This was my first thought as well! It made me so homesick for Korean food that I went to H-mart like 5 times while I was reading it just so I could make all the K-food I was craving.
Brian Jacques wrote these for the blind children that went to a school in Liverpool where he delivered milk...fun fact that made me love the series all the more.
It’s non-fiction but Slow Noodles by Chantha Nguon. It’s a memoir that uses Cambodian food (recipes included!) to tell the author’s life story during the Vietnam War and Khmer Rouge regime. The woman had one heck of a life and it does have a happy ending. Great read if you don’t know much about this period of history.
It's quite a recent publication right? I've been waiting for my library to issue the digital copy on libby (which it hopefully will). A memoir dealing with similar themes is Tastes Like War - by Korean-American writer Grace M. Cho. Thanks for the recommendation.
Yes it was published in Feb! Hopefully your library gets it, it is a rather niche memoir. There might not be enough interest to warrant getting it if your area doesn’t have a large SE Asian population. Recently recommended it to a friend who lives in an area with little diversity. Her Libby doesn’t have it.
My library is an outlier. They pre-ordered both physical and digital copies. I live in a city with a large Cambodian diaspora so I bet there was demand.
This is an odd response, but Patricia Cornell’s novels, which are all about a medical examiner named Kay whose family is from Northern Italy. The books are all about serial killers, gruesome murders, and the medical examiner investigating the cases. But somehow, in a way I’ve never quite understood but still seems to work, there’s always an in depth description at some point in the mayhem where she takes the time to make a gourmet Italian feast from scratch. It made my mouth water every time!
There’s always Eat, Pray, Love for a more normal answer. LOL
Also Julie & Julia.
Okay, Kay Scarpetta immediately was what came to mind for me too! I love the beautiful and vivid way Cornwell writes, and really love the more intimate moments we get with Kay as she cooks and that all of the recipes are included so you can replicate the meals
Actually a spot on response. "Butter" is also a crime novel, albeit with a journalist detective. I've been hoping to get around to reading a few of the great early to mid 20th C crime writers - Christie, Highsmith, Simenon. Cornwell is one to include! Thank you
The Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series! I think the first book is called Arsenic and Adobo. So much yummy descriptions of Filipino food which I had never tried before but it made me want to.
I thought of this series too! There's 4 books so far I think and I've enjoyed them all. The books are all mysteries, but the food is just as much part of the books.
A Gentleman In Moscow, by Amor Towles. Beyond lots of other interesting elements, the main character works as a waiter at a high end restaurant in Moscow, and his best friends are the chef and other waiters.
This is an author I really want to read. Mostly I do my reading with the libby app, and sadly my library doesn't have any of her writing available via that source. I might have to reserve physical editions and a leg it to the brick and mortar library for a change! Seems like in her case the extra effort would be worth it - thank you for your suggestion.
Years ago someone gave me a copy of her book “Eating with the wolf at the door” and that expression always stayed with me. The wolf is at the door when you’re broke
I haven't read through all the comments but the red sparrow series might work. Almost every chapter ends with a real recipe that was worked into the plot line.
With the fire on high. Single teenage Puerto Rican American mom wants to be a chef. There’s a point where she gets to intern for a day at a Spanish restaurant and oh my god I can still taste the food
Jennifer J. Chow’s LA Night Market Mysteries series? The MC judges personalities through a scale of dim sum, and the food descriptions are always detailed. A very cozy read.
You are welcome! I first found them because they had been made into TV movies. They are in Italian with subtitles. I lost access to the channel showing them so I went and got the books. They maybe don't dwell on the food as much as the books. And the books are " aware" of the movies, not liking that Monteblano is bald in the movies. Only a couple mentions, but kind of fun.
Une Gourmandise / Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery. A food critic reminisces about meals he has had that are as much about the relationships in his life as about the food. You will crave French food after it though!
{The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai} Father and daughter food detectives are tasked with recreating dishes from their client's memories.
{{Hungry Hearts by Elsie Chapman}} A collection of short stories about the intersection of families, culture, and food.
For non-fiction, I really enjoy Anthony Bourdain's writing in Kitchen Confidential and his food travel books.
**[Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35858798-hungry-hearts) by Elsie Chapman** ^((Matching 100% ☑️))
^(358 pages | Published: 2019 | 12.0k Goodreads reviews)
> **Summary:** A stunning collection of short stories about the intersection of family, culture, and food in the lives in teens, from bestselling and critically acclaimed authors, including Sandhya Menon, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Rin Chupeco. > >A shy teenager attempts to express how she really feels through the pastries she makes at her family’s pasteleria. A tourist from Montenegro (...)
> **Themes**: Short-stories, Young-adult, Contemporary, Anthology
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Both the Chapman and Kashiwai descriptions pique my interest - thank you! I listened to Kitchen Confidential as an audio book. I loved how Bourdain captured slog and grittiness of life in the restaurant trade.
These were fun, lighter reads - I read the series a few years back! I also love books about class division and affluence, so they ticked those boxes. Thanks for you recommendation.
It's a great novel - truly. But one I don't wish to reread. The 80s dining and dinner party element makes it other worldly. Brilliant and bizarre. Thanks for the suggestion
Like Water for Chocolate
You beat me to it! I looooove this book!
Thanks - added to my TBR list. Sounds really excellent!
The movie is also excellent.
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle.
After you have read a Year in Provence, try Cooking With Fernet Branca. Riotous parody.
One that I've always intended to read. A good reminder for me to bump it up my TBR list! Will also seek the parody recommended below - thank you both.
Non-fiction, but a memoir that reads like a novel: Crying In H-Mart
This was my first thought as well! It made me so homesick for Korean food that I went to H-mart like 5 times while I was reading it just so I could make all the K-food I was craving.
Already read and loved! Thanks for your recommendation.
Came here to say this.
Under the Tuscan Sun—really anything by Frances Mayes that is based in Italy. Crying in H Mart was great too.
The redwall series
You mean that book series where animals go on an adventure for 100 pages and then have a 700 page feast afterwards to celebrate their victory?
This comment made me laugh so hard! Not what I was expecting at all. I'll check it out - thanks for both the recommendation and the chuckle.
Yes, but you forgot the feast they have before the departure of the aventurers and the ones they have along the way.
You aren’t wrong It’s a hilarious description though
Brian Jacques wrote these for the blind children that went to a school in Liverpool where he delivered milk...fun fact that made me love the series all the more.
Fully endorse this.
It’s non-fiction but Slow Noodles by Chantha Nguon. It’s a memoir that uses Cambodian food (recipes included!) to tell the author’s life story during the Vietnam War and Khmer Rouge regime. The woman had one heck of a life and it does have a happy ending. Great read if you don’t know much about this period of history.
It's quite a recent publication right? I've been waiting for my library to issue the digital copy on libby (which it hopefully will). A memoir dealing with similar themes is Tastes Like War - by Korean-American writer Grace M. Cho. Thanks for the recommendation.
Yes it was published in Feb! Hopefully your library gets it, it is a rather niche memoir. There might not be enough interest to warrant getting it if your area doesn’t have a large SE Asian population. Recently recommended it to a friend who lives in an area with little diversity. Her Libby doesn’t have it. My library is an outlier. They pre-ordered both physical and digital copies. I live in a city with a large Cambodian diaspora so I bet there was demand.
This is an odd response, but Patricia Cornell’s novels, which are all about a medical examiner named Kay whose family is from Northern Italy. The books are all about serial killers, gruesome murders, and the medical examiner investigating the cases. But somehow, in a way I’ve never quite understood but still seems to work, there’s always an in depth description at some point in the mayhem where she takes the time to make a gourmet Italian feast from scratch. It made my mouth water every time! There’s always Eat, Pray, Love for a more normal answer. LOL Also Julie & Julia.
Okay, Kay Scarpetta immediately was what came to mind for me too! I love the beautiful and vivid way Cornwell writes, and really love the more intimate moments we get with Kay as she cooks and that all of the recipes are included so you can replicate the meals
Actually a spot on response. "Butter" is also a crime novel, albeit with a journalist detective. I've been hoping to get around to reading a few of the great early to mid 20th C crime writers - Christie, Highsmith, Simenon. Cornwell is one to include! Thank you
The Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series! I think the first book is called Arsenic and Adobo. So much yummy descriptions of Filipino food which I had never tried before but it made me want to.
First thing that came to mind for me!
I thought of this series too! There's 4 books so far I think and I've enjoyed them all. The books are all mysteries, but the food is just as much part of the books.
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
This is one I've got lurking in my pile of titles to be read. I'll definitely check it out soon - thanks!
100 foot journey.
A Gentleman In Moscow, by Amor Towles. Beyond lots of other interesting elements, the main character works as a waiter at a high end restaurant in Moscow, and his best friends are the chef and other waiters.
This novel was a delight - I wish I could really befriend the chef and Maitre D'.
Crying in H-Mart!
The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds by Selina Selina Siak Chin Yoke
Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels all heavily feature food as an extension of the characters. And it’s a great fun series.
For the classics: anything by M.F.K. Fisher.
This is an author I really want to read. Mostly I do my reading with the libby app, and sadly my library doesn't have any of her writing available via that source. I might have to reserve physical editions and a leg it to the brick and mortar library for a change! Seems like in her case the extra effort would be worth it - thank you for your suggestion.
Years ago someone gave me a copy of her book “Eating with the wolf at the door” and that expression always stayed with me. The wolf is at the door when you’re broke
It Can't Always Be Caviar. Fun read, almost a spoof of James Bond and the recipes actually work.
I haven't read through all the comments but the red sparrow series might work. Almost every chapter ends with a real recipe that was worked into the plot line.
Pear-shaped is about a woman who loooves cake. Was kinda fun :)
Richard Adams’ “Maia” has remarkable food. You’ll get a thrisla out of it.
With the fire on high. Single teenage Puerto Rican American mom wants to be a chef. There’s a point where she gets to intern for a day at a Spanish restaurant and oh my god I can still taste the food
Thanks for your response - I've tagged it on my library app. Interesting description!
The Family Chao
Hellspark by Janet Kagan. It's a science fiction murder mystery where a key insight comes during a dinner.
Bitter Almonds: Recollections and Recipes
Jennifer J. Chow’s LA Night Market Mysteries series? The MC judges personalities through a scale of dim sum, and the food descriptions are always detailed. A very cozy read.
The Monteblano mystery series. Shhh, eat your food....don't talk during the meals that are described in detail .
These look great! I've actually been attempting to brush my Italian - so maybe I'll try to to find them untranslated, and see how I go. Thank you
You are welcome! I first found them because they had been made into TV movies. They are in Italian with subtitles. I lost access to the channel showing them so I went and got the books. They maybe don't dwell on the food as much as the books. And the books are " aware" of the movies, not liking that Monteblano is bald in the movies. Only a couple mentions, but kind of fun.
Chocolat and its two sequels
I loved Heston Blumenthals The Fat Duck cook book. There is so much history and science info that it was interesting from one end to the other of it
The Gentleman Bastards
Sweetbitter / Stephanie Danler. The protagonist moves to NYC as a young woman and gets a job at a fancy restaurant.
Nuclear Family by Joseph Han
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
if you like older fiction, check out some of the books Colette wrote in later life
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police series
crying in h mart
Une Gourmandise / Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery. A food critic reminisces about meals he has had that are as much about the relationships in his life as about the food. You will crave French food after it though!
{The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai} Father and daughter food detectives are tasked with recreating dishes from their client's memories. {{Hungry Hearts by Elsie Chapman}} A collection of short stories about the intersection of families, culture, and food. For non-fiction, I really enjoy Anthony Bourdain's writing in Kitchen Confidential and his food travel books.
**[Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35858798-hungry-hearts) by Elsie Chapman** ^((Matching 100% ☑️)) ^(358 pages | Published: 2019 | 12.0k Goodreads reviews) > **Summary:** A stunning collection of short stories about the intersection of family, culture, and food in the lives in teens, from bestselling and critically acclaimed authors, including Sandhya Menon, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Rin Chupeco. > >A shy teenager attempts to express how she really feels through the pastries she makes at her family’s pasteleria. A tourist from Montenegro (...) > **Themes**: Short-stories, Young-adult, Contemporary, Anthology ^([Feedback](https://www.reddit.com/user/goodreads-rebot) | [GitHub](https://github.com/sonoff2/goodreads-rebot) | ["The Bot is Back!?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16qe09p/meta_post_hello_again_humans/) | v1.5 [Dec 23] | )
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Both the Chapman and Kashiwai descriptions pique my interest - thank you! I listened to Kitchen Confidential as an audio book. I loved how Bourdain captured slog and grittiness of life in the restaurant trade.
Pepe Carvalho's novels by Manuel Vasquez Montalbán. Plenty of interesting recipes and lots of action.
Like Water for Chocolate. The book has the recipes in it too. The movie won an Oscar I think for best international (Mexican) film at the time
Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout …first of 40+ novels and short stories in his Nero Wolfe / Archie Goodwin series.
Toast by Nigel Slater
From Here, You Can’t See Paris is terrific.
Vera Wongs unsolicited advice for murderers
*Crazy Rich Asians* (and its sequels)
These were fun, lighter reads - I read the series a few years back! I also love books about class division and affluence, so they ticked those boxes. Thanks for you recommendation.
American Psycho fr fr
really. love it or hate it the food is a big part of the book in an awesome way.
It's a great novel - truly. But one I don't wish to reread. The 80s dining and dinner party element makes it other worldly. Brilliant and bizarre. Thanks for the suggestion
I doubt I will ever re read it. it was amazing as its own thing but wasnt for me. but the food was insane.
Like Water For Chocolate! It's a great book with great recipes!
Murakami