[.ca] DELIGHTS AND PREJUDICES (ISBN 002030465X)

From Amazon.com:
James Beard's 1964 classic, Delights and Prejudices, has been reprinted in a newly illustrated edition. This is wonderful news for all who love food and food writing. Erudite yet intimate, Delights and Prejudices is, first, the memoir-with-recipes of a great American gastronome. It's also fascinatingly panoramic on good meals taken worldwide; on ingredients as diverse as the potato and the truffle; on great food places, markets to restaurants; and on food people, from Beard's cantankerous, food-muse mother to many of the stars of the last century's food firmament, including Julia Child. This is not only Beard's greatest work but also one of the best books we have on food and what we know about it. Beard's gastronomic life began in bounteous early-20th century Portland, Oregon, where his mother cooked for several hotels. An early culinary memory has the near-infant Beard relishing an onion, skin and all. From there the story captures a world of gastronomic likes and dislikes from "sensational" veal roasts to the gherkins known as cornichons, "one of the mistakes the French make in eating." Beard's love of French food is, however, usually unmitigated, matched only by his adoration of traditional, locally produced American cooking. Recipes for this fare, including clam soufflé and candied-ginger pumpkin pie, are among the 150 formulas offered, a Beardian crème de la crème that also encompasses hors d'oeuvres, breads, and cakes. The book also chronicles Beard's ascent to fame, beginning with his 1940s appearance on I Love to Eat, TV's first cooking show, to the arrival of his many influential cookbooks. It ends, characteristically, in his kitchen, "the place where \ohe\c can best satisfy the eccentricities of \ohis\c own palate." The journey makes am enthralling read. --Arthur Boehm

An American Master Epicure Shares His Roots:
This book is somewhat less entertaining than some more recent culinary memoirs, such as those written by Ruth Reichl, for example but, given the importance of it's subject, it is very rewarding for both it's historical and culinary contents. Beard is the quintessential 'old school' American culinary figure. You will find little or no preaching on local sources, simple preparations, fresh ingredients, or organically raised produce. These were simply not an issue for him in 1964. Recall that this was less than 4 years after the publication of Rachael Carson's 'Silent Spring' and less than 2 years after the publication of Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. Elizabeth David was probably unknown to most of Beard's audience and Chez Panisse was less than a glimmer in Alice Water's psyche. I must say that having read a recent, well regarded biography of Beard, I suspect that Beard has done something of which Martha Stewart has been 'accused'. That is, reinventing himself to the public by glossing over some of the less pleasant episodes in his childhood. And, at least two thirds of the book deal with his mother, her chefs at their Portland Oregan boarding house, and his early exposure to the foods of the American northwest. This is much more of a memoir than it is a cookbook, but for what few recipes it contains, there is a much greater chance that these are from Beard's personal experience. As his autobiography documents, and as Jerimiah Tower, a Beard confidant confirms, this may be one of the few books James Beard wrote himself. He almost always had one or more assistants compiling material for his books. Aside from his being the most important influence on the food writing of a generation of Americans, I always appreciate Beard for the simplicity of his recipes and ingredients. One rarely needs to worry about obscure ingredients or difficult techniques in Beard's books So, If one wishes to get an authentic taste of this American original and get a sense of the nature of his writing, one cannot do better than by reading this volume.