The book is mosaic in nature, telling the unconnected stories of several notorious cooks. It has a large geographic reach, spanning from England to China and all points in between. In addition, it covers a great chunk of time. The stories include both mundane and fantastic elements. Therefor, this book could have been written for me.

The idea is a good one. Many of the stories are simultaneously; funny,touching and eccentric. However, after several of them, they begin to merge and the reader’s attention begins to wander.

This would be a good bedside/handbag book. You could read a random story when time allows. However, I wouldn’t recommend reading them one after the other. Take time to savor, and digest, each meal before moving on to the next. This would make a good Christmas present for a foodie. ( )