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Title: Untangling My Chopsticks : A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto by Victoria Abbott Riccardi ISBN: 0-7679-0851-1 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 13 May, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.73 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Life lessons learned & ritual-imbued meals cooked & eaten
Comment: Three culinary trends today include drinking green tea, dining on meals composed of many small dishes, and exploring exotic gastronomic customs. I just read a book that brings those three together beautifully. It's called Untangling My Chopsticks, A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto, by Victoria Riccardi.
Trained in Western culinary tradition and a veteran of a Parisian restaurant kitchen, Riccardi was on the classic culinary track. Until an employee of the Japan Society in New York mentioned kaiseki to her, that is. Victoria's trip to Japan to learn about kaiseki changed her life as her Cordon Bleu training never would.
Kaiseki, I learned, is an elegant, ritualistic cuisine, a degustation of small, seasonal dishes, which developed in Zen monasteries to accompany the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. From page one Riccardi plunged me into exotic Kyoto, the acknowledged birthplace of kaiseki, with tales of her new home dubbed the "bedroom of eels," and her first meal, in a neon-yellow-splashed restaurant under the Kyoto train station. Her story unveils Japanese culture, taste, and tradition in prose that sparkles like the morning sun on a breeze-rippled pond.
Before Untangling my Chopsticks, my knowledge of Japanese food culture could be summed up in a paragraph, the one dubbed "sushi etiquette" sometimes printed on the back of American sushi menus. The story of Victoria's sojourn was like a gift to me: lush with details of friendships forged, life-changing lessons learned, and deeply symbolic, ritual-imbued meals cooked and eaten. It opened my mind.
Rating: 5
Summary: Read this book, chop, chop!
Comment: Victoria Abbott Riccardi's wonderful book, Untangling My Chopsticks, is a treat to read. She shares her tale of the year she spent in Kyoto, Japan, immersed in Japanese culture and studying the art of kaiseki. The story is tied together neatly and offers an immense amount of information on Japanese culture and cuisine as well as tea ceremonies. Her descriptions are so vivid and precise that I found myself salivating over the food. Having lived in Asia myself, I laughed out loud at some of the predicaments/cultural differences she comes across and so deftly describes.
I will definately suggest that my bookgroup read this book and know that we will make some of the delicious-sounding recipes for our dinner meeting. Her recipes, both Asian and Western, do not seem daunting as in some travel/food journals. I highly recommend Untangling My Chopsticks to anyone who loves Asia and/or food.
Rating: 5
Summary: Don't read this while you're hungry!
Comment: and after you do read it, you'll need to find a Japanese grocer in your city, because you'll be inspired to hunt all over for soba sauce and azuki bean paste.
What a delight this book is! It veritably sparkles like diamonds and rubies, and in fact she compares tea kaiseki with jewels.
I borrowed a copy from a friend to read, but now I'm inspired to buy my own copy so I can re-savor it and also contribute to Victoria's royalties. She deserves so much for this splendid book.
Her insights into the spirituality of food, even simple things like wrapping packages carefully like the Japanese do, make it a book that you can apply to your daily life, even if you never attend a tea ceremony.
My *ONLY* gripe, and I really hate to say this, is that her connection with Zen Buddhism was tenuous. She does go to Mount Hiei toward the end of the book and tries to sit with the monks, but she spends a lot more time talking about recipes again. But really that's okay because her main emphasis is not to meditate until satori, but to appreciate the food connection.
I can't think of anyone who would not fall in love with this book! Thank you, Bi-cu-to-ri-ha! (That's Japanese for her name, as heard from the lips of children.)
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Title: Feeding a Yen : Savoring Local Specialties, from Kansas City to Cuzco by Calvin Trillin ISBN: 0375508082 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Fried Butter: A Food Memoir by Abe Opincar ISBN: 156947334X Publisher: Soho Press, Inc. Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Monsoon Diary: A Memoir With Recipes by SHOBA NARAYAN ISBN: 0375507566 Publisher: Villard Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: The Fine Art of Japanase Food Arrangement by Yoshio Tsuchiya, Masaru Yamamoto, Eiji Kori ISBN: 4770029306 Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Masterclass in Japanese Cooking by Emi Kazuko ISBN: 1862055823 Publisher: Penguin Uk Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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