How to Be a Better Foodie: A Bulging Little Book for the Truly Epicurious [Hardcover]

Sudi Pigott (Author), Paul Bommer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2007

Bulging with information, this little book is a delightful celebration of food that will appeal to anyone who is fiercely dedicated to finding the finest, latest, rarest, and most delicious culinary knowledge. How To Be a Better Foodie serves up entertaining and informative morsels to satisfy even the most insatiable cravings, such as:
• Unusual delicacies—prawn shells, radish leaves, parmigiano reggiano rind and more
• The latest in culinary trends such as belly pork, wagyu beef, lotus root crisps, green tea iced meringue, and sousvide preparation
• International foodie pilgrimages and an almanac of seasonal delicacies

  With quizzes to test the reader’s foodie prowess, illustrations throughout, and page after page of compelling food facts, this book offers revelations for even the most advanced foodie as well as a wealth of tidbits for the eager novice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A glimpse into the rarefied world of the expert gastronome.”
—Time Out

  “The book of the year for anyone who loves food.”
—Centurion magazine

About the Author

Sudi Pigott is passionately obsessed with good eating and has been writing about the best ingredients, artisan producers, specialty shops, culinary trends, and food destinations for more than a decade. She has written for a wide variety of publications including The Financial Times. She lives in London with her properly foodie husband and son.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Viking Studio; First American Edition edition (October 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670018724
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018727
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #826,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The epicurious will relish this fun little book, November 17, 2007

By 

SweetHappyLife-com "SweetHappyLife-com" (VT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Be a Better Foodie: A Bulging Little Book for the Truly Epicurious (Hardcover)

If you're wondering what to get your foodie friends for the holidays, you may want to consider making Sudi Pigott's "How to Be a Better Foodie" your stocking stuffer of choice. This chic little brown & pink book is choc full of entertaining food related tidbits: from a rundown of the "better foodie" cupboard essentials (Jordanian Zatar made the list, which I appreciated), to food quotations, to an index of flavors to enjoy when traveling and an almanac of seasonal produce. There's also a list of "better foodie stocking stuffers," which includes items like candied chestnuts and a hand-tied bunch of Madagascan vanilla pods. Altogether this is a light-hearted, enjoyable book that doesn't take itself too seriously and even seems to poke playful fun at the idea that serious foodies are snobs. Hence the references to the "linguine literati" and advice sections on the best better foodie pet. "Bee keeping has an endearing, albeit competitive buzz," the author muses, and on the topic of entertaining she recommends cultivating an air of "studied nonchalance" by flaunting your relationship with the local fishmonger. Foodies will appreciate the mixture of humor and real food-related content. I've added several obscure handcrafted cheeses to my "must try" list since reading this book, along with a generous helping of better foodie knowledge - who knew that chili heat is measured in scovilles, the official scale measure of hotness? Or that watercress was called "poor man's bread" in the nineteenth century? "How to Be a Better Foodie" won't become your go-to reference book, but it will become a much enjoyed conversation starter.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epicureans delight in this delicious read, March 3, 2010

By 

Princess Kitty (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Be a Better Foodie: A Bulging Little Book for the Truly Epicurious (Hardcover)

Sudi Pigott can make anything sound delightful and this is a great read as an introduction to being a foodie. At the time I read the first edition, there were some obscure ingredients I hadn't heard of yet and later did, plus the list of food festivals and restaurants is helping me plan my travels... I liked this so much, I've bought a stock of 10 copies to give to friends!

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really-- for serious foodie who want to be even better foodies!!, June 5, 2009

By 

T. Turner (MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Be a Better Foodie: A Bulging Little Book for the Truly Epicurious (Hardcover)

I am a serious foodie. At times, I felt this author was speaking directly to my heart. Mostly just smiling along, nodding my head, drooling at times, and thinking "exactly" in a blissful state of epicurean solidarity. But at others times, I felt like a food-newbie! ( ...I only keep five varities of rice... what are these delicious borlotti beans she speaks of!? ...and who is Marc Veyrat? --a name I should surely know!) But the author does a pretty good job of filling in the blanks, keeping me in line, and whetting my palate for glorious new things to seek out.

It is evident that the writer is from Europe but she doesn't ignore the food culture in the US or elsewhere globally. At times though, American and other readers might feel the disconnect (for when was samphire anything other than rare here in the US?) Still, it makes little difference. Just more great things to try!

I am uplifted by this book and anytime I feel lonesome in my foodie world, I will pick up this book for more of that gluttonous solidarity.

But a warning to pseudo-foodies; those who claim "I love food" but who still don't cringe upon being forced to dine at a chain restaurant, those who have never bailed on a recipe because the ingredients available weren't of fine enough quality, or felt the child-like giddiness overwhelm them as they walked toward a farmer's market.... you're not ready for this book yet. ;)