Tumultuous times call for down-home cooking, piquant dishes, and ravishing desserts, whether in an opulent restaurant, noisy diner, or at home in front of a big-screen TV. But gastronomes may also enjoy reading about memorable meals or what’s next in the dining revolution. Kirkus Indie recently reviewed three nonfiction books that provide food anecdotes, advice, and predictions.
In Stoves & Suitcases, Cynthia D. Bertelsen recalls her childhood, her time in the Peace Corps, her marriage, and the savory dishes she sampled during her travels. Her descriptions are vibrant: “I ate like a wolf with a fresh kill, gulping the food on my plate in gasping, almost orgiastic bites, wadding up balls of bread and stuffing them into my mouth.” Our reviewer calls her memoir and cookbook “a tasty stew of gripping stories and evocative foodie lore.”
Delivering the Digital Restaurant by Meredith Sandland and Carl Orsbourn shows culinary establishments how they can flourish in the digital age, meeting consumers “where they are: online.” The authors, with experience in restaurant operations and development, assess various food delivery systems, offer marketing suggestions, and analyze the impact of Covid-19 on the dining landscape. “Serious restaurateurs will appreciate this comprehensive guide to delivery success,” our critic writes.
Karthik Sekar’s After Meat makes the case that raising animals for food and materials is outdated and inefficient. “All indications suggest that the future of food will ultimately be tastier, healthier, cheaper, kinder, and better for the environment,” the author asserts. “This will happen because we won’t use animal products.” Sekar, whose background encompasses biochemical engineering and systems biology, explains how experts can use organic compounds in microbes, plants, and fungi to create a meatless world. According to our reviewer, the work presents “an idiosyncratic and often engaging look at how meat isn’t cutting it.”
Myra Forsberg is an Indie editor.
