While writing yesterday, I thought how much fun it would be to read about 'food history'. There are so many biographies or biography-like books about food!
Here's some books to look for in the library. Read while children eat. The stories should make them hungry.
• The Fabulous Tale of Fish & Chips by Elaine Becker and Omar HoffmanThis is a playful, fictional account of how the real-life Joseph Malin, a poor Jewish immigrant, invented fish and chips.
• Mr Crum's Potato Predicament by Anne Renaud and Felicita SalaQuite by accident, George Crum invents potato chips! This fictional picture book is based on a real man named George Crum, a cook in Saratoga Springs, New York, in the 1850s, who is purported to have created the first potato chip in response to a demanding customer.
• The Hole in Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller and Vincent KirschIn 1843, fourteen-year-old Hanson Gregory left his family home in Rockport, Maine, and set sail as a cabin boy on the schooner Achorn, looking for high-stakes adventure on the high seas. Little did he know that a boatload of hungry sailors, coupled with his knack for creative problem-solving, would yield one of the world's most prized and beloved pastries.
• The Boy Who Invented the Popsicle by Anne Renaud & Milan Pavlovic
Frank William Epperson is a curious boy who wants to be an inventor when he grows up. What Frank loves most, though, is experimenting with liquids. When he invents his own yummy flavoured soda water drink, his friends love it! And this gets him to thinking: "I wonder what this drink would taste like frozen?"
• How the Cookie Crumbled by Gilbert FordMeet Ruth Wakefield, the talented chef and entrepreneur who started a restaurant, wrote a cookbook, and invented this delicious dessert. But just how did she do it, you ask? That's where things get messy!
• Granny Smith by Michelle Worthington and Katrin Dreiling
The original Granny Smith was in fact more famous in her lifetime for being the local midwife than she was for her now internationally acclaimed green apples. Her husband was ill, and she had to take the fruit from the orchard to the market by herself and this led to her working with the apple trees.
• Dumpling Dreams by Carrie Clickard and Katy Wu
Carrie Clickard's delectable rhymes tell the story of how Joyce Chen, a girl born in Communist China, immigrated to the United States and popularised Chinese cooking.
• Niki Nakayama by Debbi Michiko Florence, Jamie Michalak and Yuko Jones
Tells the story of the powerhouse female Japanese-American chef and her rise to fame.
• Craig Shanahan Cooking Up a Storm by John DicksonMeet Craig Shanahan, the blind chef with his own café.
• The Emperor of Chefs by Arlene StrodeChef Arlena takes the lesser known history of cooking to a younger generation of budding chefs who are hungry for the stories behind the food! The past comes alive with colourful relatable illustrations and fun facts for learning nestled alongside the adventure
• Nacho's Nachos by Sandra Nickel and Oliver Dominguez The true story about how nachos were invented—about what happened when a regular customer asked Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya for something new, and there were no chefs in the kitchen.
• Alice Waters Cooks Up a Food Revolution by Diane Stanley and Jessie HartlandA nonfiction picture book biography about pioneering chef Alice Waters who kickstarted the organic food movement.
• Salma the Syrian Chef by Danny Ramadan and Anna Bron
Syrian culture is beautifully represented through the meal Salma prepares for her mother while the diverse cast of characters speaks to the power of cultivating community in challenging circumstances. This is not a biography but it could have been.
These three biographies are about the life of Julia Child.
Julia Child was born hungry, but she was not born a chef. In fact, Julia didn't discover her passion for cooking until she had a life-changing luncheon in France and became determined to share her newfound love of food with everyone.
These two are about Jose Andres, whose love of cooking began as a young boy in Spain as he gathered the wood to make the fire that would cook the paella just right. Jose loved everything about it- the sizzling olive oil, the mounds of chopped vegetables, and the smell of saffron. When he left home, he realised he wanted to tell stories with food. And tell them he did, creating magic with the seeds of ripe tomatoes and pomegranates and cheese. He thought, no one should ever go hungry. I want to help feed the world-- and World Central Kitchen was born.
Happy reading and delicious eating!
