I knew little about Amy Thielen until I stumbled across her book months ago. The cover and title captivated me: what a brilliant paperback, I thought to myself at a cursory glance.
I took it home and that evening I had one of those moments when I was immediately drawn to her and became completely immersed in her book over a cup of tea.
Her style reminded me of those hallowed books like Kitchen Confidential (Anthony Bourdain) and Sweetbitter (Stephanie Danler), those books where you are instantly catapulted to New York and the world of high-end cuisine and you are there, with it, breathing the same air and feeling the fatigue of hard work as you search for literary meaning in your experience.
She describes the classic journey that starts from grandma's pantry and ends at the Danube restaurant... but then she continues her wanderlust and returns to the small village to find herself at the starting point, fully immersed in nature as she learns “how to make a memorable meal out of this mystery basket (from her allotment)”.
Her words are soothing and familiar, outlines from rustic small-town and big-city cuisine are recognisable, and entertaining, and they make me wonder what makes these worlds so geographically different and yet so similar in the execution of the dishes.
The answer soon came, “The romance of cooking, the low buzz when I inhaled my favourite cookbooks”.
There is an interesting perspective on the gender inequality she experienced in the kitchen, and I keep highlighting how she describes her partner Aaron because he's literally my doppelgänger.
The book is beautiful, touching, funny, introspective, makes you salivate and leaves you with the big question: 'Is cooking an art or a craft'?
She got me when she said, “it felt good to be small. Just an inconsequential animated speck in the great big woods” It resonated with me when I moved from big cities and kitchens to a smaller and cosy dimension.
I haven't finished yet, I'm savouring each page slowly like a favourite dessert, but I highly recommend this and I'm so curious about her new book as well COMPANY (already in my basket obv).
