7/28/2019 Excerpt: "Comfort Me With Offal"

1/2

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing Comfort Me with Offal: Ruth Bourdains Guide toGastronomy, the most important contribution to food writing since Jean Anthelme Brillat-

Savarins The Physiology of Taste. Now that you have acquired this book, you may go ahead

and throw away your copy of that other one (or, to be green, you may recycle it in a special binnow available at your local Whole Foods Market). But dont get rid of all your food referencebooks: You will still need to hold on to your mammoth copy of Larousse Gastronomique (it

comes in very handy for step aerobics).

Thirty-five years ago, over a memorable dinner in Chinatown, the legendary James Beardtold me, Ruth, you must write this book. Now, he did have his mouth full of chicken feet at the

time, and his speech was slurred from smoking way too much tarragon, so there is a good

possibility he might have actually said, Ruth, you must try this jook, referring to the rice

porridge he was eating (it was amazing). Nevertheless, Im still pretty sure he encouraged me toput pen to paper and at long last share my deep knowledge of gastronomy with the entire

universe.

While Comfort Me with Offalmay be more than three decades in the making, itrepresents the first and only comprehensive guide to our current state of gastronomy. And there

couldnt be a better time for an instruction manual for the world of food. Lets face it: The

culinary world has gotten a little confusing as of late. Is bagged salad clean and safe to eat? What

the fuck is air-chilled chicken, anyway? And whats up with Padma Lakshmi? Is she stoned onTop Chef? Unfortunately, this book does not contain the answers to any of those questions, but it

will equip you with the basic knowledge of gastronomy so that you can search for the answers on

your own.We start in Chapter , A Brief History of Gastronomy, with a look back at the history of

food and its eaters and how we evolved from the most ancient culinarians to the modern-day

Yelper.

Chapter 2 provides a Field Guide to the Modern Foodie, an essential guide to thediverse and eclectic types of food obsessivesfrom carniwhores to gastrosexualswho

comprise the contemporary food world.

Chapter 3, Navigating the Edible Industrial Complex, explores the current state ofgastronomy, including the rise of the celebrity chef, the importance of celebrity chef hair (or lack

thereof), and lucrative new frontiers in pharmaceutical endorsements for top chefs; food trends;

how to read a restaurant review; and etiquette points for eating with others. In this day and age,its critical to think about food choices, so well also explore some tips and techniques for

managing portion size and preparing for the eventuality of a vegan apocalypse.

In Chapter 4, The Gastronomical Me, well turn to the eater as animal, studying its

basic anatomy and the steps humans can take to hone their gustatory abilities. Youll learn aboutthe joy of cooking (culinary sex!) and the art of getting gastrostoned.

Finally, in Chapter 5, Matters of Taste, we get to the food (that is, meat, cheese, coffee,

and chocolate). Youve probably never tasted any of those things, so this will be a vital resource,

which pairs nicely with Chapter 6,The World of Wine and Spirits, where we might get a littlebit drunk (please appoint a designated driver while reading this important chapter).

At the end of the book, Ive included a quizWhats Your Gastronomical Quotient

(GQ)?a standardized tool for assessing your knowledge of food and aptitude for all thingsculinary. Throughout this volume, Ive collected some memorable stories from my own personal

7/28/2019 Excerpt: "Comfort Me With Offal"

2/2

history in the world of food and wine, along with my rules (Ruths Rules) for eating, which

Michael Pollan shamelessly ripped off in hisFood Rulesbook. So You Want to Be a...

questionnaires will assess your aptitude for culinary careers as a celebrity chef, restaurant critic,sommelier, and more.

I hope that this guide will become as cherished as your well-worn copy ofMastering the

Art of French Cooking. I think Julia Child would have wanted it that way.Bon Apptit!

Comfort Me with Offal: Ruth Bourdains Guide to Gastronomy by Ruth Bourdain/AndrewsMcMeel Publishing, LLC