Profiles from the Kitchen: What Great Cooks Have Taught Us about Ourselves and Our Food »

In Profiles from the Kitchen, Charles A. Baker-Clark offers a collection of portraits of well-known culinary figures who have worked in different ways to shape our relationship with food. Despite their diverse personalities, backgrounds, and interests, Baker-Clark's subjects are a testament to the fact that both cooking and eating are endeavors well worth learning and sustaining. Profiles from the Kitchen includes well-known food writers such as M.F.K. Fisher, Eugene Walter, Elizabeth David, and John T. Edge; famous cooks such as Julia Child and James Beard; and contemporary chefs such as Rick Bayless and Susan Spicer. Each individual has offered different views of food and cooking and has encouraged us to appreciate good cooking while considering other facets of our food, including how food relates to issues of social justice, spirituality, and sustainability.

Library Journal

Baker-Clark (hospitality & tourism management, Grand Valley State Univ., MI) presents a well-researched collection of portraits of famous figures from the culinary world's past and present. Focusing on the lives and careers of 12 renowned individuals, including celebrated writers such as M.F.K. Fisher, incomparable cooks like Julia Child, and modern masters such as Rick Bayless, Baker-Clark provides insight into the events and opportunities that shaped them. An extensive list of references follows each chapter. Although scholarly in design, the book reveals a man with a mission-Baker-Clark has no love for the fast food society that he believes robs us of a cultural connection to our food. A common thread among those featured is their dedication to the craft of cooking. One of the longest chapters is devoted to Carlo Petrini, the founder of the slow-food movement, whom the author clearly admires as a kindred spirit. Baker-Clark closes with a short plea to rethink our relationship to food and food preparation. For larger public and academic libraries.-Rosemarie Lewis, Broward Cty. P.L., Ft. Lauderdale, FL Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.