Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide
December 2006
Eating My Words: An Appetite for Life
Mimi Sheraton
Sheraton's got a plum job: the New York Times's restaurant critic in the 1970s and '80s, she's also worked as a consultant for the Four Seasons and a food writer for New York magazine. Her forthright, enthusiastic memoir instantly engages, as she tells of her adventures as a food lover and journalist, from her years as a newlywed in postwar Greenwich Village to the present....
- Do you feel that "eating at home is boring?" Do you know any restaurant junkies? Did the book hold your interest?
- Mimi Sheraton's propensity for food and cooking was attributed to her mother and grandmother. Are your current cooking styles and food preferences similar to those of your family of origin? If not, who has influenced you?
- Do you think we need food critics? Who benefits from the revues and rating systems of upscale restaurants? Does the "culinary one-upmanship" aid the clientele? Should critics disguise themselves?
- Were you surprised that Mimi also worked with changing the food quality of public schools, hospitals, and prisons? What can we do to improve the food in these institutions?
- Has reading this book changed your opinion of haute cuisine? Is cooking an art or a means of survival? Did the book inspire you to prepare food more creatively or to try new types of restaurants?
- Would you be a good food critic? According to Mimi, what are the prerequisites?
- Mimi says no two palates are alike. If you were given a taste test would you be highly sensitive to taste or have a high taste threshold ("be an undertaster")?
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