Food Tales

by Mimi Sheraton, Laurie Rubin (Photographer)

Eating--arguably life's greatest pleasure--is honored in this book of elegantly illustrated stories, the latest anthology in the popular Tales series. Includes stories by Robert Benchley, Alexandre Dumas, John Steinbeck, Thomas Wolfe, W. Somerset Maugham, Sylvia Townsend Warner, and others. 21 full-color photographs.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food Writing

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1992

About the author

In 1975 she became the food critic for the New York Times. She held that position for 8 years after which she became the food critic for Time magazine.

She freelanced for New York Times, Vanity Fair, Food and Wine, and other magazines.

Reviews

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Food Tales: A Literary Menu of Mouthwatering Masterpieces consists of eight stories selected by food critic Mimi Sheraton and interspersed with now-somewhat-dated food shots by Laurie Rubin. The photographs did nothing for me, to be honest: they’re artistic, but they didn’t make me want to eat what was featured.

The stories are better. There’s a range of stories here, from Robert Benchley’s Yesterday’s Sweetmeats, a reflection on the candies much-loved by American children at one time (not really a story) to Thomas Wolfe’s His Father’s Earth, meandering and full of adjectives. From Somerset Maugham’s deliciously satirical The Luncheon, to the equally tongue-in-cheek The Spoilt Cake of Jules Renard. There are stories by other famous writers too: Alexandre Dumas’s A Vicomte’s Breakfast, and John Steinbeck’s Tortillas and Beans, for instance.

For me, the most annoying story was His Father’s Earth. It started off excellently, with some evocative and mouthwatering descriptions of food, but then it turned into a litany of increasingly boring and long-drawn-out descriptions of everything. Irritating, too long, and too boring. The other stories were better, with my favourite being The Luncheon, followed closely by The Spoilt Cake, Tortillas and Beans, and A Vicomte’s Breakfast. These were the ones which didn’t just focus on the food, but had a good story to tell as well, interesting characters, and food playing a critical role in all of it.

On the whole, a decent enough read if you’re interested in stories centred round food.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of some of the most delicious literary references to food that you'll ever read, and always remember with your mind and your palate. Beautifully styled food photographs accompany the stories. Writings by John Steinbeck, Thomas Wolfe, Alexandre Dumas and W Somerset Maugham and more. Steinbeck's is particularly memorable to me - a woman whose family starves when her admirers bring meat and vegetables instead of the nourishing dried beans that the grandmother simmers in pot. "A literary menu", so true.

--Ashland Mystery