Customer Reviews

Too Many Cooks: Kitchen Adventures with 1 Mom, 4 Kids, and 102 Recipes

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book has been passed from me to my wife to the kids and back again. A few days ago, I found my nine-year-old writing down a shopping list to make the mummy nuggets which he later made, with some help. I made the gazpacho soup. My 14-year-old made the donuts with some of her friends.

As a stay-at-home dad of four kids, this was a pleasure to read. A brilliant book written with humor and poignancy -- and lots of great recipes to boot!

I really enjoyed Ms. Franklin's Stories about her family life. I am not a cook, so I was not sure if this book would be a good read for me. I really, really enjoyed the book. I felt that the anecdotes about motherhood were honest, and engaging. Each chapter is almost like a short story, although there are themes and characters that run the entire book. For those that cook the recipes are a bonus!

I'm a big fan of Emily Franklin's fiction -- from the Principles of Love series and Liner Notes to At Face Value and The Other Half of Me. In Too Many Cooks, we see that Franklin's story-telling skills shine just as brightly in the non-fiction genre. A collection of essays and related recipes that is one part memoir and one part biography -- with a heaping helping of humor mixed in -- the book gives a taste of the author as mother, wife, daughter, friend, and -- yes -- chef. The casual, easy-going style immediately draws the reader into Franklin's world. A whirlwind tour with stops in charming food shops, village markets, and country farms on both sides of the Atlantic, this book is a non-stop adventure that will make you laugh and make you tear-up (and not just at the onion talk) and make you hungry to try every one of the tasty, yummy meals.

Emily Franklin's anxiety-free views on feeding children and introducing them to new foods and dishes are absolutely refreshing.

Don't worry. This isn't a preachy how-to book by any means. It's simply Emily's quest to "create happy, healthy eaters without tricks." While this is a non-fiction book it reads like an effortless dream. I became entirely wrapped up in learning all of the personality quirks her four children possess, and while they may willingly eat roasted broccoli I promise that they are just as real as your own kids. Emily doesn't hesitate in detailing their dirty faces, flaws, and swearing phases, but somehow through hissy fits, major shelving malfunctions, delayed ferry rides home, and even personal tragedy Emily consistently gets healthy meals on the table.

This book isn't just for picky children. I found myself marking dozens of recipes to try later. I'm especially looking forward to Emily's rendition of Sticky Toffee Pudding. Whether you're a regular old Brady Bunch or a single twenty-something the story Emily weaves is timeless. At the end I found myself wanting the book to be longer and I definitely missed "sharing meals" vicariously with her endearing family.

I just loved this book. It is the perfect parenting tome: Not preachy, not prescriptive. Just, "this is how I did it, maybe it will work for you." The author's story is so well written and humorous, and her values come through so clearly, that you feel like you wish you lived next door just so could have her and her family be friends with your own. We loved and are using her approach to introduce new foods with great results.

Emily Franklin's views on food, children, and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants cooking are hilarious and touching. An engaging, lovely book.

I've been reading this book -- some pages stained already from mixing food and kids -- with delight and awe. As a fellow writer and mother of four kids, I so admire this book -- the depictions of motherhood, cooking, the insanity of a new baby, the glimpses of marriage ...

It's a great read for new parents especially -- the ones just starting to figure out how to get kids to eat ... and to eat thoughtfully, creatively, and well. But it also served as a great reminder to someone who's been at it a while -- how to make it new.

TOO MANY COOKS is nourishing -- on all levels.


- Julianna Baggott

I absolutely loved this book! As a mother myself, I could relate to the author and laughed out loud at many of her funny stories. I love the idea of getting my children to broaden their tastes and can't wait to try out some of the recipes in the book!

I simply devoured Emily Franklin's food memoir, Too Many Cooks: Kitchen Adventures with 1 Mom, 4 Kids, and 102 recipes. Talk about the perfect book at the perfect time. Franklin's memoir is arranged like so many food memoirs these days, as a series of essays with recipes at the end of each one. The difference here is that Franklin is cooking for her family, picky eaters and all.

Franklin is a writer, her husband is a pediatrician, and she stays home with all the children. Franklin loves food and cooking and has experience cooking as a chef. She obviously loves children, her life revolves around them, and it's clear she wants them to have a good relationship with food and eating. While the children are adorable and say lots of clever things, Franklin keeps a tight focus on the family's relationship with food, their day-to-day 'food life' whether the family is at home, vacationing, or celebrating holidays.

From a practical standpoint, Franklin offers many good ideas, techniques, and her own philosophy on getting kids to try new foods. And the recipes! Franklin has a lot of recipes that really appeal to me. She's altered recipes for things like muffins and other baked goods to include applesauce, wheat germ, and whole wheat flour. Her recipes really appealed to me for their simplicity and I'd like to try many of them. I didn't want this book to end and stretched it out to make it last. I could read about what Emily Franklin is making for dinner forever, I think.

I love this book! Franklin makes her family come to life on the page. She chooses parenting moments that are funny, frustrating, poignant, and sad...just like real family life. But she's never overly precious about any of it, something not all momoirs achieve. But best of all are the recipes! Sticky toffee pudding? Mommy Nuggets? Now You See It Pasta? Best Ever Split Pea Soup? I've made them all and they are delicious, just like her writing.