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When people think about famous food writers, they typically imagine recipes, reviews, and cookbooks. And while you can learn more than just the recipes from a good cookbook, they’re not the only food-focused literature worth exploring, especially if you want to understand food culture beyond the plate. That’s why we’ve created a list of excellent food memoirs to add to your TBR pile. Some of these books are written by famous chefs you’ve probably heard of, while others are from people who inhabit the culinary world in a less conventional sense. Regardless, all of these books will have you thinking about food and how we consume it in a brand-new light.
Whether you’re simply trying to learn more about food itself, or searching for deeper insights into the lives of culinary professionals, this roundup is a great place to start. So, find a comfy spot, pour yourself a cup of tea or a glass of good wine, and get stuck into these celebrated food memoirs.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Food can often help us better understand our roots and connect with family members who are longer be with us, and that’s exactly what Michelle Zauner writes about in her wildly successful memoir, “Crying in H Mart.” Growing up in Eugene, Oregon, Zauner felt divorced from her Korean heritage in many ways, and struggled to find independence from her mother. When her mother developed terminal cancer, she turned to food to reassess their relationship and her own “Koreanness.”
At the beginning of the memoir, Zauner takes us to H Mart — a Korean grocery store beloved by many Asian Americans — where she tries to enjoy a meal after her mother’s passing. This tale of grief, identity, and delicious food is a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand how food can bring families together, even after death. The memoir was released in 2021 and quickly became a modern-day foodie classic.
You Had Me at Pet-Nat by Rachel Signer
If you’re interested in learning more about wine – specifically natural wine – without reading a stuffy textbook filled with pages upon pages of appellation maps, “You Had Me at Pet-Nat” by Rachel Signer might be just what you’re looking for. This memoir starts with Signer’s introduction to the world of wine through the service industry, before following the author’s fledgling years as a freelance wine writer, and her later experiences as a wine magazine publisher. During this time, she also meets the winemaker who would later became her husband, and even makes her own wine in Australia.
This is an excellent book to read if you’re just dipping your toe into the world of wine, as it offers a wealth of foundational knowledge in an entertaining, easy-to-read format. Plus, it’s a great way to explore the culture of natural wine, which differs somewhat from the arguably stuffier world of conventional winemaking.
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain is undeniably one of the most beloved figures in food media, largely thanks to his various TV food–travel shows, including “Parts Unknown” and “No Reservations.” But before he became a television sensation, Bourdain was relatively unknown himself. After publishing an article in the New Yorker that received a particularly warm reception, he was spurred to write “Kitchen Confidential.”
This memoir details Bourdain’s early career before he appeared on our TV screens — a life flush with drugs, alcohol, and plenty of delicious food. It also vividly exposes the reality of restaurant work in a way that’s extremely relatable to anyone who’s ever held a food service job. Although the book was published back in 2000, it remains a beloved food memoir, and the perfect way to remember one of the great voices of food, travel, and multicultural understanding (which is arguably best fostered over a good meal).
Eat a Peach by David Chang
You may know David Chang from his TV series, which include “Ugly Delicious,” “Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner,” and “Dinner Time Live with David Chang.” But the famed chef-turned-television personality first achieved celebrity status by opening Momofuku, a restaurant that shone a new light on Asian-American food when it opened its doors in 2004. In Chang’s memoir, “Eat a Peach,” you’ll learn about his experiences coming up in the restaurant industry and his meteoric rise to fame, while gaining a better understanding of the incredible amount of work it takes to become a world-class chef.
In many ways, this book is an exploration of otherness, as Chang details his early life growing up in a Korean American family in Virginia. However, it’s also a tale of triumph and success. Chang addresses many of the mistakes he made coming up in the restaurant business and shares insightful opinions concerning the future of the restaurant industry in an ever-changing food landscape.
Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwauchi
Kwame Onwauchi, the acclaimed chef behind restaurants Dōgon and Tatiana, rose to prominence in the world of haute cuisine at a young age. At just 27 years old, he had already opened the Shaw Bijou, a famously pricey restaurant that shuttered within months due to a complex web of issues. In 2019, he published his memoir, “Notes From a Young Black Chef,” which starts by outlining a rocky childhood spent between the Bronx and rural Nigeria. It then covers his eventual foray into food, which saw him training at some of America’s most prestigious restaurants before becoming a “Top Chef” contestant in 2015.
Not only does “Notes From a Young Black Chef” detail Onwauchi’s personal restaurant experiences, but it also highlights the difficulties Black people face in the world of fine dining. If you want to read a book that will inspire you to chase your passions — even when they don’t unfold as expected — then this might just be the memoir for you.
The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber
Growing up between two cultures — American and Jordanian — sets the scene for Diana Abu-Jaber’s memoir, “The Language of Baklava.” Her father, an immigrant to the United States, connected with his home culture through food and passed his love of eating onto his daughter. Of course, the stories contained in this memoir are about food, but they also touch on deeper themes: identity, of course, but also family and faith.
One of the reasons we love this book is that it blends true-life narrative with actual recipes, making for a hybrid memoir-cookbook that serves as a new model for food-centric storytelling. Whether you want to learn more about Jordanian food, the food culture of immigrants in a foreign land, or be able to relate your own complex experiences of food and identity, “The Language of Baklava” is a must-read. Published in 2005, it remains relevant during a time when the immigrant experience in the U.S. has become increasingly fraught.
The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher
Many of the memoirs on this list were released in the last 20 years or so, but “The Gastronomical Me” by M.F.K. Fisher predates those by several decades. Published in 1943, it set an absolute standard for the food-focused memoir, and introduced many Americans to French cuisine at a time when there was considerably less cultural contact between the United States and the rest of the world.
The book starts in 1929, shortly after Fisher gets married, detailing her journey to Dijon, France, with her new husband. While there, she discovers a whole new world of food that differs greatly from the cuisine she had grown up with. Not only is the book a meditation on food, but also on travel, female exploration, and the tensions that erupted into the Second World War. It’s a true classic of the food memoir genre and provides a storytelling framework that many of the other authors on this list have undoubtedly pulled from.
Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi
There are few food personalities as widely known and beloved as Padma Lakshmi. You may know her as one of the stars of “Top Chef” or through her acclaimed TV series, “Taste the Nation,” but you might not have realized that Lakshmi is also a compelling author off-screen. Published in 2016, “Love, Loss, and What We Ate” touches on her childhood experiences as an Indian immigrant to the United States, and the food stories that undergirded such a life-changing move.
Lakshmi details the sense of displacement she felt during her time going back and forth between India and the U.S., and describes the meals that made her feel at home between two continents. It also explores her early career as she rose up the ranks in the food world to become a judge on “Top Chef.” Plus, it features a variety of recipes that give readers the opportunity to get a taste of the dishes that have shaped Lakshmi’s life.
Bento Box in the Heartland by Linda Furiya
Linda Furiya’s “Bento Box in the Heartland” is another memoir that traces a food lover’s experience living — and eating — between two cultures. It tells the author’s story of growing up in Versailles, Indiana, which she describes as “Whitebread America.” In this small farming community, Furiya’s family were the only Asian people in town. Still, her parents sought to expose her to Japanese food and culture, scouring the area for specific ingredients to make dishes that reminded them of home. Despite this, Furiya writes how she often felt othered by the food she brought to school, and found herself wishing that she could’ve brought American dishes to the lunchroom to better fit in with the other kids.
While many food memoirs document the author’s professional journey, this is a true coming-of-age tale, focusing on childhood food memories. Published in 2006, it remains an important book in the annals of American food culture.
My Life in France by Julia Child
Julia Child is one of the most well-known names in the culinary world, making her book, “My Life in France,” a great place to start for anyone looking to get into the food memoir genre. As the title suggests, it details Child’s journey to France — a country the author knew very little about. Despite the fact that she couldn’t speak the local language, Child readily embraced the nation’s culture and fell deeply in love with French cuisine. Her experiences led her to enrolling in culinary school, where she began developing the skills that she would later use to write her seminal cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
But this memoir isn’t just about food. It also reads like a travel journal, depicting a life littered with adventure, interesting people, and excellent meals. It’s an absolute must-read for fans of the woman who was instrumental in introducing French cuisine to America.
Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan
In many cultures, women have traditionally been at the heart of food culture, responsible for feeding their families yet receiving little recognition for their work. In the culinary world, it’s often men who are thrust into the spotlight, gaining fame and notoriety for the recipes of their grandmothers, who went unpaid and unrecognized for their labors in the kitchen. It’s this world in which Lisa Donovan’s “Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger” is set. The memoir explores the author’s experience struggling to work her way up in the restaurant industry, where she has now cemented herself a notable pastry chef.
Not only is “Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger” the story of Donovan’s own life, but it also celebrates the unseen and unrewarded work of all the women and people of color who came before her and spent their days nourishing others. A gifted writer, Donovan delivers an especially heartfelt, entertaining read.
Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch
Whether you’re already a wine lover with a well-stocked cellar or a novice interested in learning more, Kermit Lynch’s “Adventures on the Wine Route” is a book that every wine-curious reader should pick up. Lynch is a renowned importer and distributor of French wine, most of which comes from small, family-owned wineries. This memoir documents his travels through multiple French wine regions — including Bordeaux, the Loire, and Provence – tasting as he goes. Not only does Lynch describe his own experiences with the wines he tries, but he introduces the reader to a variety of celebrated French vintners as well.
This is a fantastic book to read if you want to embark on some wine-focused travel, and it’s an excellent reference to help you discover some of France’s best wineries. If you haven’t already fallen in love with wine, “Adventures on the Wine Route” might just awaken the passion in you. Make sure you read it while enjoying a nice glass of wine.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
If you’re questioning your relationship with meat — or our society’s reliance on the system of industrialized farming — you have to check out “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer. Yes, it’s a memoir, but it also examines the culture of animal product consumption, its historical roots, and alternative paths to nutrition. Through the lens of his own experiences experimenting with vegetarianism, Safran Foer offers a nuanced look into what it means to eat animals.
This is a great book for vegetarians and vegans, but it’s equally enlightening for dedicated meat lovers who want to discover different pathways for more sustainable and ethical eating. It walks the line between personal narrative and journalistic exploration, which makes it a fun read for anyone who’s interested in food-focused nonfiction. The book was also adapted into a documentary in 2017.
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones
Judith Jones may not be a world-famous chef, but she nevertheless played an extremely important role in shaping food culture. As a cookbook editor, she helped publish the works of some of the most famous food personalities of the last century, such as Julia Child, M.F.K. Fisher, and Edna Lewis. Proximity to these giants of culinary literature made for quite an interesting life and career, which she details in her memoir, “The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food.”
The book traverses Jones’ life, including her experiences living in Paris in the years after World War II ended. During this time, she learned to see food in a very different context compared to at home in the United States. It also offers an inside look at some of the era’s culinary greats. Don’t forget to check out the book’s many recipes, which are pulled from significant moments in Jones’ life and career.
Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew by Michael J. Twitty
As one of the most notable culinary historians of his time (and a face you might recognize from Netflix’s “High on the Hog”), Michael W. Twitty delves into his experiences of religion and cuisine in “Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew.” In this nuanced memoir, Twitty explores the roots of Jewish and Black food culture and how they intersect, largely through the lens of his own culinary experiences. He centers Jews of color as an integral part of both cultures in the United States, and also pulls from other Black Jews’ experiences for a layered, complex look at the Black Jewish diaspora.
For those who are interested in faith, food, and race, this is an excellent memoir to explore. It also features multiple recipes, which bring some of the book’s ideas to tangible — and tasty — reality.
Dining and Cooking