
There is also probably no great insight to be gained from putting her in the context of what I have been reading lately, but I have been particularly enjoying the contrast between her unabashedly (and joyously) literary style and the coolly persuasive journalistic élan of Michael Pollan or Marion Nestle's succinct and pragmatic summaries of nutritional biochemistry.
This collection (over 700 pages) compiles five separate books Fisher published from the late 1930s onward - I shall not try to plow through the whole thing in a matter of days but I have read "Consider The Oyster" which has juxtaposed itself nicely with Mark Kurlansky's "The Big Oyster".
May 28, 2015
MFK Fisher is always such a pleasure! Her writing is frank, surprising and full of life. I had read The Gastronomical Me before, but got a kick out of Serve It Forth and the Alphabet for Gourmets. Can't even imagine what it would have been like to attend one of her dinner parties!
November 26, 2021
It's a bit of a cheat to count this as a book read since I've already counted each of the five books that make it up as a separate book read, but this is the book I put on my Classics Club list as well as my 2021 Nonfiction Challenge list and this is the book that, technically, I have now finished.
To simply things, I will cut and past the reviews I previously posted about the five books that compose The Art of Eating below.
SERVE IT FORTH
Brilliant essays, loosely written on the theme of food.
“WHEN shall we live, if not now?” asked Seneca before a table laid for his pleasure and his friends’. It is a question whose answer is almost too easily precluded. When indeed? We are alive, and now. When else live, and how more pleasantly than supping with sweet comrades?
M.F.K. Fisher looks at food in history, sharing some little-known stories of the foods people found and put together to eat, stories of the way a means of sustenance turned into art.
Sometimes there were big meals.
“Fifty swans, a hundred and ten geese, fifty capons ‘of hie grece’ and eight dozen other capons, sixty dozen hens, five herons, six kids and seven dozen rabbits (strange place here for such lively fourlegged wingless little beasts!), five dozen pullets for jelly and some eleven dozen to roast, a hundred dozen peacocks, twenty dozen cranes and curlews, and ‘wilde fowle ynogh.’”
Sometimes it was the presentation.
Flowers were often used thus by the Middle English, sometimes most fortunately. What could be more ludicrously lovely than a tiny crackled piglet all garlanded with lilies and wild daffodils? Or a baked swan in its feathers, with roses on its proud reptilian head?
The stunning changes that resulted from Catherine de Medici's decision to bring her chefs with her from Italy to France. A sad tale of a once-magnificent waiter's last night at the helm. The story of "a moment of complete gastronomic satisfaction."
If you call yourself a food reader, this and M.F.K. Fisher's other collections of essays are must-reads. And even if you are not, even if you are simply a lover of great writing, this and Fisher's other works will delight you.
CONSIDER THE OYSTER
One of the signs that M.F.K. Fisher is an amazing writer: Fisher can write an entire book about oysters and it's cover-to-cover fascinating.
I have eaten oysters. They were delicious. But I would be fine if I never ate them again.
Still, I read this book and I couldn't stop reading. If you are an oyster-lover, it's definitely a book for you. And even if you are not, you may want to read it anyway.
HOW TO COOK A WOLF
How to Cook a Wolf is a collection of essays focusing on frugality during difficult times. It was first published during World War II.
I'd love to hear what a young person would say about some of Fisher's suggestions. I imagine a young person would find them to be very extreme.
THE GASTRONOMICAL ME
M.F.K. Fisher tells the story of her life through the foods she experienced. Fisher begins with her forays into college life and her first marriage, and then tells of her gradual development as a food writer that was highly influenced by her move to France.
Fisher almost skips over key details in her life including her divorce and the decline and eventual suicide of her second husband, so I had to do a bit of research to fill in the gaps.
No matter what Fisher is writing about---whether it's her life or stories about people she meets or places she lives or the food she eats---her writing is mesmerizing.
AN ALPHABET FOR GOURMETS
As a person who reads 200+ children's picture books a year, I can firmly vow to you that this is an alphabet book like no other. Yes, it's organized alphabetically, with one essay for each letter of the alphabet, but, trust me on this, even if you read through the chapter titles, you will have no idea where Ms. Fisher is going to take you.
X is for Xanthippe, for example, uses Xanthippe, the wife of Socrates, and her (presumed) behavior at meals (she is believed to be the epitome of a harpy) to share with her readers what not to do when dining together with others.
And Z is for Zakuski, the last chapter, is about hors d'oeuvres, which a logical thinker might wish to find in the A chapter. But Fisher has her reasons. And they are good ones.
N is for Nautical? M is for Monastic? And how do these fit into a book about food? Perhaps these are unexpected, but that is part of the delight of this book.
Even P is for Peas is not a straightforward treatise on the green vegetable, and that, too, is Fisher's charm.
To simply things, I will cut and past the reviews I previously posted about the five books that compose The Art of Eating below.
SERVE IT FORTH
Brilliant essays, loosely written on the theme of food.
“WHEN shall we live, if not now?” asked Seneca before a table laid for his pleasure and his friends’. It is a question whose answer is almost too easily precluded. When indeed? We are alive, and now. When else live, and how more pleasantly than supping with sweet comrades?
M.F.K. Fisher looks at food in history, sharing some little-known stories of the foods people found and put together to eat, stories of the way a means of sustenance turned into art.
Sometimes there were big meals.
“Fifty swans, a hundred and ten geese, fifty capons ‘of hie grece’ and eight dozen other capons, sixty dozen hens, five herons, six kids and seven dozen rabbits (strange place here for such lively fourlegged wingless little beasts!), five dozen pullets for jelly and some eleven dozen to roast, a hundred dozen peacocks, twenty dozen cranes and curlews, and ‘wilde fowle ynogh.’”
Sometimes it was the presentation.
Flowers were often used thus by the Middle English, sometimes most fortunately. What could be more ludicrously lovely than a tiny crackled piglet all garlanded with lilies and wild daffodils? Or a baked swan in its feathers, with roses on its proud reptilian head?
The stunning changes that resulted from Catherine de Medici's decision to bring her chefs with her from Italy to France. A sad tale of a once-magnificent waiter's last night at the helm. The story of "a moment of complete gastronomic satisfaction."
If you call yourself a food reader, this and M.F.K. Fisher's other collections of essays are must-reads. And even if you are not, even if you are simply a lover of great writing, this and Fisher's other works will delight you.
CONSIDER THE OYSTER
One of the signs that M.F.K. Fisher is an amazing writer: Fisher can write an entire book about oysters and it's cover-to-cover fascinating.
I have eaten oysters. They were delicious. But I would be fine if I never ate them again.
Still, I read this book and I couldn't stop reading. If you are an oyster-lover, it's definitely a book for you. And even if you are not, you may want to read it anyway.
HOW TO COOK A WOLF
How to Cook a Wolf is a collection of essays focusing on frugality during difficult times. It was first published during World War II.
I'd love to hear what a young person would say about some of Fisher's suggestions. I imagine a young person would find them to be very extreme.
THE GASTRONOMICAL ME
M.F.K. Fisher tells the story of her life through the foods she experienced. Fisher begins with her forays into college life and her first marriage, and then tells of her gradual development as a food writer that was highly influenced by her move to France.
Fisher almost skips over key details in her life including her divorce and the decline and eventual suicide of her second husband, so I had to do a bit of research to fill in the gaps.
No matter what Fisher is writing about---whether it's her life or stories about people she meets or places she lives or the food she eats---her writing is mesmerizing.
AN ALPHABET FOR GOURMETS
As a person who reads 200+ children's picture books a year, I can firmly vow to you that this is an alphabet book like no other. Yes, it's organized alphabetically, with one essay for each letter of the alphabet, but, trust me on this, even if you read through the chapter titles, you will have no idea where Ms. Fisher is going to take you.
X is for Xanthippe, for example, uses Xanthippe, the wife of Socrates, and her (presumed) behavior at meals (she is believed to be the epitome of a harpy) to share with her readers what not to do when dining together with others.
And Z is for Zakuski, the last chapter, is about hors d'oeuvres, which a logical thinker might wish to find in the A chapter. But Fisher has her reasons. And they are good ones.
N is for Nautical? M is for Monastic? And how do these fit into a book about food? Perhaps these are unexpected, but that is part of the delight of this book.
Even P is for Peas is not a straightforward treatise on the green vegetable, and that, too, is Fisher's charm.
January 9, 2017
I've mulled over what to say about this book almost since the moment I picked it up. There were sections that captivated and intrigued me, and there were sections I had to shoulder my way through. MFK Fisher's writing about food is beautiful and clever, even if some of the jokes were dated and the hints lost on someone born 30 years after the last book was published.
Originally I intended this book to check an item off a reading challenge, but as the 6 months I spent meandering through it progressed I quickly realized this was not a book to be rushed. Rather it was intended to be savored the way MFK would've savored a good Gibson. So I proceeded slowly, reading bits here and there and letting it all soak in.
What worked for me was her writing, her wit and her incredible skills as a memoirist. Some of the brightest moments in this book happened when she wrote about leaving a tangerine on a radiator or sharing a sandwich with her father or witnessing an old British woman feasting in the lowest class of an ocean liner. The memories were retold in such a way that I felt like I was there, sharing the essence of them with her. Those moments kept me coming back for more when I tired of hearing about ways to save money during WWII or some odd snippet of culinary history (look up cock ale and you'll see what I'm talking about).
I loved that the core of cooking which she describes with such devotion hasn't changed, even if the ingredients or techniques have. Something deep within me resonated when she described the healing powers of kneading a ball of dough. It was a beautiful reminder that those of us who love food have a connection and understanding that transcends generations, even centuries. It was just like Alan Bennet said in the History Boys, "The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours." Those moments kept me going when my attention began to wander.
What didn't work for me were the dated references to pop culture. I'm not criticizing their inclusion, only pointing out that it was difficult to pick up the jokes related to people I knew nothing about. It was like constantly finding myself on the outskirts of an inside joke. I also tired of her continual, reverential mentions of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. At times I wanted to say, "I don't care what Brillat-Savarin thinks. Tell me what YOU think! You are just as worthy."
In the end I learned a lot about MFK and about myself and about the way I approach food and cooking. It did all the things a good book should do--it made me chuckle; it made me think and evaluate my own perspective. Much of this book will not be read again, but I can easily see myself revisiting Gastronomical Me again and again and reliving again and again the magic that MFK Fisher creates when she talks of her life with food.
Originally I intended this book to check an item off a reading challenge, but as the 6 months I spent meandering through it progressed I quickly realized this was not a book to be rushed. Rather it was intended to be savored the way MFK would've savored a good Gibson. So I proceeded slowly, reading bits here and there and letting it all soak in.
What worked for me was her writing, her wit and her incredible skills as a memoirist. Some of the brightest moments in this book happened when she wrote about leaving a tangerine on a radiator or sharing a sandwich with her father or witnessing an old British woman feasting in the lowest class of an ocean liner. The memories were retold in such a way that I felt like I was there, sharing the essence of them with her. Those moments kept me coming back for more when I tired of hearing about ways to save money during WWII or some odd snippet of culinary history (look up cock ale and you'll see what I'm talking about).
I loved that the core of cooking which she describes with such devotion hasn't changed, even if the ingredients or techniques have. Something deep within me resonated when she described the healing powers of kneading a ball of dough. It was a beautiful reminder that those of us who love food have a connection and understanding that transcends generations, even centuries. It was just like Alan Bennet said in the History Boys, "The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours." Those moments kept me going when my attention began to wander.
What didn't work for me were the dated references to pop culture. I'm not criticizing their inclusion, only pointing out that it was difficult to pick up the jokes related to people I knew nothing about. It was like constantly finding myself on the outskirts of an inside joke. I also tired of her continual, reverential mentions of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. At times I wanted to say, "I don't care what Brillat-Savarin thinks. Tell me what YOU think! You are just as worthy."
In the end I learned a lot about MFK and about myself and about the way I approach food and cooking. It did all the things a good book should do--it made me chuckle; it made me think and evaluate my own perspective. Much of this book will not be read again, but I can easily see myself revisiting Gastronomical Me again and again and reliving again and again the magic that MFK Fisher creates when she talks of her life with food.
June 9, 2013
There are some things to like a lot in this collection. First, I learned to make eggs perfectly how I like them from this book--melt butter over a medium heat, add the eggs, cover, turn off the heat, and wait three minutes. Genius. Second, the idea to appreciate simple pleasures--specific tastes, a nice warm afternoon with people you love, eating and drinking whatever you come upon in another place and doing as the Romans do. Third, the idea that a meal should have a note of whimsy or surprise. And "How to Cook a Wolf" has some decent tips for stretching money and food in times of scarcity. That one is such a nice period piece, too, with its sense of WAR in the background, but her strange unwillingness to talk about it directly. Perhaps all the war talk goes unsaid because it's so obvious that it needs no comment? But it also feels fairly purposeful as an attempt to preserve some sense of haven in an uncertain time.
But, oh, is she a snob. It's fine to eat peasant food if you go halfway around the world for it and sit in some "authentic" hovel somewhere and enjoy it (Anthony Bourdain, I'm looking at you, kid). But all those middle-class (or worse, working-class) poor U.S. American saps eating food that they like but not realizing their food is so terrible and they themselves are lesser humans for it. And you just can't find good "help" these days, to make all the food, sit with the children during meals so you can have adult conversation, and teach you their homespun wisdom about cooking (but only if YOU ask THEM). Some of this is cultivated gourmandism, like all the damn times she mentions quails financiere. Some of it is her background. And some of it, the most irritating part to me, is that she thinks she's so open-minded and that she does people a favor by eating their shitty food and being good company around them. One can only imagine the bitch-faces she made (all the while no doubt patting herself on the back for how well she was hiding her contempt for them and their food) that got her disinvited from numerous future dinners.
But what sticks with me are her food memories that led me to my own. To little jokes shared with Ben I haven't thought of in years. To shucking corn with my grandpa in an impossibly sunny backyard in summer. When she's focused on improvising and on actually demonstrating love to the people around her, and reveling in food and love in return, she is enjoyable to read. Other than that, she's insufferable, pretentious, and I'm not convinced she's right about things. People who says there's only one right way to prepare something or to eat it or serve it are irritating (not in the least because maybe they're right and I'm just one of the unknowing, unthinking barbarian horde beating down the gate of civilization).
But, oh, is she a snob. It's fine to eat peasant food if you go halfway around the world for it and sit in some "authentic" hovel somewhere and enjoy it (Anthony Bourdain, I'm looking at you, kid). But all those middle-class (or worse, working-class) poor U.S. American saps eating food that they like but not realizing their food is so terrible and they themselves are lesser humans for it. And you just can't find good "help" these days, to make all the food, sit with the children during meals so you can have adult conversation, and teach you their homespun wisdom about cooking (but only if YOU ask THEM). Some of this is cultivated gourmandism, like all the damn times she mentions quails financiere. Some of it is her background. And some of it, the most irritating part to me, is that she thinks she's so open-minded and that she does people a favor by eating their shitty food and being good company around them. One can only imagine the bitch-faces she made (all the while no doubt patting herself on the back for how well she was hiding her contempt for them and their food) that got her disinvited from numerous future dinners.
But what sticks with me are her food memories that led me to my own. To little jokes shared with Ben I haven't thought of in years. To shucking corn with my grandpa in an impossibly sunny backyard in summer. When she's focused on improvising and on actually demonstrating love to the people around her, and reveling in food and love in return, she is enjoyable to read. Other than that, she's insufferable, pretentious, and I'm not convinced she's right about things. People who says there's only one right way to prepare something or to eat it or serve it are irritating (not in the least because maybe they're right and I'm just one of the unknowing, unthinking barbarian horde beating down the gate of civilization).
October 14, 2016
I had purchased Fisher’s The Art of Eating a few years ago when I realized I could not be a quintessential foodie without having read her works. I was excited for another opportunity to delve into her delicious wit and revisit "How to Cook a Wolf." This book of frugality (and common sense) during the lean years of WWII is pertinent today and many of her tips and ideas are echoed by locavores and modern chefs.
Her wry sense of humor, and dare I say snarkiness, is endearing and I started thinking about other food professionals I love with the same dry wit.
Segue alert:
I can imagine Anthony Bourdain interviewing Fisher on one of his television shows. My imagination runs wild and I can just think of Fisher’s take on some of the new food trends. What would her comments be regarding gourmet food trucks, molecular gastronomy, and, dare I say it, food blogs?
What would she think about Bourdain himself? Would they team up? The more I think about this, the more I envision it: Anthony and Mary Frances—On the Road. (Too bad this will never be. I don’t think they even ever met.)
And what about David Chang (Mind of a Chef )? I can envision him having deep conversations with Fisher over some sort of adult beverage.
Imagine all three together in the same conversation…
But, I digress.
I was reading the revised edition with Fisher’s notes in brackets throughout. Her insight nine years later is full of self-deprecating humor and even more culinary truths. I loved her frankness: “One of the stupidest things in an earnest but stupid school of culinary thought is that each of the three daily meals should be balanced” (4). Say what you mean, Ms. Fisher. Do you think this practice is unwise? (She is not one to mince words. I love it.)
But, let’s consider the egg for this post. Her chapter, “How Not to Boil an Egg,” is poetic. She writes that the egg is the most private of things; that is, until it is cracked. "Until then, you would think its secrets are its own, hidden behind the impassive beautiful curvings of its shell, white or brown or speckled" (54).
She continues to write about the best way to eat a fresh egg: raw, boiled, fried or in some spectacular main dish like a frittata. Whether it is a baked French omelet, an Italian Frittata or Chinese Egg Foo Yeung, it is basically the same dish, according to Fisher and the perfect avenue for fresh eggs.
“It is a poor figure of a man who will say that eggs are fit only to be eaten at breakfast…���
Her wry sense of humor, and dare I say snarkiness, is endearing and I started thinking about other food professionals I love with the same dry wit.
Segue alert:
I can imagine Anthony Bourdain interviewing Fisher on one of his television shows. My imagination runs wild and I can just think of Fisher’s take on some of the new food trends. What would her comments be regarding gourmet food trucks, molecular gastronomy, and, dare I say it, food blogs?
What would she think about Bourdain himself? Would they team up? The more I think about this, the more I envision it: Anthony and Mary Frances—On the Road. (Too bad this will never be. I don’t think they even ever met.)
And what about David Chang (Mind of a Chef )? I can envision him having deep conversations with Fisher over some sort of adult beverage.
Imagine all three together in the same conversation…
But, I digress.
I was reading the revised edition with Fisher’s notes in brackets throughout. Her insight nine years later is full of self-deprecating humor and even more culinary truths. I loved her frankness: “One of the stupidest things in an earnest but stupid school of culinary thought is that each of the three daily meals should be balanced” (4). Say what you mean, Ms. Fisher. Do you think this practice is unwise? (She is not one to mince words. I love it.)
But, let’s consider the egg for this post. Her chapter, “How Not to Boil an Egg,” is poetic. She writes that the egg is the most private of things; that is, until it is cracked. "Until then, you would think its secrets are its own, hidden behind the impassive beautiful curvings of its shell, white or brown or speckled" (54).
She continues to write about the best way to eat a fresh egg: raw, boiled, fried or in some spectacular main dish like a frittata. Whether it is a baked French omelet, an Italian Frittata or Chinese Egg Foo Yeung, it is basically the same dish, according to Fisher and the perfect avenue for fresh eggs.
“It is a poor figure of a man who will say that eggs are fit only to be eaten at breakfast…���
February 16, 2015
There are five books contained in M.F.K. Fisher's voluminous omnibus The Art of Eating, covering a wide swath of her writing (and eating) in the first half of the 20th Century. There is autobiography, gastronomy, history, even strategies for eating well during wartime rationing -- a vast feast of thoughts on cuisine and the enjoyment thereof.
That avalanche of rich commentary threatens to overwhelm the reader's senses at times -- breaks are recommended between books, perhaps within each book as well. I was also amused to find that what makes a meal for Fisher, both in preparation and components, is at times nearly as archaic and wondrous as her recitations of Victorian-era meals were to her.
But sprinkled throughout all five books are these particular moments: stories of love or melancholy or friendship or nostalgia that leave you suddenly speechless and heartbroken in the middle of your workday lunch. You slide the bookmark into that spot, close the book, and try to piece your life back together so you can finish a ham and cheese sandwich before heading back into the office.
It is not hyperbole for me to say she changed how I think about food writing or indeed what such writing can be. There is a blurb on the back cover from Julia Child, in which she quotes Fisher: "When I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth, and the love of it...and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied."
Fisher is just that good a writer, able to weave the tendrils of real, emotional, human life into a subject that can be pretentious or ostentatious in the wrong hands.
Five of five stars is not enough for The Art of Eating, so given there are five books in it, I will multiply 5 x 5 and give it a gluttonous 25 out of 5 stars. Heartily endorsed for anyone who lives to cook or eat.
That avalanche of rich commentary threatens to overwhelm the reader's senses at times -- breaks are recommended between books, perhaps within each book as well. I was also amused to find that what makes a meal for Fisher, both in preparation and components, is at times nearly as archaic and wondrous as her recitations of Victorian-era meals were to her.
But sprinkled throughout all five books are these particular moments: stories of love or melancholy or friendship or nostalgia that leave you suddenly speechless and heartbroken in the middle of your workday lunch. You slide the bookmark into that spot, close the book, and try to piece your life back together so you can finish a ham and cheese sandwich before heading back into the office.
It is not hyperbole for me to say she changed how I think about food writing or indeed what such writing can be. There is a blurb on the back cover from Julia Child, in which she quotes Fisher: "When I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth, and the love of it...and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied."
Fisher is just that good a writer, able to weave the tendrils of real, emotional, human life into a subject that can be pretentious or ostentatious in the wrong hands.
Five of five stars is not enough for The Art of Eating, so given there are five books in it, I will multiply 5 x 5 and give it a gluttonous 25 out of 5 stars. Heartily endorsed for anyone who lives to cook or eat.
December 12, 2011
M.F.K. Fisher is a skilled writer, but the tone of her writing seems a little alien to today's point of view on nutrition and cooking. She is greatly influenced by French cuisine and epicurianism, but seems at times to slide into something verging on gluttony. It would be a mistake to view her with the eyes of today, but one cannot avoid feeling a vague malaise at the descriptions of tumblers of marc and ice-cold martinis. Nonetheless, since Fisher maintained a glamorous appearance, an active love-life and a slim silhouette, we cannot judge her ill on results. She also had a long and interesting life, tasting all the joys that food, travel and love provide. It's odd to feel that Julia Childs has aged better, though both share a similar point of view.
Read
January 21, 2016I'm the natural audience for this, as someone who currently has three top shelf bourbons in his cabinet, who just looked up how to make a galantine this morning, you get the idea. But more importantly than being a "food writer" (obnoxious term that it's become), M.F.K. Fisher is an essayist in that fine tradition of snarky West Coast ladies of the mid-20th century. Really, her closest companions are Pauline Kael, Joan Didion, and Jessica Mitford, not Julia Child and Anthony Bourdain. In M.F.K. Fisher's writing, food is a way of talking about almost everything else in life. But when she's done with her metaphor, she's happy to provide you with a recipe.
November 2, 2020
I originally wanted to read this book--or rather, one of the books in this omnibus volume, How to Cook a Wolf--back in April, when food shortages were at their height. But the library was still closed then, and I finally had a chance to read this now, when food shortages are likely just around the corner again. Fisher's wit, good humor, and sparkling prose are cheering. And I'm glad that this current world crisis doesn't involve Atwood-esque food substitutes like the NuEg (or something like that) described in How to Cook a Wolf. I wish I'd had a bit more time to savor this. Reading five books at one go in order to return this on time felt a little too much like over-eating.
August 6, 2012
The real creator of the genre, MFK Fisher describes each dish, meal, shopping experience, etc. with just enough flourish to make your mouth water. Her writing is economical, but rich in style and vocabulary. There are a lot of essays, and I've taken my time reading them between and during other reads. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in food in general, or even just great writing. This is definitely great for foodies, but will be interesting and enjoyable for so many others.
November 30, 2008
The grand dame of food writing. In Gastronomical Me, you get to meet the young Mary Frances Kennedy and learn about her childhood and her first culinary awakenings. In Serve it Forth, you learn of the history of eating from ancient times to the present, interspersed with the author's own revelations. A celebration of life, if ever there was one. Also contains Consider the Oyster, How to Cook a Wolf, and An Alphabet of Gourmets. Warm, witty, and delightful.
October 5, 2011
the writing was wonderful and overall I enjoyed this. however about page 500 it did start to feel like a slog to the end. It took me months to get through this. My friend who loaned me the book did say that it is a compilation of MFK Fisher's other books so my recommendation is to read each book individually - I felt captive when all I wanted was to read something different but wasn't going to put this down until I finished it...I didn't want it to turn into 1+ years to get through a book.
February 3, 2011
I only stumbled over this volume by happenstance, and cannot believe I have not read her before. This contains several volumes of her work, and I peeled through all of them, one after the other, in a haze of delight. She is funny and wise and clear-sighted, full of insights about a world that has now fled.
Every foodie should read this.
Every foodie should read this.
December 5, 2014
I tried to like this book, really I did.
Why is it touted about as such a great book? I found it boring and nearly incomprehensible. I read several chapters from Serve it Forth, gave up, skipped to Gastronomical Me, gave up, skipped to the Gourmet Alphabet and decided it was just not for me.
Maybe if I could have gone to France and ate 50 snails...
Why is it touted about as such a great book? I found it boring and nearly incomprehensible. I read several chapters from Serve it Forth, gave up, skipped to Gastronomical Me, gave up, skipped to the Gourmet Alphabet and decided it was just not for me.
Maybe if I could have gone to France and ate 50 snails...
June 9, 2015
M.F.K. Fisher was one of the best writers of her time. It is just my good luck that she wrote about food which is one of my favorite topics to read about. Her quick wit, powers of observation, common sense, and wonderful prose make any of her books worthwhile. This collection is simply delightful and belongs on any food lover's shelf.
August 11, 2012
A compendium of several of her books and essays. MFK Fisher's writing rises far beyond her subject. Yes she writes about food, but food is life so she is writing about life. By the middle of this book, I feel as if she is whispering in my ear. She had a unique literay voice.
Read
July 29, 2013This book is lovely.
M.F.K. Fisher writes about food and eating in such a wonderful, approachable, delighted way -- it's great to read food writing written by someone whose first tenant so clearly is: I LOVE FOOD.
M.F.K. Fisher writes about food and eating in such a wonderful, approachable, delighted way -- it's great to read food writing written by someone whose first tenant so clearly is: I LOVE FOOD.
August 2, 2017
A compendium of Fisher's writings, this book - with its eloquent language and many a digression - is less about the recipes than the accompanying musings. Her tales of living in France make me want to spend more time there and her A to Z: An alphabet for gourmets are little gems of writing.
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