Lean and lovin' it: A fan offers a welcome back to food critic, writer Ruth Reichl
To echo Jeff Foxworthy's: “You may be a redneck if …” You may be a foodie if you instantly recognize the name Ruth Reichl.
Even if you're not a foodie, you may have known of Reichl when she was the restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times from 1984 to 1993, or after she became the restaurant critic for the prestigious New York Times from 1993 to 1999.
If Reichl's food writing career had ended in 1999 she would have been famous (or for some of the restaurants she reviewed: infamous) in perpetuity.
But no, Reichl leapt from The New York Times to the world-famous Gourmet magazine in 1999 and remained its editor-in-chief until it was suddenly shutdown by its publisher Condé Nast in 2009.
Throughout those years Reichl won six, yes 6, James Beard awards for her writing.
Reichl has also written several memoir cookbooks, and one aptly-tilted novel: “Delicious!”
By far Reichl's best reads are her memoirs where, as do most of the best food writers, she weaves the stories of her life through the recipes she shares.
Reichl's first memoir, “Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table” (1998) caught my attention shortly after it appeared. Looking back now, it's not her best work, but serves as a gateway to her life and what motivated her to jump in the deep-end of the food world pool. In “Tender” she tells of her mother who, it turned out, was the Queen of Mold and Reichl didn't mean a Jell-O mold either.
About her mother Reichl has been quoted: “She would open up the refrigerator, take out a bowl and say, ‘A little mold never hurt anyone,' and scrape it off the top.” Truly astounding that Reichl lived through that to become the editor of the most prestigious food magazine in the world.
The stories of Reichl's life continue through her: “Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table.” In “Garlic and Sapphires,” she tells her fascinating story of becoming and being the food critic at The New York Times.
That story begins on a plane ride from California to New York where Reichl's seatmate tells her that most of the better restaurants in New York already have Reichl's picture pinned-up in their kitchens. If a staff member recognizes Reichl in the restaurant, they get a bonus.
Reichl's most recent memoir: “My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes that Saved My Life” would seem vastly overstated, but it's not. Reichl had no idea that Condé Nast was about to shut down Gourmet for good in November 2009. In this book the reader can almost feel Reichl's grief and sense of loss; not only for herself, but for the people with whom she worked.
“My Kitchen Year” is filled with beautiful photographs and poignant stories that lead the reader from recipe to recipe. It wasn't just the food, but cooking that helped Reichl deal with the losses in her life. As many famous and successful people, Reichl didn't value her abilities as easily as one might assume and frequently questioned her own value.
As Reichl's readers, we know her as a skilled and passionate writer and wonder how anyone who worked as a food critic at two of this country's most prestigious papers and went on to an iconic magazine could ever doubt themselves; for even a second.
Returning to the core of her life and heading out to farmers markets and beloved vendors slowly, step-by-step brought Reichl back. Her writing is as strong as ever, and her recipes are perfect and doable.
Welcome back Ruth!
Want to bring a food gift to a holiday party that uses a few very accessible ingredients and will “Wow” everyone? If you don't care about calories or fat, this'll be perfect.
• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at don@ theleanwizard.com.