Undercooked

October 1, 2022

Stand-up comic, actor (e.g., Netflix's Cobra Kai), and host of the No. 1 food podcast in the country, Green Eggs and Dan, Ahdoot uses an essay format in Undercooked to explain how food became a crutch and finally a dangerous obsession for him, starting with his brother's untimely death. Before he died of cancer, Braitman's father rushed to teach her important things like how to fix a carburetor and play good practical jokes; long after his death, she realized the cost of What Looks Like Bravery in suppressing her sorrow at his passing; following the New York Times best-selling Animal Madness. In Forager, journalism professor Dowd recalls her upbringing in the fervently Christian cult Field, founded by her domineering grandfather, where she was often cold, hungry, and abused and learned to put her trust in the natural world. Hospitalized from ages of 14 to 17 with anorexia nervosa, Freeman (House of Glass) recalls in Good Girls her subsequent years as a "functioning anorexic" and interviews doctors about new discoveries and treatments regarding the condition. In Happily, which draws on her Paris Review column of the same name, Mark uses fairytale to show how sociopolitical issues impact her own life, particularly as a Jewish woman raising Black children in the South. Philosophy professor Martin's How Not To Kill Yourself examines the mindset that has driven him to attempt suicide 10 times. Award-winning CBS journalist Miller here limns a sense of not Belonging: abandoned at birth by her mother, a Chicana hospital administrator who hushed up her affair with the married trauma surgeon (and Compton's first Black city councilman) who raised Miller, the author struggled to find her place in white-dominated schools and newsrooms and finally sought out her lost parent (60,000-copy first printing). From Mouton, Houston's first Black poet laureate and once ranked the No. 2 Best Female Performance Poet in the World (Poetry Slam Inc.), Black Chameleon relates an upbringing in a world devoid of the stories needed by Black children--which she argues women must now craft (60,000-copy first printing). A graduate of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, Mount Holyoke College, and Columbia University, Ramotwala demonstrates The Will To Be in a memoir of early hardship (her mother's first-born daughter died in a firebombing before the author was born) and adjusting to life in the United States (75,000-copy first printing). In Stash, Robbins, host of the podcast The Only One in the Room, relates her recovery from dangerous drug use (e.g., stockpiling pills and scheduling withdrawals around PTA meetings and baby showers) as she struggles with being Black in a white world. Author of the multi-award-winning, multi-award-nominated No Visible Bruises, a study of domestic violence, Snyder follows up with Women We Buried, Women We Burned, her story of escaping the cult her widowed father joined and as a teenager making her way in the world (100,000-copy first printing).

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December 15, 2022
A comic describes his lifelong love affair with food. "A good meal gives me more happiness than almost anything in life, including sex, money, and sex," Ahdoot writes in this collection of humorous essays. Later, he adds, "I'm probably the best comedian in the country with a deep obsession with food, so that's something, right?" Much of the narrative describes how he got that way. Unfortunately, the book is like a restaurant that can't keep good chefs because the offerings vary wildly in quality. As the middle of three boys, Ahdoot was the only child in their Iranian Jewish household who shared his father's love of fine cuisine, a passion his father maintained until the oldest son died of cancer. Ahdoot's parents then turned to religion and frequented "subpar kosher immigrant eateries...with fluorescent lighting, sticky menus, and the smell of ferment." Nonetheless, the author's passion for food intensified and led to the adventures chronicled here: his time as an intern at the Spotted Pig, a high-end restaurant for the "culinary daredevil, someone who chewed first and asked questions later"; breaking up with an actor because he couldn't deal with her dietary restrictions; his experiences hunting, which he describes in a sequence about an elk hunt, where he reveled "in opening the eyes of lifelong hunters to the joys of the discarded bits," including "the animal's ultimate delectable--the heart." Essays about Ahdoot's family are pleasurable, but the rest are superficial and rely on painful attempts at humor. A reader's appreciation of this book will depend on reactions to lines like, "If the Nazis could get used to mass murder, I could get used to hunting." Attempts at memorable food descriptions fall flat, as when the author notes a "magical saffron panna cotta that coated and comforted my tongue like a dairy cashmere sweater, leaving wisps of the Orient in its wake." However, readers who enjoy pagelong accounts of messy bowel movements won't be disappointed. Some chapters are well-prepared entrees. The others? Send them back.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 2, 2023
Food Network host and comedian Ahdoot debuts with a hilarious collection of essays chronicling his food obsession. Ahdoot, a middle child, bonded with his father over their shared love of restaurant meals, until his older brother died of cancer and his parents turned to religion—and a kosher diet—for comfort. He recalls losing the connection to his father and his ensuing efforts to fill the emptiness with a culinary vengeance: “My parents had Yahweh; I had Anthony Bourdain.” In “Dan the Intern,” he details his time interning at the now defunct Manhattan hot spot Spotted Pig (“It was highly unpleasant seeing Mario in the wild,” he writes of Mario Batali, pre-scandal), while in “Feels on Wheels,” he banters with his friend about powering through hangovers to volunteer with Meals on Wheels: “I’d been so busy seeking the greatest meals to make me feel better, and here were people eating food that was pure sustenance, and they were filled with gratitude for simple blessings that didn’t require a reservation three months in advance.” Ahdoot peels back the layers through amusing anecdotes, seamlessly pairing his sharp-witted humor with an endearing self-awareness. Whether he is skewering food restrictions or lamenting relationship regrets, Ahdoot’s rib-tickling collection will satiate culinary adventurers. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve.

February 15, 2023
Actor and comedian Ahdoot's coming-of-age memoir takes readers on an often hilarious ride through his many food-related adventures. From a young age, he seemed destined for haute cuisine, cultivating a high-end taste for homemade souffl�s, Michelin-starred meals, and the latest restaurant trends. Eventually though, it seemed that his passion for food was perhaps coming at the expense of his personal relationships. Whether telling out-sized stories of sending back the risotto at Osteria Francescana in Modena, or spending a week in Parisian foodie heaven with a new lover (also a cover for his sorrow over a recent breakup), or sharing gory details of hunting with the guys, or simply reminiscing about his grandmother's home-cooked Persian meals, Ahdoot is a skilled storyteller who will leave readers wanting more. Readers don't need to know much about the author to commiserate or laugh along. His personality pops off the page through clever writing, and while his antics are occasionally off-putting (like accidentally starting a forest fire), his all-too-human need for self-forgiveness and acceptance comes across as universal.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.