Secrets of the Tsil Cafe [Hardcover]

Thomas Fox Averill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2001

A bittersweet and often funny coming-of-age story set in a cross- cultural and extended family that lives between two kitchens-one traditional, the other New World.

Weston Hingler's crib was in the kitchen of BuenAppeTito, his mother's catering service. There, he learned to read while tasting all the flavors of his mother's culinary alphabet.

But before he was allowed to enter the Tsil CafŽ, he had to pass his father's taste tests. Anchovies. Haba–ero chiles. Chipotle peppers. Food to purge body and soul. Food his loving but sometimes volatile father uses as a measure of family, friends, and enemies.

Caught between these two kitchens, Weston quickly learns that he's also trapped by his wayward parents' secrets and histories, infidelities and gaping needs, as well as by the cafŽ customers and employees who are privy to his growing up.

Weston chooses his escapes intuitively, but he can't get away. In this layered and savory novel, food is the reflection of life's shifting flavors, and readers will be drawn to the delicious package in which Averill delivers his story-complete with recipes. But ultimately they'll attach to Weston's complicated family, and when Averill serves us their feasts of reconciliation, readers will want to raise a toast.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A man's perspective is rare in the current crush of culinary-inspired fiction, but in this first novel based around hotter-than-hot peppers, it's macho to wield a saucepan. Narrator Wes Hingler, son of dueling chefs, is a terrific kitchen guide: lusty, culturally hip, erudite but without intellectual pretense, unsentimental. Wes's father, Robert, is the owner of the Tsil Cafe, serving New Mexican food in Kansas City, Mo.; his mother, Maria Tito Hingler, runs Buen AppeTito catering. Growing up in their two kitchens, Wes embodies their conflicts and collusions: New World versus Old World ingredients, heat and warmth. He must become himself as well as their child, and the book recounts his tortuous, triumphant journey to his own restaurant, Weston's One-World Cafe. Tsil (pronounced like the first syllable in chili, but with a hiss) is the Hopi name for a chili pepper come to life, and nearly all the recipes gathered in the book include a chili or two in the ingredient list. Those who prefer their meals bland are forewarned, as should be vegetarians and pet owners: at the culminating feast, soup with llama blood is served. Sometimes Wes's extended family seems a dish with a confusing number of spices. But O. Henry Award-winning short story writer Averill uses the issue of roots to make a fine point about the influence of many cooks on even a signature dish. Readable if not readily cookable, Tsil Cafe will heat up the summer. Agent, Stephanie von Hirschberg. National publicity.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Intertwining strong narrative with tantalizing recipes, Averill (English, Washburn Univ.; Passes at the Moon) offers unusual fare in the popular genre of food-as-metaphor-novels, which includes Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate and Lily Prior's La Cucina (LJ 11/1/00). Wes Hingler lives in the shadow of his eccentric, fiercely opinionated cook parents, whose separate kitchens and shared bedroom spontaneously combust into battlegrounds at the flip of a spatula. Argument and haba-ero chile are the dominant spices of Wes's life, permeating the ever-tense atmosphere of Kansas City's Tsil Caf (his father's Southwestern/Native American restaurant) and the kitchen of BuenAppeTito (his mother's eclectic catering business). Professional rivalries, romantic triangles, and assorted betrayals all make for a volatile upbringing. When Wes leaves home, he puts family and food behind him, but he's drawn back for his father's unique 50th-birthday party feast. Dog, guinea pig, maguey worms, and llama blood dominate the idiosyncratic menu, overshadowing the dramatic event itself. A lovingly written coming-of-age gem; recommended for all libraries. Jo Manning, Barry Univ., Miami Shores, FL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Blue Hen (July 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399147551
• ISBN-13: 978-0399147555
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #585,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coming of Age in the Kitchen, July 5, 2001

By 

Timothy C. Averill "Teacher" (Beverly, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets of the Tsil Cafe (Hardcover)

Thomas Fox Averill's first published novel (following several collections of short fiction, two anthologies, and the O'Henry Prize selection) is a real gem which will appeal to all readers -- literature lovers, cooks, students, and teachers. A coming of age story, set in Kansas City, the novel traces Wes Hingler as he grows to know and understand himself against the backdrop of his mother's old world catering service and his father's new world "Tsil Cafe." Interspersed in the engaging narrative are the recipes of both worlds, recipes which are clear and educational and accessible for most cooks. Although most readers will not choose to cook with dog (when available), the ingredients will be readily available for most readers. Those who appreciate spice will revel in the recipes, but for the more delicate palates Averill shows how chile peppers can be sweet and subtle. Written with tenderness and affection while not holding back on life's realities, "Secrets of the Tsil Cafe" will be a perfect selection for teachers in universities and secondary schools. The clear definition of two cultures, the search for identity, and the joy of life fully lived permeate this work and make it an ideal vehicle for classroom discussion and for the exploration (by students and readers) of the importance of family and cultural heritage. Although I am the author's brother and have to acknowledge the "conflict of interest" in writing this review, I objectively see this as a great novel. I will be using "Secrets of the Tsil Cafe" in my own AP English classes in Manchester (MA) and in my kitchen at home with my family. I recommend this novel with pride and enthusiasm.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars cafe tsil: a great story w/recipes as a bonus..., August 10, 2001

By 

"itwaslike_magic" (sf-bay area, ca.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of the Tsil Cafe (Hardcover)

cafe tsil: a great story w/recipes as a bonus. a very well written, touching, and moving story. i needed a kleenix a couple of times. i found the inclusion of the recipes a nice touch, although i wonder how readily available the ingredients are--like the llama blood, guinea pigs, and dog... :-) get the book and read it...it's worth it!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How would you like your literature served..., July 29, 2001

By 

Christopher L Hubbell (Topeka, Ks United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of the Tsil Cafe (Hardcover)

With prose as rich and flavorful as the southwestern cuisine his characters prepare, Averill has penned for us a wonderful coming of age story. Wes Hingler is out of place. His culinary tastes and culture don't fit into the urban life of Kansas City. Not at home with either his peers or his father, who wears his cultural differences like a badge, Wes endures a lifetime of adjustment. It's a lifetime centered around his family. His parents and their troubles swirl around him in an ever enlightening mix of secrets, betrayals, and love.

For Wes, it means a constant reconciliation with his parents' pains and desires. And like individual ingredients in the whole, these are just pinches of what makes Wes Hingler's life worth tasting.

Averill is a literary writer. He is an award-winning short fiction writer, and a teacher. It shows in his prose. The story is authentic in both emotion and detail. It is written with an authoritative and honest voice that developes the characters so realistically you'll begin to see pieces of them in the people around you. We know these people. We'd swear we've met them.

Enjoy this work. Read it and escape for a while, if not to a world less complex or difficult, at least more flavorful.