For food lovers, Georgia Pellegrini’s Food Heroes
In Norway, a man named Hans-Otto is breeding strong bees with scientific precision to combat a mysterious epidemic called “colony collapse disorder.” Without bees, which pollinate most of the world food sources, our world is in serious trouble. In Ghana, Steven Wallace’s single-source chocolate factory has given hundreds of jobs to locals. They are “among the highest paid in the country” and have access to free uniforms and meals to subsidized housing and free medical care. This chocolate is not only singular in taste and quality, it’s also making a difference.
As I said to a friend the other day, Pellegrini’s writing makes me want to step into the pages of the book, to see what she saw and taste what she tasted. I couldn’t help but feel jealous as she drank German beer stored in wooden barrels and ate long-forgotten varieties of heirloom potatoes. But her writing is so wildly descriptive, you see and taste vicariously. Although I now aspire to go on my own culinary pilgrimage or become a culinary artisan myself, her short stories were like a nightly vacation as I read before bed. For now, that will have to be enough.
Last week I made the Bamberg Stuffed Onions for dinner. Aside from hollowing out onions (I cried more than when I watch The Notebook), this was such an easy dinner. What’s not to love: onion, bacon, ground pork, fresh parsley and bread crumbs. The stuffed onions were incredibly flavorful, and as I drizzled the beer sauce over the onions I couldn’t help but think of Germans who had done the same that night (except my beer was from a Manhattan corner shop and theirs was from a six hundred year-old German brewery).
This book delivers the backstory we all need to hear: the story behind the food and the recipe.
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To win a copy of Food Heroes
The winner is comment #37 – Holly H! My Grandma Jewell, she was able to always put the most amazing meals together and made it look so easy. She made you feel like you were so special. No one can ever compare to her. I miss her dearly.
My Mimi, Frances Guinn. She instilled a love of cooking in my mom, then me, and we still celebrate her recipes today. I miss her lots, especially at Thanksgiving, but I know she is still looking down on us from the Great Feast in Heaven.
Mark Kurlansky. I love that someone has provided such a rich and well-written look at food history.
My best friend Kate. She singlehandedly rescued menin college from the boring, flavorless food my mother had taught me.
My Mom is my food hero because she instilled the ritual of a family dinner in me. When I was growing up we always had dinner together..usually at the same time ! As I grew up and raised my 2 daughters we always tried to do the same…it’s different for us though as we are a much busier bunch with schedules that don’t always connect but even now with a 13 year old and an 18 year old we still manage to sit down together several times a week. I don’t know alot of families that prioritize that but I thank my Mother for bringing me up with those values as they are so important these days. It has really helped my family stay connected to each others days and doings. We all enjoy it very much.
My Nanu who grew, picked and made quince jam, who taught me that if a honeybee is in your way you can pick it up and move it, who taught me that black birch tastes good.
Definitely my mother. She was 30 years ahead of the real food movement – made her own cheese, grew our veg and taught us girls to make bread as pre-teens.
She’s still an inspiration! I’m looking forward to her Panforte this Christmas!
My friend Ingrid, years ago (when we were both in middle school) we made several meals together for our families. I’ll always cherish those memories, of great meals and some not so great!
my mom is my food hero. she was going to the farmer’s market to buy local (organic) produce 30 years ago, way before it was cool to do that…
My Nana, she taught me how to bake cookies from scratch and the joy of cooking for others.
My late mother-in-law, who made her own yogurt everyday until she tried Columbo and found out it was made by Armenians and so it must be okay. And, she taught me to make a fine rice pilaf.
My mom, who fed her husband and 7 daughters every night. She is a great cook, and we had a tremendous variety of foods growing up, unlike some of my friends (if it’s Saturday, it must be hot dogs, kind of families). She still hosts parties for 20 or more and makes it look easy and she’s 85! Her pie crusts can not be beat!
My mom. She was a great southern cook that worked with what she had. You never visited our home without mom offering you something to eat. It was just her way. We always had about 10-15 people for Sunday dinner each week. It was our family and usually our pastor and his family just about every Sunday. Don’t think I really understood then what I had…it was just our way.
my mother… she had to put up with my father’s picky tastes, her children’s whims and a tight budget, yet her cooking was amazing. in more recent years, with a vegan son and daughter-in-law and a son-in-law with food allergies, she’s branched out and become a full-fledged gourmet.
My mom! She always managed to whip up a home-cooked meal out of whatever was in the pantry, fridge or freezer.
My mom. She is the wife of a now retired Army Officer and the mother of 5. Feeding us on that income was always challenging. But she did it, and she did it with style. I remember being one of the few who carried a packed lunch to school everyday. I never felt deprived. Instead I found many would stare in wonder at the wonderful surprises she would put in my lunch box. My favorite was a caramel cake with caramel frosting that she whippe up out of nothing. She inspired me to love cooking and my brother to become a chef.
My Grandmother is my food hero. She could take any combination of food ingredients, using whatever was on hand, and make the most delicious meals.
My mom, for sure. She loves food. She loves me. That has made me love food and love to cook. I always feel like I’m home with my mama when I’m cooking.
My food hero is my grandma. She could fry chicken perfectly, regardless of the oil being too hot or too cold. She just made her adjustments and it came out perfect every time. So effortless.
Thanks for the giveaway offer 🙂
My dad helped to teach me about the foods he grew up with
My grandmother is my food hero. She is a first generation Italian-American and she has taught me so much about food and life. Her biggest lesson she has taught is that food taste so much better when it’s made by your own hands and you know where the ingredients came from. Those are the greatest gifts we can ask for.
My grandmother is my food hero! I can never thank her enough for letting me make a mess in her kitchen as a kid. It gave me the love of cooking for my family that I have now!
my mom! she taught me how to cook, letting me help since i was old enough to hold a spoon and patiently giving me jobs whenever i showed interest…she’s awesome! :o)
My food heroes are anyone who decided to abandon a normal job to pursue their passion in cooking.. if only I were so brave (or talented)..
It used to be Jamie Oliver. But I’m not gonna lie, and I’m not saying this to be smarmy or kiss up. My food hero is your mom. Pam has taught me so much in the past three years. She’s pretty much matched head to head with my Nan for how much influence she has had in my cooking education. And she’s always so willing to do so. For that, for spreading her knowledge and her love of food, and simply being an amazing teacher, Pam Anderson is my food hero.
My daughter! Who got me to learn the technic of good cooking!
My food hero is my mom. She is a very adventurous cook. She always emphasized how important it was to sit down and eat as a family… no tv, no phone calls… just good food and good company!
I would have to say my Mother-in-law. It didn’t matter if it was your birthday, Thanksgiving, a Tuesday night around 830pm, or Groundhog day, she always had something good to feed you. And EVERYONE was welcome to a plate!
My mother. She is gone now, but growing up she instilled in me a desire and love of feeding my family with warn, homecooked comfort foods. Now I’m trying to venture out and learn more but the basics and passion for food comes from my mom, and I would guess she never knew the impact it had on me. Someday I hope to be able to tell her.
My best friend’s mother, actually. I wasn’t raised in a kitchen-savvy family, but spending afternoons there assisting her as she prepared dinner or baked goodies for us was enough to convince me that I wanted to tackle baking and cooking on my own.
I know a lot of us are saying “my mom” but I have to agree. My mom cooked for a family of nine each day, and there were times when there was no money. She could stretch a chicken like non one else! She’s gone now, but I hear her in my kitchen every day.
My mother-in-law is really the one who taught me how to cook and bake and inspires me to always branch out and try new things.
I come from a non cooking family but taught myself and now found a passion. My heros are many. Food bloggers land at the top of my list. They toss out creations, ideas, advice that encourage, challenge and make your meals devine! I learn more and often laugh harder because of special people who love what they do and reignite the passion in my own kitchen.
What about an anti-food hero? lol. My mom is an awesome cook but hated to cook so we ate out ALL THE TIME! It inspired me to learn to cook as I hate dining out. But my true food hero has to be Alton Brown. I love, love, love “Good Eats!” His zany sense of humor and inherent geekiness has me hooked!
Jamie Oliver who is trying to bring back real food to school lunches.
My food hero is my grandmother who always blew everyone away with her immaculately presented food while remaining unflustered and graceful no matter how hectic the kitchen got. Such kind generosity, many thanks for the opportunity!
My Dad who raise two little girls on a limited budget and never made us feel like money was tight. Plus who doesn’t love tuna casserole?
My Grandma Jewell, she was able to always put the most amazing meals together and made it look so easy. She made you feel like you were so special. No one can ever compare to her. I miss her dearly.
My aunt Martha fed me as a kid and I still think she is the best cook I know.
Yikes! So many people answered their mom! My mom is a terrible cook. She hates cooking and can’t be bothered to do anything well. My cooking hero is Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. By reading her blog I realized that it can be simple to make delicious food, and even things that once seemed intimidating to me, like pot roast, are actually quite easy to master. Now I’m a very adventurous woman in the kitchen, and I love to try something new almost every night.
My Mom for sure! She instilled in me a love for food. I worked with my her in the kitchen cooking/ baking at a young age. She gave me jobs to do in the kitchen, and watched me blossom into a fine cook and baker. : )
My grandmother — she cooked on a wood stove every meal of her life (even when she had electric).
By the way – I made the chicken salsa verde with dumplings last night from Pam’s new cookbook. Yum!
Hmmm, I really had to think about this one. At first I wanted to say Alice Waters because she is such an inspiration to me. Everything she stands for is something I believe in wholeheartedly. But then I thought, nah…too cliché.
My real food hero is my Maternal Grandmother who died a few years ago. She hated to cook, but managed to feed a family of five through lean post-war years and helped feed the creative foodie mind of my mother who then delivered that appeal to me. Without her daily push to put good tasting (although mostly unhealthy!) food on the table I might never have been given such a passion for cooking.
Ken Haedrich. I started baking pies from his book to sell at my college’s coffee shop and my love for food took off, exposing me to a world of delicious food beyond my childhood diet.
My grandma, before she became older and more frail she use to cook and bake almost everything from scratch and recipes stored inside her head that she had remembered.
My mom is my food hero-I’ve learned so much from her, and continue to learn!
My husband is my current food hero – because he cooks for our family most of the time! (I love to cook too, but have a busier job than him right now.)
Paul Newman. He makes great stuff and all the money goes to charity.
My mom. She taught me to cook for the hay crew when I was 10 and I have cooked ever since!!
My dad. My father can handle anything that comes up on the homefront. He cleans and sews and most importantly, can whip up the best comfort food with ease. His food tastes the best to me. He is not only my food hero, but my hero in general! I still love going to my parents’ home and being fed and fussed over (only now I do it with my own kids in tow!)
oh…thepioneerwoman.com…..I really love reading her cooking section and tasty kitchen