Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir
Food and drink, Biography, Journals and memoirs
Human-narrated audio
Summary
Trailblazing food writer and beloved restaurant critic Ruth Reichl took the job (and the risk) of a lifetime when she entered the glamorous, high-stakes world of magazine publishing. Now, for the first time, she chronicles her groundbreaking tenure as editor… in chief of Gourmet. "This is the rare case of an amazing writer living an amazing life."-Ann Patchett When Conde Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America's oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone's boss. Yet Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no? This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat. Readers will meet legendary chefs like David Chang and Eric Ripert, idiosyncratic writers like David Foster Wallace, and a colorful group of editors and art directors who, under Reichl's leadership, transformed stately Gourmet into a cutting-edge publication. This was the golden age of print media-the last spendthrift gasp before the Internet turned the magazine world upside down. Complete with recipes, Save Me the Plums is a personal journey of a woman coming to terms with being in charge and making a mark, following a passion and holding on to her dreams-even when she ends up in a place she never expected to be. Advance praise for Save Me the Plums "No one writes about food like Ruth Reichl. She also happens to be a mesmerizing storyteller. I consider this book essential nourishment."-Nigella Lawson "Endearing...?iGourmet magazine readers will relish the behind-the-scenes peek at the workings of the magazine...? Reichl's revealing memoir is a deeply personal look at a food world on the brink of change."-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Ruth Reichl is the best sort of storyteller-intimate, wise, frank, and completely engaging. Here she beautifully details her ten years running Gourmet, with all the triumphs and tribulations, and it's a brilliant tale. Every page is rich and delicious; the book is such a treat!"-Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book