Imogen Church’s lively narration pairs well with Willan’s informative, often playful survey of women cookbook writers (in the UK and U.S.) who changed culinary history. Church’s deliciously entertaining and painlessly educational interpretation serves up fascinating insights about food and its preparation. The audiobook traces changes in kitchens from Hannah Woolley’s hearth fires of the mid-1600s to today’s stovetops presided over by well-known giantesses Julia Child and Alice Waters, noting what each profiled author offers as distinct contributions. Church’s amiable British voice exudes enthusiasm; her beautiful pacing, with its ample emphasis and pausing, helps listeners digest many historical insights. She even enlivens the delivery of iconic recipes associated with each chef—and the audiobook comes with a pdf of recipes adapted for the modern kitchen. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

06/01/2020

James Beard Award–winning author Willan (The Country Cooking of France) winnows centuries of women cookbook authors to an influential dozen whose biographies and recipes form the backbone of this smartly executed book. Drawing from her own 2,000-plus cookbook collection built up over decades of writing about food, Willan notes “most of the active, recipe books, the ones I take into the kitchen, are by women.” She begins with Hannah Woolley, who in 1670 published the first woman’s cookbook, handwritten in 1661, in English, and closes with Alice Waters, who opened her “little French restaurant” Chez Panisse three centuries later and in 1982 shared its lauded recipes in the first of several cookbooks. The other 10 women include the familiar (Fannie Farmer, Irma Rombauer) and the forgotten, among them Lydia Child (better known for the classic rhyme, “Over the river and through the wood”). Recipes vary from unexpected (a 17th-century version of almond milk) and rustic (“Indian Slapjack,” from 1796) to sophisticated (Julia Child’s coq au vin; Marcella Hazan’s polenta con la luganega). Both cooks and historians will eagerly tuck into this cleverly conceived, well-researched collection. (Aug.)

Both cooks and historians will eagerly tuck into this cleverly conceived, well-researched collection.”
—Publishers Weekly

"An edifying survey of 12 women whose groundbreaking cookbooks span some 350 years. Ms. Willan enriches her social history with a few of each woman’s most tempting recipes."
—Heller McAlpin, The Wall Street Journal

“Most of the cooking of the world is done by women. I myself was taught by women cooks, my mother and aunts ran their own restaurants. Women in the Kitchen is an enlightening, fascinating journey with the formidable women cooks who made history by creating the rich and complex cuisine of today’s America.”
—Jacques Pépin

“Anne Willan, one of the great cookbook authors of our times, pays tribute to her predecessors and a few contemporaries in this glorious book that celebrates the achievements of women in the kitchen and on the page. Replete with recipes, historic and updated for modern cooks, Women in the Kitchen is nothing less than an absolute delight.”
—Ken Albala, Professor of History, University of the Pacific

“This beautifully curated collection makes a strong case for the importance of cookbooks and the power of women’s voices. Anne Willan shows how female cookbook writers from the seventeenth century to the present have been in the vanguard of progressive change. Her twelve engaging chapters explore the history of cookbooks and give us a taste of each era in delectably modernized recipes. This is a book for both library and kitchen.”
—Darra Goldstein, Founding Editor of Gastronomica

“Anne Willan reminds us that the cookbook authors who really have shaped the way we live in our home’s kitchens predominantly have been women. With biographical sketches of a dozen of the most important writers, ranging from 17th century Hannah Woolley to contemporary Alice Waters, she brings their work to life. And even more fun, she includes sample recipes from each, updated to work for modern cooks.”
—Russ Parsons, author of How to Pick a Peach

"Lyon was the capital of “les mères” and as a young chef I was blessed to work at La Mère Blanc, a female dominated kitchen. The graceful, casual, yet refined approach to cooking was unforgettable for me. Anne’s book, brings me back to the sensibility and devotion of a simple and soulful cuisine."
—Daniel Boulud, Chef & Restaurateur

"Noteworthy... traces the development of American cuisine via the contributions of 12 female cookbook writers."
—The New York Times

"Examines the recipes of a dozen cooks who made groundbreaking contributions across the food industry... these women reshaped the practice of home cooking and broke barriers in the male-dominated food industry."
—Smithsonian Magazine

"Willan has melded her passions for culinary history, writing and teaching into her fascinating new book."
—Chicago Tribune

“The stories of these women are both informative and inspiring, and the book is a reminder that the love of delicious food and the care and preparation that goes into it can create a common bond.”
—Booklist

"A tasty, digestible volume... Willan draws from a deep well of knowledge and passion to craft a clearly written, cohesive chronicle of the evolution of American and British cuisine... Approachable and charming, this text allows readers to learn about the lineage of women cooks while participating in it."
—Kirkus Reviews

07/01/2020

James Beard Award-winning cookbook author, culinary historian, and educator Willan profiles 12 cookbook authors, all women, from the past 300 years that she deems essential to the development of American home cooking. Included are profiles of Hannah Wooley, author of The Ladies Directory, a 1661 handbook utilized by women of the expanding English middle class, and Amelia Simmons, the somewhat mysterious author of American Cookery, the first cookbook written by an American. In addition to these early culinary pioneers, Willan also reflects upon the influence of Julia Child (Mastering the Art of French Cooking), Irma Rombauer (The Joy of Cooking), and Edna Lewis (The Taste of Country Cooking). Willan is clearly passionate about her subjects. Moreover, she provides 50 tested and updated recipes from the featured cookbooks that range in difficulty. VERDICT An additional purchase for large collections with culinary histories in high demand.—Emily Patti, Palatine P.L. Dist., IL

Imogen Church’s lively narration pairs well with Willan’s informative, often playful survey of women cookbook writers (in the UK and U.S.) who changed culinary history. Church’s deliciously entertaining and painlessly educational interpretation serves up fascinating insights about food and its preparation. The audiobook traces changes in kitchens from Hannah Woolley’s hearth fires of the mid-1600s to today’s stovetops presided over by well-known giantesses Julia Child and Alice Waters, noting what each profiled author offers as distinct contributions. Church’s amiable British voice exudes enthusiasm; her beautiful pacing, with its ample emphasis and pausing, helps listeners digest many historical insights. She even enlivens the delivery of iconic recipes associated with each chef—and the audiobook comes with a pdf of recipes adapted for the modern kitchen. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

2020-05-04
The founder of La Varenne Cooking School in Paris offers a succinct history of her female predecessors.

In this tasty, digestible volume, Willan, a member of the James Beard Foundation Awards Hall of Fame with more than six decades of experience in the world of food and cooking, explores a semialternative narrative of American and British cuisines. Female cookbook authors, she argues, have not only offered sound guidance to the millions of women feeding their families and guests since the 1600s; they have also gained financial independence and prestige, set trends, and paved the way for each other’s success. A collector of cookbooks herself, Willan clearly draws from a deep well of knowledge and passion in her biographies of 12 influential female writers. Via their stories, she crafts a clearly written, cohesive chronicle of the evolution of American and British cuisine, complete with colorful anecdotes about the movement and fashion of ingredients, the influence of class and education on women’s private and public culinary lives, and the gradual acceptance of cultural diversity into the mainstream palate. Occasionally repetitive—we learn multiple times about how “tomatoes were regarded with suspicion when they were brought to Europe from the New World” or that corn, a staple for Native Americans, “was a challenge for early American cooks”—Willan’s accounts of early British and American kitchens will leave contemporary cooks grateful for our modern conveniences and abundant flavor options. Each biography is accompanied by some of their subject’s most delectable recipes, first from the original texts and then reinterpreted by Willan. The older recipes are marvelous and entertaining historical documents that rely on the author’s translations to make them accessible. By the time she gets to figures like Julia Child and Alice Waters, who wrote rigorously tested recipes in an easily recognizable style, Willan’s adaptations contribute little.

Approachable and charming, this text allows readers to learn about the lineage of women cooks while participating in it.