The Adventure of Food: True Stories of Eating Everything

by Richard Sterling (Editor)

Food — its smells, textures, colors, flavors, and rituals — is tied intrinsically to place. This heartwarming, surprising, and sumptuous collection of stories reveals our obsession with how food nourishes and sustains us, teaches us about other cultures, and creates community and connection with others. From the award-winning editor of Travelers’ Tales Food, here is another collection of funny and sometimes frightening true stories of eating that will make your mouth water while helping you better understand other cultures. Notable authors include Jeffrey Steingarten, Frances Mayes, Jonathan Raban, John Krich, and Maxine Kumin.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 1999

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE book that started me on my nonfiction foodie reading addiction. I loved it! It is a collection of writings from a heap of folks, and I've included the table of contents, so you know (before buying) just what you're getting. If you like food/cultural info/travel/etc., you'll probably enjoy this book.

5 Stars = Exceptional. It made a significant impact.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE: THE ESSENCE OF FOOD

Breakfast in Fiji—Laurie Gough
Fiji

Seduction à la Carte—Thom Elkjer
Belgium

Cat Fight Cachapas—Lara Naaman
Venezuela

The First Supper—David Robinson
Nigeria

Pizza Love—Fredda Rosen
Iowa

Doing Rumours—Kelly Simon
Turkey

Eat, Drink, Man, Woman—Heather Corinna
At the Dinner Table

The Last Meal—Michael Paterniti
France

Jambo!—Richard Sterling
Kenya

The Instructress—Mary Roach
Amazon

Etiquette, Schmetiquette—O.M. Bodè
Malaysia

The Revenge of the Snake People—John Krich
China

When I Became a Gastronome—Jan Morris
Australia

You Are Where You Eat—Patricia Volk
Everywhere

Go Fish—Renée Restivo
Poland

Daddy and the Porcupine—Darryl Babe Wilson
California

The Raw and the Cooked—Jim Harrison
USA/Paris

PART TWO: SOME THINGS TO DO

The Ceremony of One Chip—Robert L. Strauss
California

Love on a Plate—Theresa M. Maggio
Sicily

The Solitary Scone—Stephanie Sarver
California

The Impulsive Chef—Shane Dubow
USA

Greece and Water Mix—Zachary Taylor
Greece

Cuckoo for Kugel—Jim Leff
USA

Market Day—Frances Mayes
Italy

Fat Farm—Jeffrey Steingarten
Massachusetts

Out of Lunch—Linda Rice Lorenzetti
Burma

Biscuits & Gravy—Jack Lamb
USA

Seeking the Secret of Bird’s Nest Soup—David Yeadon
Thailand

Chai in an Unglazed Cup—Marguerite Thoburn Watkins
India

Crocodile Hunting—Nigel Anderson
Papua New Guinea

Great Expectations—Jennifer L. Leo
Hong Kong

Smokin’—Cal Fussman
Tennessee

A Rite of Spring—Theresa M. Maggio
Sicily

PART THREE: GOING YOUR OWN WAY

Absinthe —Taras Grescoe
Spain

360 Days a Year—Robert L. Strauss
Vietnam

In a Bad Bean Funk—Tom Bentley
USA

Confessions of a Cheese Smuggler—David Lansing
France

Phnom Penh Pepper—Rosemary Berkeley
Cambodia

The Season of Squirrel—Jonathan Raban
Wisconsin

The Taco that Changed My Life—Jeff Salz
Mexico

Baguette—Nicole Alper
France

The Great Durian Airline Odyssey—Harry Rolnick
Thailand

Taste of Eros—Ginu Kamani
Greece

A Caribbean Treat—Hanns Ebensten
Panama

Goulash—Germaine W. Shames
USA/Hungary

The French Waiter—Joseph Diedrich
Paris

Tibetan Cravings—Lisa Kremer
Tibet

PART FOUR: IN THE SHADOWS

Sausage Wars—Jeffrey Tayler
Russia

Foie Gras Dreams—Melinda Bergman Burgener
France

High on the Mountain—Derek Peck
Mexico

Hearts Get Broken—Mishell Erickson
USA

Alexandria Sweet—Clio Tarazi
USA/Greece

A Seat at the Table—Harry Rolnick
Syria/Jordan

Whales—Seth Zuckerman
Washington

PART FIVE: THE LAST WORD

Soup of the Day—Megan Mcnamer
Taiwan

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole, an entertaining short story collection about eating. However, I thought the stories would be more focused on the consumption of strange and exotic foods. Some were, but most were actually about the exotic situations the authors found themselves in at mealtime.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with other compilation books, some stories are funny and some are rather boring.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories were so-so, but several I had to read multiple times.