I received a free copy of Grape, Olive, Pig from TLC Book Tours for my honest review.
About the Book:
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper Wave/Anthony Bourdain (November 15, 2016)
Amazon Best Book of November (2016): Cookbooks, Food and Wine
The author of Rice, Noodle, Fish now celebrates the delectable and sensuous culture and cuisine of Spain with this beautifully illustrated food-driven travel guide filled with masterful narration, insider advice, and nearly 200 full-color photos.
Grape, Olive, Pig is a deeply personal exploration of Spain, a country where eating and living are inextricably linked. Crafted in the “refreshing” (Associated Press), “inspirational” (Publishers Weekly) and “impeccably observed” (Eater.com) style of the acclaimed Rice, Noodle, Fish, and written with the same evocative voice of the award-winning magazine Roads & Kingdoms, this magnificent gastronomic travel companion takes you through the key regions of Spain as you’ve never seen them before.
Matt Goulding introduces you to the sprawling culinary and geographical landscape of his adoptive home, and offers an intimate portrait of this multifaceted country, its remarkable people, and its complex history. Fall in love with Barcelona’s tiny tapas bars and modernist culinary temples. Explore the movable feast of small plates and late nights in Madrid. Join the three-thousand-year-old hunt for Bluefin tuna off the coast of Cadiz, then continue your seafood journey north to meet three sisters who risk their lives foraging the gooseneck barnacle, one of Spain’s most treasured ingredients. Delight in some of the world’s most innovative and avant-garde edible creations in San Sebastian, and then wash them down with cider from neighboring Asturias. Sample the world’s finest acorn-fed ham in Salamanca, share in the traditions of cave-dwelling shepherds in the mountains beyond Granada, and debate what constitutes truly authentic paella in Valencia.
Grape, Olive, Pig reveals hidden gems and enduring delicacies from across this extraordinary country, contextualizing each meal with the stories behind the food in a cultural narrative complemented by stunning color photography. Whether you’ve visited Spain or have only dreamed of bellying up to its tapas bars, Grape, Olive, Pig will wake your imagination, rouse your hunger, and capture your heart.
About the Author:
Matt Goulding is editor and cofounder of Roads & Kingdoms, the former food editor of Men’s Health, and the coauthor of the New York Times bestselling series Eat This, Not That! He is a James Beard Award winner and has also written for Harper’s Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Food & Wine Magazine, and Time magazine. He divides his time between the tapas bars of Barcelona and the barbecue pits of North Carolina.
Follow Matt on Twitter.
My Opinion:
This book piqued my interest as soon as I read the synopsis. If there is nothing I love more than cooking it’s reading about food. Half the fun of cookbooks to me is reading the stories around the recipes. THIS BOOK DOES NOT HAVE RECIPES know that going in. It’s basically a love story from the author to Spain and her food.
It begins with the author’s story of how he came to discover Spain - Barcelona to start - and why he decided to stay. The writing style is very engaging and I fell right into the story from the beginning. Mr. Goulding lets his love of the subject come shining through as he introduces the reader to restaurants, markets, bars and more in cities and towns throughout Spain.
There are photos galore which I am sure enhance the reader’s journey through the book; I received an advanced readers copy so all of the photos in my version were black and white and while they got the message across you know darn well when it comes to food a glossy color shot tells so much more of a story than a matte, paper black and white. I am sure that the finished, hardbound book is gorgeous.
I finished this book with a longing to find a Spanish cookbook, a desire to visit the country and an appetite for a cuisine I really haven’t explored.
Rating:
4.5
