Customer Reviews

Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Like the literary equivalent of reading a birder's checklist of sightings.

I was hoping to get a "you are there" experience of exotic places and people. Instead, I got a few anecdotes, that mostly revealed the curmudeonliness of the authors, and a list of meal ingredients.

It is written in 3rd-person, present-tense with inane dialogue quotes that string together the tally of meals. The following is one example (from page 69).

"Our best meals come at small restaurants with more faithful specializations. One is a mom-and-daughter Vietnamese operation in a strip mall around the corner from out hotel. While the middle-aged daughter handles the cooking in the kitchen, the elderly mother serves the patrons, seating us at one of the two simple tables on the sidewalk, actually more atmospheric than the brightly lit, larger tables inside. For starters, she brings us a platter of delightful fried crab spring rolls, which we wrap in lettuce leaves with pickled ginger and then dip in fish sauce. Bill moves on to a spicy fish preparation, with cubes of the day's catch stir-fried with vegetables in a piquant sauce that gets his nose running again. Cheryl opts for a vermicelli salad with grilled bits of pork and pork balls, served with lettuce leaves, carrot strips, ginger, and peanuts to bundle together for eating.

L'Astrolabe, on the Baie des Citrons, reminds us of numerous seaside bistros on the French Mediterranean, in its menu as well as the alfresco setting. For our lunch, Cheryl chooses the plat du jour, a seafood carpaccio combination. Paper-thin slices of giant clams, salmon, and tuna arrive with seasoning portions of astringent greeen olive oil, coarse sea salt, black pepper, and lime, all arrayed around a mound of garlicky slivered crudite salad. As terrific as this is, she really swoon over the accompanying vegetable side dish. 'It's the sweetest pumpkin I've ever tasted, baked and then pureed with cream and some curry powder.' Bill picks the house meat specialty, a steak tartare with frites called Le Gastrolabe. Chefs prepare it in the kitchen rather that at the table, blending local beef luciously and richly with capers, tomatoes, onions, and gherkins, and flavoring the mixture with subdued but sound hints of parsley, chives, basil, egg yolk, brandy, olive oil, garlic, and Tabasco. The food punches out our congestion for hours."

i love travel essays because they tend to give insight not often found in the average guidebook and was particularly interested in reading a book about traveling around the world in search of delicious food. this book was a disappointment. the writing is flat and boring--i actually found it a chore to read. and for a reason i couldn't ever figure out, the authors switch from first person to third person, using we to describe themselves at the beginning of a paragraph, switching to bill said or cheryl did at the end of the very same paragraph. i found it confusing.

in the hands of a really good writer, words can often make me smell and taste, but the author's descriptions of food were bland and dull. throughout the book they describe dish after dish and not once did i find myself getting hungry when reading. worse, i have visited many of the places they describe and found myself thinking, "it was so so much better than that."

for some reason, amazon sent and billed me for two copies of this book--i wish i'd sent them both back.

Armed with heartiness, enthusiasm, and a ton of frequent flier miles cookbook authors Cheryl and Bill Jamison did what most of us would only dream of doing - they embarked on a 90 day long visit to ten countries. Their destinations and cuisines were diverse, from Bali to Brazil.

Of special interest is a detailed description of their trip preparation with many helpful tips whether it is clothing to take or the how-to of making room reservations in a foreign country.

Cheryl's clothes were mix and match (many from Chico's), no wrinkle and easily scrunchible. Bill, on the other hand, took slacks with expandable waists and zippered pockets plus his "blazer cum safe." Rather than tote guidebooks or language manuals for each stop they reviewed the materials, photocopied what they deemed important, and made succinct destination notes which were discarded after a visit.

Their preference is not for the most prestigious hotels but rather for "the best and priciest quarters at smaller local inns and hotels." They also found that dealing directly with hotel managers rather than a reservation service resulted in better accommodations and service.

First stop Bali where they found that ceremonies were of the utmost importance in people's lives and relished a dessert of "fresh tropical fruit cubes suspended in a yogurt and coconut milk mixture."

Australia held a host of wineries and chefs with a tendency to be adventurous in food preparation. Their hotel of choice in New Caldonia was closed because of a strike so they were transferred to the Nouvata Park which proved overly busy but their room had a magnificent view of the ocean.

So it went with ups and downs, chest colds and delighted taste buds to India, China, South Africa and Brazil.

Each chapter closes with recommended accommodations and restaurants.

Penned with humor and attention to detail Around the World in 80 Dinners is frosting on the cake for armchair travelers.

- Gail Cooke

I wanted to love this book. It has all the components that I love-a memoir, food centered, travel centered, but...it wasn't to be. I found the writing to be inconsistent. Many of the descriptions seemed more like lists of food, ingredients or things that they saw rather than a true description. I also found that the descriptions were often a little too snobby sounding rather than helpful (ie a Merlot is described as having "a vigorous structure, backbone, and tannin". I ended up enjoyed the descriptions of people much more than the food. Still, I usually read straight through the books that I check out and I no longer was interested in finishing the book by the time I was half way through. I kept having to read something else for a while and then see if I could get back into it. Maybe I would have been pulled in with color photos --the ones on the cover are very inviting, or fewer lists or??? I'm not sure.

Even moderately skillful writers should be able to turn this subject, the combination of travel and food, into an interesting, indeed fascinating, reading. Unfortunately these two writers (which one of them is actually writing it, I wonder?) turn it into one of the biggest yawns I've ever had the misfortune to pick up. Like other reviewers on this site, despite my best efforts it proved to be impossible to finish. Already by the second chapter I had come to dislike these two boring, pretentious and personality-challenged old hippies intensely. The tone of the prose is bizarre, almost as if they had cut and pasted soul-less descriptions from wine and food magazines with all the jargon that is so repulsive EVEN in those magazines. The dialogue is cringingly, embarrassingly flat and cliched. After dining in one restaurant Cheryl wittily pontificates to her husband, "...truly terrific. The striking thing about their food and the other fine meals we've had in Australia is the willingness of the chefs to be adventuresome with flavor combinations. They take risks and challenge expectations without falling into the trap of silly mishmash dishes." Are they kidding? Do people really say stupid things like this to each other? In addition to these stylistic faux pas, it is truly frightening to read how much food these two wolf down in the course of a day. The flat, pedestrian, vacuous "descriptions" that they offer of these all-day eating binges come across more as justification for their gluttony than for any purpose of reportage. Compare this book with Rayner's The Man Who Ate the World to see what CAN be done with this subject. Thank God I borrowed it from the library and didn't spend any money on this drek. How the heck did they ever find a publisher? And somebody please tell these hicks that if you're on antibiotics you shoudn't be drinking two bottles of wine!

The trip described by Cheryl and Bill Jamison- a three-month trip around the world concentrating on food to celebrate their 20th anniversary- would be any foodie's dream, and I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, the event flattens in the telling, and the result is less a travelogue than a tedious chronicle of "then we ate this, then we ate that." Real insight and depth are missing.
Many reviewers have commented on the Jamisons' frequent switches between first and third person. I found it a mildly annoying but understandable literary convention. However, it has the unfortunate effect of making the dialogues bewteen the two of them even more inane. Consider the following intimate after-dinner discussion:

"At the end of our second dinner, Cheryl reflects on the food. 'It's amazing that the same basic set of ingredients can yield so many different flavors and textures. Coconut in all forms, black mustard seeds, pepper, ginger, garkic, turmeric, chiles, and coriander, in one combination or another, yield incredible bounty.'
'Yeah,' Bill says, 'and each is a bit player rather than a star, part of an ensemble rather than a show-stealer, like basil can be in Thai cooking.'
'But, Bill, this is the closest relative to Thai food in the world, with similar seasoning elements, complexity, and robust flavor.'"

It's possible that the Jamisons really talk to each other that way, but this passage, and much of the rest of the book, reads like two people working too hard to convince each other and their readers of their discernment.

I have at least three cookbooks by the Jamisons, and all of them are best-of-breed, from the breakfast cookbook to cooking with smoke. So when I saw that they had branched out somewhat into foodie travel, I went out of a way to pick up Around the World in 80 Dinners. After all, I've bought books that cover everything from the best gelato shops in Italy to deciphering German restaurant menus.

I confess that I'm a little disappointed. This book is enjoyable... but I'm not so enthusiastic about it that I'll tell you to go out of your way for it.

The premise is fine: the Jamisons save up their frequent flier miles for a round-the-world trip, and stop in several destinations that have high interest to food fans: Bali, Australia, New Caledonia, Singapore, Thailand, India, China, South Africa, Provence, and Brazil. They catalog their adventures both on the touristy side (a safari in South Africa, a winery tour in Australia) and in food-centric tourist terms (they spend as much time in farmer's markets as they do in restaurants). Each destination includes the nitty gritty details, so you can stay at the same hotel or visit the same restaurants they did, as well as one or two recipes (such as "fried black 'carrot' cake" from Singapore).

Somehow, though, it's only okay. If you picked out any given part of the book, I'd tell you that it's interesting -- these people travel the way that we do. I certainly enjoy hearing about all the great they have to eat, especially the street food. I know a lot more about the food (and other) history of each of these areas, now.

But somehow it's as though the authors are self-consciously talking to the audience, in an as-you-know expository manner that never quite sits well. "...Bill says, marveling, 'What a fantastic blend of flavors and textures, the seafood with the pork, crunch with silky.' 'You're right, a winner for sure. [responds Cheryl] It speaks of a culinary sophistication way beyond the bounds of this humble setting.'" Does anybody talk like that?

It's obvious from the text that the Jamisons took a lot of photos. But you see only a few of them on the front and back cover. I wish there had been more pictures throughout the book; then, perhaps, the text might have come to life.

The result was that, while I'm glad I read the book, I was very distractable. I took a couple of breaks, and read two or three other things, rather than gobble down this book. For me, anyway, it didn't live up to the subtitle of "the ultimate culinary adventure."

So if you have the opportunity to read it... do. But don't put it at the top of your To Be Read Immediately pile.

I do so love to read about travel and food - so much the better if they're in the same book! I did enjoy the Jamison's book but did have a two minor woes that stole one star from the review.

First, the changing perspective. The narration changes from third person (Bill packed his suitcase, Cheryl chased the monkey...) to first person (we planned our trip...) which I found difficult at the beginning (Who is this mysterious third person on their trip? Who's talking now?) but managed to overcome by about mid-point.

The second sticking point came, unfortunately, at the end which left me frowning instead of closing the book with a bittersweet sigh. The last chapter wraps up the Jamison's return home and plans for the future. A couple of pages in they make some sweeping statements about the food scene here in the US that I thought were unfair and using an awfully wide brush to paint such a big country as ours. I'll bet if the Jamisons spent the same planning time and then three months traveling the US they'd find some of the same high quality, creative food they found abroad. I know I can find it here in my own little corner of Cleveland!

Other than that, it's hard not to be swept up in Bill and Cheryl's enthusiasm for food and travel and their obvious delight in being together on this grand tour.

It is their twentieth wedding anniversary and the Jamisons decide to celebrate by taking a three-month trip around the world, stopping in places known for their excellent cuisine. The Jamisons make stops in Bali, Australia, Thailand, India, China, South Africa, and Brazil and find great food in every country.

I had to read this book very slowly so that I could think about all the foods the Jamisons ate, foods I had never heard of, foods I had to look up. Surprising there are so many foods in this world that I've never heard of, not even in fifty years. Other than the odd foods, the other strange thing about this book was the way it was told in first person plural. It felt peculiar to hear a story told by two people in first person with off-and-on shifts into third person as one or the other of the Jamisons did something without the other member of the team. A little disconcerting.

But, all in all, a nice little trip around the world...of food.

I bought this as a gift for a foodie who is also an avid reader. He read it within a week and seemed to genuinely enjoy this book.