Insatiable
Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess
Gael Greene
From Warner Books
The tastiest, most uninhibited memoir in years, INSATIABLE is a feast for the senses and an aphrodisiac for the soul.
"Nobody knows the truffles I've seen," writes Gael Greene, the revered restaurant critic for New York magazine whose fierce wit and sensuous prose changed the way Americans think about food. Now Greene, the author of the sensational bestseller Blue Skies, No Candy , lifts the lid on her most outrageous subject yet—herself. And, oh, what a pot-au-feu it is, bubbling over with piquant humor, saucy celebrity sex (Elvis, Eastwood, assorted star chefs), and some of the most epic, lovingly described meals in literature (at Troisgros, Tour d'Argent, Moulin de Mougins, La Pyramide, Lutece). From Manhattan's swankest boítes to the gourmet shrines of France and Italy, this is the story of a woman who made a fabulous career out of dining on someone else's dime.
With her passion for fine food, her nose for hypocrisy and social humbug, and, above all, her appetite for love and adventure, Greene traces her rise from Midwestern Velveeta beginnings to Detroit journalist wannabe to powerful critic of New York magazine, un grand fromage in the world of food, just when food was becoming a national obsession. Love and food, foreplay and fork play, haute cuisine and social history—all become inextricably linked as the author embarks on a lifelong quest for a god in the kitchen and a master chef in bed. Along the way there are intimate portraits of the culinary icons of our time - Henri Soule, Andre Soltner, James Beard, Craig Claiborne, Alice Waters, Jean Troisgros, Julia Child, Michel Guerard - and revealing looks at New York's legendary "in" spots and their invisible caste systems - The Colony, Elaine's, La Grenouille, "21," Le Cirque, Odeon, and Balthazar.
Earthy and delicious but also penetrating and astute, Greene's memoir belongs on the narrow shelf of amorous and gastronomic classics.
Link to Forbes.com "But Can Gael Greene Be Trusted?" James Brady, 03-23-06