As the food media world warms up for its busiest time of year, a trickle of new releases in television and print are whetting our appetites for the deluge to come. Here are a few of our favorite picks:
WWBBD?
The Food Network's newest star is none other than Olympic gold-medalist Brian Boitano. We'll give that a minute to sink in...Yep, that's the one--he of the South Park slogan and the sparkly spandex suits. Turns out, he's quite the cook, and What Would Brian Boitano Make? will showcase recipes and entertaining tips straight from the figure skater's home in San Francisco. As he puts it, "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll eat bacon!" Hmm...this could be interesting.
You'll have to wait 'til this Sunday for the show's premier, but in the meantime you can check out behind-the-scenes videos on the Food Network website, including plenty of bacon and a tour of Boitano's costume closet (shiny pants and all).
Chew on This:
"I was a plump infant and was on my way to becoming an even plumper
child, a ravenous machine determined to devour anything in its sights."
From the very first chapter of his revealing new memoir, Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater,
New York Times food critic Frank Bruni explores his complicated--and
often dysfunctional--relationship with food with candor and humor. His
struggles with weight, self-image and sexuality are all on the table,
so to speak, in this much-anticipated book to be released this
Thursday.
We're thinking it'll be an eye-opener for anyone who loves food, hates
food (sometimes) or imagines the life of a professional food critic is
nothing but a parade of crisp, white tablecloths and five-star meals.
Never Too Thin:
Finally, there's now concrete proof that the fashion world does eat--and it eats well. In fact, The American Fashion Cookbook
goes to show that designers, while on the one hand creating
masterpieces of textile architecture to be draped over the lithe forms
of stick-thin models, are, in their free time, whipping up such
indulgences as mushroom truffle spaghetti and strawberry shortcake. Go
figure.
Whether you take it as a testament to the fashion elite's inner
down-home charm or a cruel case of "Eat as I say, not as I do", this
beautifully illustrated new book from the Council of Fashion Designers
of America is sure to provoke dinner-table conversation.
