Eatdrink #67 September/October 2017 "The Decade Issue"

The LOCAL Food & Drink Magazine September/October 2017 | 59
Books
Eat Their Words
A Ten-Course Reading Menu from 10 Years of Eatdrink
I
have been writing for Eatdrink for 10
years, but have written less about food
than I have about books. Authors have
allowed me to eat their words to satisfy
my cravings, quench my thirst, and tickle my
taste buds. To quote Paul Theroux, a favourite
author of mine who does not usually write
about food: “No one got fat reading about
food — he just got hungry.” I am certain the
pages of Eatdrink have done just that for its
Review by DARIN COOK
aperitif
The Billionaire’s Vinegar
The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine
by Benjamin Wallace
Champagne is often the drink of
choice when beginning a meal with
an aperitif. For our reading menu
we can go one better, by starting
off with the most expensive
bottle of wine in the world. The
Billionaire’s Vinegar opened my
eyes to the idea that a single bottle
readers for the past decade. Offered below as
a 10-course reading menu are 10 titles that
have stuck in my mind over the years, to be
relished by anyone with an interest in food
and books. So when you have an appetite
to feed your mind, take your pick from this
menu. Hopefully you won’t choose just
one; reading all ten would be a great way to
celebrate the tenth anniversary of Eatdrink.
of wine (in this case, a 1787 Chateau
Lafite Bordeaux, supposedly once
owned by Thomas Jefferson, that
fetched $156,000 at a Christie’s
auction in 1985) can be responsible
for an enthralling page-turner
reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes
mystery.
amuse bouche
Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States
A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations
by Chris Fair
If an amuse bouche is meant to
kick start your taste buds, then
this book will do just that for your
reading. You won’t find Julia Child
or Bobby Flay in these pages, but
watch out for Fidel Castro and Kim
Il Sung alongside recipes from their
respective countries. Cuisines of
It seems appropriate to pause here
to reflect on cutlery, given that a
soup course requires its own special
soup course
Consider the Fork
A History of How We Cook and Eat
by Bee Wilson
the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating
States brings world politics to the
table with equal parts dinner party
etiquette, evil dictator biography,
and unique gourmet recipes from
parts of the world not often looked
to for their cuisine.
spoon. Even though Consider the
Fork is about cooking implements
rather than ingredients and exotic