How Chefs Holiday

by Dana Cowin

Once autumn hits, the holiday season has begun! And nothing embodies holiday spirit more than family traditions and recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. Maybe it’s sharing stories at the dinner table, having a laugh on the front porch, or just relaxing with loved ones—everyone has their own ritual.

Join Dana Cowin, author and former Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine, as she chats with some of today’s most popular chefs and food personalities. Together they pass along their own holiday traditions and stories, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Dana and company also discuss how these experiences impact their current holiday traditions and menus.

Cowin takes advantage of her career-spanning relationships with these top chefs to have them share

• Unique ways to celebrate Thanksgiving with Padma Lakshmi
• The Swedish Christmas with Marcus Samuelsson
• The "hard knocks of the holidays" with Kwame Onwuachi
• A holiday catastrophe with Carla Hall
• The importance of gratitude with Mike Solomonov
• The Anti-Christmas with Alex Guarnaschelli.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Food, Cooking, Christmas, Memoir, Cookbooks

Audible Audio

Reviews

[Brianna - Four Paws and a Book]

I don't rate nonfiction, but this was really cool to see how professional chefs view the autumnal and winter holidays. It felt like an NPR podcast report

[Suzanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agree with other reviewers that this is not really a book but more like interviews of chefs for a podcast. However it was a pleasant hours listen on a short road trip. It also got us into the mood for holidays and some of our non-traditional foods and activities.

[Jackie McClellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short anecdotal book about chefs and their holiday traditions. It was cool hearing from chefs i love

[Lucian · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.70/5.00

Short audiobook - I thought it's going to be on where chefs spend their holidays (as in their annual leaves); but it was about Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah. Go figures!

Got some recipes out of it - olive oil ice cream, anyone? - and was nice to hear on how diverse we are as people. What's holiday's spirit for one, can be completely different for someone else, even though all of them are renowned chefs.

Filled an hour of my time, happy to have gone through it.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an Audible freebie. I love cooking. I love cooking shows. I love reading about cooking. So it is no surprise that I liked this one. It was fun to hear what food, tradition, family & friends mean to others.

[Doug Trani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief but entertaining Audible Original. Recipes included in PDF.

[Kelli Santistevan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s what this book is about:”Join Dana Cowin, author and former Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine, as she chats with some of today’s most popular chefs and food personalities. Together they pass along their own holiday traditions and stories, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Dana and company also discuss how these experiences impact their current holiday traditions and menus.“

I listened to this book today on Audible and I enjoyed it even though it’s not really a book. It’s more like a podcast. I think it would have worked really well as a podcast. This has a pdf file with recipes in it to try if you want to. I’m probably not going to try any of them because I don’t know how to cook and my mom would have to help me but I still thought it was interesting. I enjoyed hearing about all of the family traditions that the chefs have.

[Pat Hawthorne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an Audible original and is relatively short, about an 1 hour in length. I listened to it on my afternoon commute home. It is a series of interviews with six chefs focused on holiday meals and traditions. Former Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine, Dana Cowin, chats with these popular chefs. Each chef talks about memories of past holidays and food AND how they celebrate holidays today - as a chef with memories of holidays past. Enjoyable and you can download a PDF with a recipe from each chef.

[Norma · Rating 3 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"Six traditional holiday meals."
A free Audible download in which Dana Cowin interviews six presumably famous cooks about what they personally eat at family celebrations such as Christmas or Thanksgiving, and including a PEF with a recipe from each. An interesting hour, probably made more enjoyable if the cooks are familiar to the reader.
Included are Marcus Samuelson and Palma Lakshmi

[Amy Dakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doesn’t exactly read like a book since it’s more interviews, but I found this to be really interesting. I don’t think people would appreciate this the same way unless they watch a lot of Food Network/Top Chef to know the people who shared their stories. Being familiar with those sharing there stories helped me to be more engaged. In particular, I found Marcus Samuelsson incredibly interesting. I also found Alex Guarnaschelli to be so raw and vulnerable with her story.

[Andree Sanborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book. It's a wannabe NPR radio program. It is interesting if you follow Food Network chefs. The Carla Hall and Marcus Samuelsson segments were the most enjoyable for me. I'm too much of a New Englander to try new holiday recipes, but they are available as a PDF file with the audiobook.

[TJ Totland · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I get ready to prepare our family Christmas dinner, I thought this book would get me mentally prepared, and boy did it. I always thought about cooking as just a chore but these great chefs taught me that it is also something you can put your heart and soul into and make your family time really memorable

[Fayeza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful listen. It’s more a podcast than a book and pretty short. I loved that the narration included chefs from many cultures and how each of them had a powerful personal story about the holidays. Notably absent was the holiday experiences of a Muslim chef 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freebie from Audible. Somehow I thought that chefs would approach the holidays differently than the rest of us. Seems that they are as nostalgic and neurotic as my family. I find comfort in that. And thanks for their family recipes.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's almost the end of May and now I'm ready for the holidays to be here! These are chefs that I have followed and watched for years so it was great listening to them talk about their traditions. And to get some of their recipes was a big bonus!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! I guess this was Christmas in July for me! If you love to cook, you will love this special 2019 Holiday gift from Audible. It comes with a PDF of one favorite recipe from each of the chefs interviewed.

[Riana Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy food or cooking, you'll get a kick out of these holiday stories shared by famous chefs showing how their families, culture, and personal histories influence how they celebrate and share today.

[Krystle Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick audible original whereby Dana Cowin interviews a number of chefs and food-related personalities to find out their holiday traditions, including, but not limited to the food in which they eat/make/serve/relish. Cute.

[Whatcha Reading Heather? · Rating 4 out of 5]

*More 4.5/5 rating* It's always interesting seeing what inspires chefs, but the added layer of them talking about the holiday related foods and experiences that they hold to their hearts is definitely an extra treat. I honestly wish this was a whole series or a full-length book.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, if you are familiar with the chefs interviewed (which I am), but nothing extraordinary.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this audiobook. It was like listening to a tv show and I missed seeing what they were talking about.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just a shot story where Dana Cowin talks to a few different chefs about their holiday traditions. Chef's include Padma Lakshmi and Carla Hall with a few others that I didn't know.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed hearing about chef family traditions around the holidays. There was a nice mix of chefs and cultures. Now, I want to go see if I can get the recipes from the Audible website.

[art.books.chemistry (SamE.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

- Cute and endearing
- Culturally informative
- Mouthwatering
- IT COMES WITH RECIPES

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice and short, a good listen for this time of the year. There's a lot of diversity in the selection of chefs and I appreciate that.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5)

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a yummy morsel of a mini-book!

[Lori Huffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good listen for a drive.

[Dr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A podcast episode disguised as a book.

[Kurt Wallinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, entertaining listen for the holidays (Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas).