Thursday, December 4, 2008

HOMETOWN APPETITES : THE STORY OF CLEMENTINE PADDLEFORD, THE FORGOTTEN FOOD WRITER WHO CHRONICLED HOW AMERICA ATE
by Kelly Alexander and Cynthia Harris

Before James Beard and Julia Child, there was Clementine Paddleford, the most important food writer that nobody has ever heard of. Born in Kansas, on a 260-acre farm, in 1898, she became a most formidable journalist, eventually writing for the New York Herald Tribune and This Week magazine. Clementine wrote in "florid prose" about regional American food and eventually traveled 800,000 miles, in the United States and later, overseas, visiting housewives in their kitchens for "word-of-mouth hand-downs from mother to daughter" recipes.
In 1953, Paddleford was named "Best-Known Food Editor" by Time magazine.
She had her own inimitable style of fashion wearing capes, hats and a velvet choker around her neck with a tube attached. In her thirties, she had throat cancer, but that didn't stop her. She continued working and searching for the best recipes for millions of her readers.
Hometown Appetites is fascinating and a delight to read. Recipes are immersed throughout every chapter. Photographs of Paddleford and samples of menus that she kept (700 to be exact), plus how the two authors got together in the first place makes the book even more interesting.
Highly recommended for all food enthusiasts.