Charming reminiscences by a couple of merry pranksters who hit upon a happy accident in the chemistry lab that allowed them...
Actor Newman and writer Hotchner (The Day I Fired Alan Ladd, 2002, etc.) recount their joint adventure delivering Newman’s Own salad dressing to the American public, “a triumph of irresponsibility over reason.”
The star was as proud of his all-natural dressing as he was repelled by the bottled offerings at the supermarket, so with Hotchner he put together “a lark, an open-end adventure” with $40,000 as their investment ceiling. They demanded fresh garlic and onions in the dressing and refused to use any of the chemicals that commercial manufacturers insisted were essential to give their product the one-year shelf life supermarkets demanded. Luckily for them, research chemists at a sympathetic bottler discovered that one of their high-quality ingredients released a natural preservative. They eschewed business plans, using their friends as their test markets; at one point, Martha Stewart, then a local caterer in Connecticut, arranged one of the tastings. In brisk, ain’t-it-somethin’ style, Newman and Hotchner describe the loopy media events, the songs they sang at promotions, the industry-bucking labeling, and, of course, the industry-humiliating act of giving all after-tax profit to charity. The launch had a few rocky moments, but, kept afloat by a vision, armed with principles, happy to laugh, they soon found themselves food tycoons in need of charities. They write happily of the result that remains closest to their hearts: the rapid rise of their Hole in the Wall camp for children who, “because of their diseases or because of their complications or because of their treatment, couldn't go to an ordinary camp.” That first camp in Connecticut has spawned a number of like venues across the world. Subsequent Newman’s Own products include spaghetti sauce and popcorn, an organic line crafted by Paul’s daughter Nell, and wife Joanne Woodward’s lemonade (guaranteed to restore your virginity).
Charming reminiscences by a couple of merry pranksters who hit upon a happy accident in the chemistry lab that allowed them to remain true to their values.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2003
ISBN: 0-385-50802-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
This 14th entry in the Knopf Cooks American series is top- notch (even Knopf's trademark borzoi has gotten into the spirit, sporting a jaunty toque). Cookbook writer Dooley (Peppers, Hot and Sweet, not reviewed) and Watson, owner of an eponymous restaurant in Minneapolis, update regional favorites with sensible revisionism. Our guides present foods from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, upper Michigan, and eastern North Dakota that reflect varied northern and eastern European immigration, cold weather, long distances between homes, and—as in the case of a pliant white bread using leftover mashed potatoes—the sturdy, thrifty values for which the Midwest is known. Along with the clear, extremely functional recipes are bits of information about such local delicacies as lutefisk (preserved codfish brought over from Norway) and the ice cream sundae, which was invented in Two Rivers, Wis. One entire chapter is devoted to ``hot dishes''—one-dish meals popular for church suppers and other informal gatherings; and alongside the traditional chicken pot pie, Dooley and Watson offer innovations like roasted vegetable strudel. Even a standard leftover meat casserole is perked up with caramelized onions and cognac. Likewise, dairy and egg options include blintzes that would not have been out of place in a turn-of-the-century kitchen though pepped up with fresh corn in the batter and fresh basil in the ricotta and Parmesan cheese filling. Hearty, homey eating, imbued with today's wisdom. Even coastal snobs will be dashing to the kitchen. (75 b&w illustrations, not seen)
Pub Date: Oct. 19, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-41175-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1994
A rags to riches story which would benefit from more heart and less science.
In a straightforward autobiography, Hirschorn recalls his journey from a childhood in 1930s Berlin to building a multinational corporation that helped make the world a less noisy place.
Born in Berlin in 1921 to a working class Jewish family, even as a child Hirschorn helped his parents at their respective jobs. Things changed when the Nazis came to power. By 1937, his parents had sent him to the relative safety of school in England. As World War II raged, the author managed to earn an engineering degree. In 1947, he joined his aunt in America and found some fame in engineering circles through a paper on designing an equipment silencer. He used this as a springboard to start his company, Industrial Acoustics Company, out of his aunt’s fourth-floor walk-up–he quickly found a need for his specific brand of expertise in postwar America. The author’s story is the quintessential immigrant’s tale–he arrived in America with nothing and turned himself into a captain of industry. Yet so much time is spent on the nitty-gritty of engineering and not enough on how Hirschorn became the man with a knack for silencing cacophony. The most thrilling part of the book should have been Hirschorn’s formative years in Nazi Germany and WWII England, but the writing is excessively matter-of-fact, robbing it of excitement. Even the excerpts from his actual journals, written when he was a young man, are somewhat sedate. However, the 70-year-old Hirschorn’s commentary on his younger self is intriguing. While the book can be impassive, the breadth of the author’s experience and knowledge is impressive.
A rags to riches story which would benefit from more heart and less science.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-9769816-0-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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