With her passion for fine food and, above all, her appetite for love and life, Gael Greene traces her rise from a Velveeta cocoon in the Midwest to powerful critic of New York magazine. Love and food, foreplay and fork play, haute cuisine and social history--all become inextricably linked as the author lifts the lid on her most provocative subject yet--herself. Along the way there are tales of her saucy erotic adventures and intimate portraits of the culinary icons of our time--Julia Child, André Soltner, James Beard, among others--and revealing dissections of New York's legendary "in" spots, including Elaine's, Le Bernardin, Le Cirque, Odeon, and Balthazar.
Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Greene almost turned down New York magazine's request to be its weekly food critic in 1968, but decided that free meals at the city's top restaurants would be wonderful. Turns out it was. She has reviewed and reveled in the city's eateries, offering her often spicy commentary on the best and worst of them. As her spicy life shares the spotlight with the food, listeners can savor good food and good sex, foreplay and fork-play in her remembrances of what she's done (and eaten) with whom. Nancy Travis's reading is a nice concoction of humor, sarcasm, pathos, New York edge and French pronunciation. Greene herself speaks at beginning and end, providing listeners with a lovely appetizer and dessert. There's much to learn about food, food writers, restaurateurs, sex and New York City's love affair with all of it through the last nearly 40 years.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
In this freewheelingly sensuous autobiography, restaurant critic and novelist Greene casts the path of her life as an education of her appetites. Born into an unexceptional postwar midwestern home, Greene knew little about taste. Her hunger for good food led her from a successful career as a magazine writer to a coveted position as one of Manhattan's most respected restaurant critics. Simultaneous development into womanhood followed a no-less-stellar trajectory. Her male conquests, begun in earnest when she gained access in Detroit to a visiting Elvis Presley's hotel suite, continue through a host of celebrities and a remarkable doomed marriage. Her culinary appetite takes her to France and a vision of perfection at Fernand Point's temple of French gastronomy. Greene had the great good fortune to become a food critic just as American culture was awakening to a newfound infatuation with all tastes French, Italian, and Chinese, just as the same culture liberated women to revel in other appetites their bodies might hunger after. Greene joyfully and unabashedly celebrates both food and sex, having her own way with both. Recipes (for food) included. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
`Insatiable' is a collection of anecdotal memoirs by Ms. Gael Greene of the overshadowingly broad brimmed hats and long time food writer and restaurant critic of `New York' magazine. While the 51 chapters do touch on Ms. Greene's life before `New York', they generally stay very close to their `New York' wellspring, her column, named `The Insatiable Gourmet' by magazine editor in chief, Clay Felker.
The most immediate comparison which comes to mind is to the three volumes of memoirs by current `Gourmet' editor in chief, Ruth Reichl who, for several years, sat in Craig Claiborne's chair as principle restaurant reviewer for `The New York Times' and whose most recent book, `Garlic and Sapphires' deals entirely with her `New York Times' restaurant reviews and her tactics for maintaining her anonymity while in the hunt for excellence at New York's finer eateries. And, as similar as these two women's careers may be, the differences make both bodies of work that much more interesting.
While Reichl, the younger of the two by at least a decade, grew up in New York City and learned French at a very early age, her professional culinary journalistic career was shaped on the west coast, firmly under the influence of the American food vanguard lead by the California vintners, Alice Waters, Jeremiah Tower, and Wolfgang Puck. Greene grew up in provincial Detroit, but had her culinary instincts formed by the emerging community of French restaurants in New York City. Her center of culinary gravity was in the dining rooms, kitchens, and cellars of the great French culinary establishment. She even admits that she came late to the California culinary movement. To her credit, as soon as she had her first experience of Alice Waters' cuisine at `Chez Panisse', she recognized that there was something important going on by the Pacific coast.
Reichl's first two volumes of memoirs are more strictly biographical than `Insatiable' in that they are strictly chronological. Reichl's revelations about her life are also unusual to me, at the time, for the remarkable candor about her sexual life. Madame Reichl was a Den Mother compared to Ms. Greene, whose title refers not only to her culinary appetites, but to her sexual appetites as well. I won't dwell on this much, but her exploits make me and most average Americans feel like monks or nuns in comparison.
These sexual exploits include dozens of famous figures from the culinary world, but they also include several notables from Hollywood. As a hint, I will reveal that Ms. Greene tells the tales of how she landed in bed with two very big leading men, both of whom appeared together on the cover of `Time' magazine. And yet, Ms. Greene can be remarkably circumspect about the details of many liaisons.
It is interesting to see the difference in reaction to some of the major figures both have met. Danny Kaye appears in both narratives, however, he is a much bigger part in Ms. Greene's story, as does James Beard, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, Pierre Franey, and M.F.K. Fisher, as Ms. Greene was able to encounter all these people while they were still at or near their prime, unlike Ms. Reichl, who did not arrive in the `big time' at the `Times' until most of these people were retired or gone. The stories regarding Danny Kaye are especially nice, as I have been pining for more information on his culinary abilities ever since I read Ms. Reichl's report of a dinner he prepared in his custom build `kitchen theatre'.
Ms. Greene also fills in a lot of information on some of the more romantically interesting figures in the culinary world. For example, when one reads other accounts of the lives of `Le Bernardin' founders, Gilbert and Maguy LeCoze, you are left with the feeling that their closeness can only be explained by a particularly `unnatural' sexual relation. Miss Gael assures us in no uncertain terms that both Gilbert and Maguy were decidedly conventional (At least for young French natives) in their sexual behavior, each with their own one or more partners, including, for Gilbert, Ms. Greene herself now and then. She also sheds light on the fact that suspicions to the contrary, Pierre Franey was a complete heterosexual, with no erotic connection to culinary colleague, the well-known homosexual, Craig Claiborne.
One feature of New York dining on which Ms. Greene and Ms. Reichl agree is that most of the high end venues are far too inclined to give preferential treatment to favorite customers, most of which are celebrities. One of the most disagreeable cases appears in the chapter about the literary watering hole, `Elaine's' which became popular among celebs almost by accident, when `Harper's' editor Nelson Aldrich (not even Nelson Algren), wandered in and stayed awhile, bringing a few other literary luminaries along in later visits. And, while we are less likely to be inconvenienced by this, this is just as true of Parisian venues as those in the Big Apple.
Like Ms. Reichl, Ms. Greene sprinkles in a few recipes here and there, after every second or third chapter. These are interesting, but I found her passing remarks about dishes within her text to be far more evocative, as when one New York maestro filled a baked potato with creamed chipped beef and how Gilbert LeCoze prepared such simple fish dishes, because he never received the kind of training which showed him how to do elaborate preparations (Under Eric Ripert, `Le Bernardin' is still a temple to simple, fresh fish cooking).
While Ms. Reichl's last book may be more interesting to the serious foodie as it deals in much more detail with the specific restaurants, reviews, and events surrounding her researches, Ms. Greene's book has far more interesting and far more lascivious information about the lives and loves of the culinary great in New York and France.
A delicious tart of a read!
The most immediate comparison which comes to mind is to the three volumes of memoirs by current `Gourmet' editor in chief, Ruth Reichl who, for several years, sat in Craig Claiborne's chair as principle restaurant reviewer for `The New York Times' and whose most recent book, `Garlic and Sapphires' deals entirely with her `New York Times' restaurant reviews and her tactics for maintaining her anonymity while in the hunt for excellence at New York's finer eateries. And, as similar as these two women's careers may be, the differences make both bodies of work that much more interesting.
While Reichl, the younger of the two by at least a decade, grew up in New York City and learned French at a very early age, her professional culinary journalistic career was shaped on the west coast, firmly under the influence of the American food vanguard lead by the California vintners, Alice Waters, Jeremiah Tower, and Wolfgang Puck. Greene grew up in provincial Detroit, but had her culinary instincts formed by the emerging community of French restaurants in New York City. Her center of culinary gravity was in the dining rooms, kitchens, and cellars of the great French culinary establishment. She even admits that she came late to the California culinary movement. To her credit, as soon as she had her first experience of Alice Waters' cuisine at `Chez Panisse', she recognized that there was something important going on by the Pacific coast.
Reichl's first two volumes of memoirs are more strictly biographical than `Insatiable' in that they are strictly chronological. Reichl's revelations about her life are also unusual to me, at the time, for the remarkable candor about her sexual life. Madame Reichl was a Den Mother compared to Ms. Greene, whose title refers not only to her culinary appetites, but to her sexual appetites as well. I won't dwell on this much, but her exploits make me and most average Americans feel like monks or nuns in comparison.
These sexual exploits include dozens of famous figures from the culinary world, but they also include several notables from Hollywood. As a hint, I will reveal that Ms. Greene tells the tales of how she landed in bed with two very big leading men, both of whom appeared together on the cover of `Time' magazine. And yet, Ms. Greene can be remarkably circumspect about the details of many liaisons.
It is interesting to see the difference in reaction to some of the major figures both have met. Danny Kaye appears in both narratives, however, he is a much bigger part in Ms. Greene's story, as does James Beard, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, Pierre Franey, and M.F.K. Fisher, as Ms. Greene was able to encounter all these people while they were still at or near their prime, unlike Ms. Reichl, who did not arrive in the `big time' at the `Times' until most of these people were retired or gone. The stories regarding Danny Kaye are especially nice, as I have been pining for more information on his culinary abilities ever since I read Ms. Reichl's report of a dinner he prepared in his custom build `kitchen theatre'.
Ms. Greene also fills in a lot of information on some of the more romantically interesting figures in the culinary world. For example, when one reads other accounts of the lives of `Le Bernardin' founders, Gilbert and Maguy LeCoze, you are left with the feeling that their closeness can only be explained by a particularly `unnatural' sexual relation. Miss Gael assures us in no uncertain terms that both Gilbert and Maguy were decidedly conventional (At least for young French natives) in their sexual behavior, each with their own one or more partners, including, for Gilbert, Ms. Greene herself now and then. She also sheds light on the fact that suspicions to the contrary, Pierre Franey was a complete heterosexual, with no erotic connection to culinary colleague, the well-known homosexual, Craig Claiborne.
One feature of New York dining on which Ms. Greene and Ms. Reichl agree is that most of the high end venues are far too inclined to give preferential treatment to favorite customers, most of which are celebrities. One of the most disagreeable cases appears in the chapter about the literary watering hole, `Elaine's' which became popular among celebs almost by accident, when `Harper's' editor Nelson Aldrich (not even Nelson Algren), wandered in and stayed awhile, bringing a few other literary luminaries along in later visits. And, while we are less likely to be inconvenienced by this, this is just as true of Parisian venues as those in the Big Apple.
Like Ms. Reichl, Ms. Greene sprinkles in a few recipes here and there, after every second or third chapter. These are interesting, but I found her passing remarks about dishes within her text to be far more evocative, as when one New York maestro filled a baked potato with creamed chipped beef and how Gilbert LeCoze prepared such simple fish dishes, because he never received the kind of training which showed him how to do elaborate preparations (Under Eric Ripert, `Le Bernardin' is still a temple to simple, fresh fish cooking).
While Ms. Reichl's last book may be more interesting to the serious foodie as it deals in much more detail with the specific restaurants, reviews, and events surrounding her researches, Ms. Greene's book has far more interesting and far more lascivious information about the lives and loves of the culinary great in New York and France.
A delicious tart of a read!
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Fran Sepler
Format:Hardcover
I absorb "foodie" books at the rate that some breathe. Reichl, Bourdain, Child, Buxton and others are the source of hours of fond distraction from my too-busy-to-do-anything life and my aspirations to understand food the way I understand my professional work -- intuitively, technically and personally.
I had read that this book was more of a bawdy personal history than others, but I always adore the personal details of the writers, and am hardly a prude. Nevertheless, I could hardly muster an ounce of empathy for the gratuitous sexual self-objectification of the author who viewed restaurants more as stars in a social strata than producers of cuisine. I did not care about her tortured relationship with a porn star, whom she fed and bedded on her employer's dime. I grew exasperated as she ended a chapter about three marriages with a confession that she wrote it without understanding the point, and still, after writing it and choosing to include it in her book, she did not. The simple reality is that a writer is speaking to a reader, and Ms. Green's reader appeared to be...Ms. Green. While it is apparent that others enjoyed this book, I would suspect that a day with "Garlic and Sapphires" would disabuse anyone of the notion that this is a delightful memoir, and instead expose it for the indulgence that it is.
I had read that this book was more of a bawdy personal history than others, but I always adore the personal details of the writers, and am hardly a prude. Nevertheless, I could hardly muster an ounce of empathy for the gratuitous sexual self-objectification of the author who viewed restaurants more as stars in a social strata than producers of cuisine. I did not care about her tortured relationship with a porn star, whom she fed and bedded on her employer's dime. I grew exasperated as she ended a chapter about three marriages with a confession that she wrote it without understanding the point, and still, after writing it and choosing to include it in her book, she did not. The simple reality is that a writer is speaking to a reader, and Ms. Green's reader appeared to be...Ms. Green. While it is apparent that others enjoyed this book, I would suspect that a day with "Garlic and Sapphires" would disabuse anyone of the notion that this is a delightful memoir, and instead expose it for the indulgence that it is.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Natasha
Format:Paperback
If Reichl's memoirs were a nourishing meal, then Greene's is a bag of chips. Reichl's trilogy about her life in food is ultimately about developing relationships, and discovering how to make a meaningful life.
Greene's book, in contrast, reads as a series of lists 1) foods she has eaten 2) men she has slept with 3) celebrities she has known. There is no real character development, nor any personal insights.
True, she has enjoyed amazing, sumptious meals, but to what end? There is no meaning to her life beyond the endless quest for rich meals on her employer's dime. Her sexual appetite, although clearly prodigious, leads her to make empty choice after empty choice. Some people will wish that they shared Greene's luck that allowed her to live a completely self-indulgent life. But most sensible people will be grateful that they haven't haven't wasted every moment pursuing nothing.
An empty life leads to an empty book--a bit ironic considering the title. Reichl's books, though far less sexual, are fare more sensual and satisfying.
Greene's book, in contrast, reads as a series of lists 1) foods she has eaten 2) men she has slept with 3) celebrities she has known. There is no real character development, nor any personal insights.
True, she has enjoyed amazing, sumptious meals, but to what end? There is no meaning to her life beyond the endless quest for rich meals on her employer's dime. Her sexual appetite, although clearly prodigious, leads her to make empty choice after empty choice. Some people will wish that they shared Greene's luck that allowed her to live a completely self-indulgent life. But most sensible people will be grateful that they haven't haven't wasted every moment pursuing nothing.
An empty life leads to an empty book--a bit ironic considering the title. Reichl's books, though far less sexual, are fare more sensual and satisfying.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite Writer
Gael Greene, in her book Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excesses, she tells stories of steamy erotic soire's accompanied by intimate portraits of such culinary icons... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brian
5.0 out of 5 stars
A luscious book....
This book reveals the author as one uniquely qualified to describe a life of sensuous delight! It is a book I hug to my chest in memory of reading it.
Published 3 months ago by Meredith Miskowich
5.0 out of 5 stars
Educational and historical. Get it.
"Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess" is an excellent read and extremely well-written. Read more
Published 8 months ago by HLK
4.0 out of 5 stars
Let me say right up front that Ms Greene is a horndog.
Let me say right up front that Ms Greene is a horndog. A brilliantly funny, articulate, interesting horndog. But a horndog nonetheless. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Becky Clark
1.0 out of 5 stars
Totally libtard and amoral woman...disgusting reading
Ms. Green lives a totally amoral life. She embellishes herself in it and is proud. Kind of like Satan himself. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mrs. C
1.0 out of 5 stars
You disgust me
Greene should have titled this The Repugnant Personality. Vapid idolatrous reverence for celebrities, intensely self-disgracing sexual indiscretions and pretentious food gibberish... Read more
Published 18 months ago by avid
2.0 out of 5 stars
This book will leave you slightly queezy
Sometimes interesting, this name dropping study in self delusion and food left me feeling in need of a juice fast and a shower. Read more
Published 21 months ago by C. Madden
1.0 out of 5 stars
I thought we'd buried the 70's in a deep, deep hole
I'm younger than the author so my experience of the 70's was different. It was like passing through a time warp reading Greene's account of the decade. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Gringuita
5.0 out of 5 stars
A delightful read
The anecdotes are amazing and are typical of the 60s and 70s. She includes various recipes as well. Read more
Published on September 3, 2010 by Jeannette L. Allen
1.0 out of 5 stars
Overdone
Ms. Greene's much vaunted journalistic skills seem to have abandoned her as she hastily cooked up this tasteless, tedious and trivial account of her rise to prominence in the world... Read more
Published on February 13, 2010 by William R. Franklin
