You Really Haven't Been There Until You've Eaten the Food [Hardcover]

Keith Famie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2003

Insatiable globe-trotter. Television impresario. Rolling stone gourmet. Keith Famie is the definition of the type A personality chef. Whether showing viewers the exotic wonders and fare of Kenya on his Food Network series, Keith Famie’s Adventures, or cooking alongside some of the world’s great chefs, Famie knows how to live life to its fullest—and eat well while doing it. You Really Haven’t Been There Until You’ve Eaten the Food takes readers on a whirlwind adventure around the globe, sampling the food and culture from extraordinary places like Bora-Bora and the Australian Outback to such North American cities as Memphis, Seattle, and Quebec. No matter the destination, Famie serves up a grand experience.

At each location, he presents recipes for native dishes that are a part of the personality and character of the region, whether it’s Bammies from Jamaica, Bobotie with Roti from South Africa, or Spicy Carrots from Mexico. Famie also provides the locals’ take on classic dishes like savory Pulled Pork from Memphis and the ever-famous Shrimp on the Barbie from Australia. Beyond the more than 130 recipes and the captivating geography, Famie introduces us to an incredible cast of interesting—sometimes odd—characters he has met along the way.

You Really Haven’t Been There Until You’ve Eaten the Food is a ticket to travel the world right from your own kitchen. And Famie is the ultimate guide, providing a view of these destinations as only he can, with humor and an unquenchable curiosity. So grab a fork, find a good chair, and hang on for a great ride.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Survivor contestant, chef and Food Network contributor Famie (Keith Famie's Adventures in Cooking) brings together his love of food, travel and adventure in his latest offering. As much a travelogue as a recipe book, Famie's volume vividly brings to life the familiar and novel places he visits through the local food and the people he encounters. From Kenya, he offers the robust Maharagwe Ya Nasi (Swahili for Beans in Coconut Sauce) and a description of the Masai blood-letting ceremony; and from the Miami Cuban community of Little Havana, he presents the Argentinean-inspired Chimichurri Sauce while reminiscing about his host's hospitality ("a cuba libre tastes best when made by a liberated Cuban"). Together, the writing and the photographs conjure up colorful, vibrant portraits of people and places. Each chapter of the travelogue, which begins in Africa and trips through Canada, the South Pacific and Michigan (where he goes mushroom hunting), just to name a few places, is illustrated by both anecdotes and recipes. Many of the dishes call for ingredients indigenous to the locale, but Famie is always careful to locate an email source or suggest an alternative; he also provides an extended resource guide and glossary. Throughout the book, it is Famie's love of cooking and treking that shines through. Liberally sprinkled with black-and-white photos as well as a center section of color photos, and distinguished by lively descriptive prose, this book may help readers feel as if they've traveled the world without leaving the kitchen.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

All food reflects its point of origin, but in today's shrinking planet, where foods are shipped daily half way around the world, it's difficult to associate any food exclusively with the lands or people where it originated. Keith Famie and Chris Kassel's You Haven't Been There Until You've Eaten the Food tries to reunite the food with the land of its birth. Based on his cable television series, this travelogue/cookbook moves all over the world, from South Africa to Canada. He finds reflections of Jamaica's exuberant disorder in its spicy Pepperpot Soup. A full page plus of ingredients combine to make a seafood cake from a tony Key West resort; other recipes are less complicated. Memphis' barbecue combines with its funky musical tradition, the sum topped off with Fried Sweet Potato Pie. In Michigan they discovers the state's superb lake perch and its succulent fall fruits. Famie and Kassel records recipes for all these delights. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (May 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609610929
• ISBN-13: 978-0609610923
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,240,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Tastes from Several Cultures and Cuisines, April 21, 2004

By 

Glenn Lindgren "Three Guys From Miami: Auth... - See all my reviews
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This review is from: You Really Haven't Been There Until You've Eaten the Food (Hardcover)

Keith really got a bad rap for his rice-making skills on survivor! An accomplished chef long before his appearance on reality TV, Keith knows how to make and appreciate great food. This collection is a companion to his show on the Food Network, "Keith Famie's Adventures." Keith traveled all over the world to sample various cuisines. On the way, he collected recipes from the local chefs that appeared on the program. The result is a great sampling of recipes from several cultures and cuisines.

I especially like the Miami section which features the "Three Guys from Miami" and a couple of their classic recipes! (They have their own cookbook out now: "Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban.")

A great cookbook for those with international tastes!