A good food book can make your mouth water just as much as an enticing aroma. They’re usually fascinating inside looks at how some of the greatest chefs, kitchens, and dishes came to be. And now Michelin-starred chef Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin) has written one — his memoir, 32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line, is out this week. So this seems like a perfect excuse to share five of my favorite foodie audiobooks.
With the help of her grand-nephew, Alex Prud’Homme, Julia Child tells the story of her formative years as an American chef in France. Expertly narrated by Kimberly Farr, this audiobook is a fascinating account of Child’s path to culinary fame. The legendary chef gives listeners an inside look at the birth of her passion for cooking and the many obstacles and rejections she faced before she became a household name. (Oh, and the vibrant descriptions of Paris in the 1950s might just tempt listeners to impulsively book a flight to France.)
The best chef memoirs are also travelogues. In Yes, Chef, you can travel all over the world. From Marcus Samuelsson’s birthplace in Ethiopia to his childhood in Sweden, to his early kitchen days in Switzerland and France, before finally landing in New York, where he opened his acclaimed Red Rooster in Harlem. It’s no wonder the New York Times called it “one of the great culinary stories of our time.” Marcus Samuelsson narrates the audio version, and his accent only enriches the storytelling
If you’re looking for more chef #authorators, you can’t miss the salty, somewhat NSFW Anthony Bourdain. He doesn’t pull any punches, and he’s not afraid to reveal the tricks of the trade. (I don’t order Hollandaise sauce anymore after listening to this book.)
Think you’re a pretty good home cook? So did Bill Buford, until he shadowed Mario Batali for three years. In this riveting true story, Buford washes dishes, works the line at Babbo, butchers pigs, and makes pasta with Italian grandmas.
It’s not just chefs on my list. Renowned restaurant critic and Gourmet editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl has a memoir from the other side of the table. She shares hilarious tales of developing alter egos (she has quite a wig collection), which she used to review restaurants incognito.
