Being a food writer is one of the most envied jobs in the world. But New York Times food writer Kim Severson debunks the romance of a purely blissful existence wining, dining and writing. With a rock-solid dad who never played hooky or called in sick, and an Italian-American mother who laboured daily for hours in the kitchen, Severson learned life lessons early around the family kitchen table. Yet, she lost herself along the way.
As she battled her love affair with alcohol and drugs, she was offered a job as writer in one of the world’s greatest wine regions. Gingerly taking on this challenging new assignment, she was initially terrified of meeting legendary American home cook Marion Cunningham.
But she instantly found a friend in this cook who taught her that in food and in life, it is never too late to start over. This meeting marked the beginning of her life as a food writer.
In every chapter Severson cleverly weaves a rich narrative of the lessons learned with her friendships with American food icons like Alice Water, Rachel Ray and Ruth Reichl. She thoughtfully concludes each chapter with a signature recipe from the cook. What make these memoirs truly special are not the stories of eight cooks, but Severson’s honest account of her personal journey.
She narrates her struggles as an adolescent, her failed forays into love, her addiction with alcohol, and her passion for food. Severson boldly discloses her raw feelings of loneliness, wanting to fit in, and desire to be loved, as well as her love for less lofty food indulgences like Pringles and Hershey Bar cake.
Severson endears herself to the reader early on in the book. Spoon Fed quickly becomes a page-turner, and when we reach the last page of the book, we are deeply satisfied by the culinary and life wisdom she has generously fed us.
Maida Pineda
