Serious Pig An American Cook in Search of His Roots [Paperback]

In this collection of essays, John Thorne sets our to explore the origins of his identity as a cook, going here (the Maine coast, where he'd summered as a child and returned as an adult for a decade's sojourn), there (southern Louisiana, where he was captivated by Creole and Cajun cooking), and everywhere (where he provides a sympathetic reading of such national culinary icons as the hamburger, white bread, and American cheese, and sits down to a big bowl of Texas red). These intelligent, searching essays are a passionate meditation on food, character, and place.

John ThorneandMatt Lewis Thornelive in Northampton, MA. They have published the food letter Simple Cooking for 20 years.

[Thorne's] richest book yet; one in which simple disparate thoughts begin to coalesce into a genuine philosophy of food. Ruth Reichl, Saveur

Here's a rare treat, a book in which the recipes are only a means to an end or stepping stones in cultural detective stories . . . [Thorne's] folkloric approach to food nourishes the brain as well as the body. William Rice, Chicago Tribune

The Thornes love their subject, but critically, knowledgeably and with a sense of humor that makes the narrative flow as if velvetized by mayo. Sheila Himmel, The Washington Post Book World