Cooking Audiobooks | Non-Fiction

Andrew Zimmern visits Cuba: Chapter 20 from THE BIZARRE TRUTH

Andrew Zimmern, the host of The Travel Channel’s hit series Bizarre Foods, has an extraordinarily well-earned reputation for traveling far and wide to seek out and sample anything and everything that’s consumed as food globally, from cow vein stew in Bolivia and giant flying ants in Uganda to raw camel kidneys in Ethiopia, putrefied shark in blood pudding in Iceland and Wolfgang Puck's Hunan style rooster balls in Los Angeles. For Zimmern, local cuisine — bizarre, gross or downright stomach turning as it may be to us -- is not simply what’s served at mealtime. It is a primary avenue to discovering what is most authentic — the bizarre truth — about cultures everywhere. In this section, Zimmern mixes politics and meals as an American in Cuba.

Andrew Zimmern (Author), Andrew Zimmern (Narrator)

Audiobook

Andrew Zimmern visits Paris: Chapter 9 from THE BIZARRE TRUTH

Andrew Zimmern, the host of The Travel Channel’s hit series Bizarre Foods, has an extraordinarily well-earned reputation for traveling far and wide to seek out and sample anything and everything that’s consumed as food globally, from cow vein stew in Bolivia and giant flying ants in Uganda to raw camel kidneys in Ethiopia, putrefied shark in blood pudding in Iceland and Wolfgang Puck's Hunan style rooster balls in Los Angeles. For Zimmern, local cuisine — bizarre, gross or downright stomach turning as it may be to us -- is not simply what’s served at mealtime. It is a primary avenue to discovering what is most authentic — the bizarre truth — about cultures everywhere. In Paris, Zimmern has what may be the best food day of this life.

Andrew Zimmern (Author), Andrew Zimmern (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Bizarre Truth

Andrew Zimmern, the host of The Travel Channel's hit series Bizarre Foods, has an extraordinarily well-earned reputation for traveling far and wide to seek out and sample anything and everything that's consumed as food globally, from cow vein stew in Bolivia and giant flying ants in Uganda to raw camel kidneys in Ethiopia, putrefied shark in blood pudding in Iceland and Wolfgang Puck's Hunan style rooster balls in Los Angeles. For Zimmern, local cuisine bizarre, gross or downright stomach turning as it may be to us -- is not simply what's served at mealtime. It is a primary avenue to discovering what is most authentic the bizarre truth about cultures everywhere. Having eaten his way around the world over the course of four seasons of Bizarre Foods, Zimmern has now launched Bizarre Worlds, a new series on the Travel Channel, and this, his first book, a chronicle of his journeys as he not only tastes the taboo treats of the world, but delves deep into the cultures and lifestyles of far-flung locales and seeks the most prized of the modern traveler's goals: The Authentic Experience. Written in the smart, often hilarious voice he uses to narrate his TV shows, Zimmern uses his adventures in culinary anthropology to illustrate such themes as: why visiting local markets can reveal more about destinations than museums; the importance of going to the last stop on the subway the most remote area of a place where its essence is most often revealed; the need to seek out and catalog the last bottle of coca-cola in the desert, i.e. disappearing foods and cultures; the profound differences between dining and eating; and the pleasures of snout to tail, local, fresh and organic food. Zimmern takes readers into the back of a souk in Morocco where locals are eating a whole roasted lamb; along with a conch fisherman in Tobago, who may be the last of his kind; to Mississippi, where he dines on raccoon and possum. There, he writes, "People said, 'That's roadkill!' ‘No it's not,' I said. ‘It's a cultural story.' Whether it's a session with an Incan witch doctor in Ecuador who blows fire on him, spits on him, thrashes him with poisonous branches and beats him with a live guinea pig or drinking blood in Uganda and cow urine tonic in India or eating roasted bats on an uninhabited island in Samoa, Zimmern cheerfully celebrates the undiscovered destinations and weird wonders still remaining in our increasingly globalized world. From the Hardcover edition.

Andrew Zimmern (Author), Andrew Zimmern (Narrator)

Audiobook

Andrew Zimmern visits Huatulco: Chapter 6 from THE BIZARRE TRUTH

Andrew Zimmern (Author), Andrew Zimmern (Narrator)

Audiobook

Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater

The New York Times restaurant critic's heartbreaking and hilarious account of how he learned to love food just enough after decades of struggling with his outsize appetite. Frank Bruni was born round, round as in stout, chubby, and hungry, always and endlessly hungry. He grew up in a big, loud Italian family in White Plains, New York, where meals were epic, outsize affairs. At those meals, he demonstrated one of his foremost qualifications for his future career: an epic, outsize love of food. But Bruni's relationship with eating was tricky, and his difficulties with managing it began early. When Bruni was named the restaurant critic for The New York Times in 2004, he knew enough to be nervous. The restaurant critic at the Times performs one of the most closely watched tasks in the epicurean universe; a bumpy ride was certain, especially for someone who had never written about food, someone who for years had been busy writing about politics, presidential campaigns, and the pope. What qualified him to be one of the most loved and hated tastemakers in the New York food world? Did his decades-long obsession with food suffice? Food was his friend and enemy both, something he craved but feared, and his new-job jitters focused primarily on whether he'd finally made some sense of that relationship .In this coveted job, he'd face down his enemy at meal after indulgent meal. As his grandmother often put it, "Born round, you don't die square." Would he fall back into his old habits or could he establish a truce with the food on his plate? Born Round traces the highly unusual path Bruni traveled to become a restaurant critic; it is the captivating account of an unpredictable journalistic ride from an intern's desk at Newsweek to a dream job at The New York Times, as well as the brutally honest story of Bruni's lifelong, often painful, struggle with food.

Frank Bruni (Author), Frank Bruni (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Family Affair Cookbook

The Family Affair Cookbook by Kathy "Cissy" Garver with Geoffrey Mark is a tasty trip to the elegant retro-recipes of the 1960s! Not only does Kathy share the culinary secrets of Mr. French's kitchen as well as those of the great restaurants of the era, but she shares warm and poignant memories of working on one of the classic sitcoms of all time. Included are recipes from Kathy's own kitchen and many never-before published photos from her private collection. Whether you are a Family Affair fan or a lover of good food, this book is for you!

Geoffrey Mark, Geoffrey Mark Fidelman, Kathy Garver (Author), Kathy Garver (Narrator)

Audiobook

In-N-Out Burger

The untold story of the renegade burger chain that evokes a passionate following unlike any other In fast-food corporate America, In-N-Out Burger stands apart. Begun in a tiny shack in the shadow of World War II, this family-owned chain has stead'fastly refused to franchise or be sold. It is a testament to old-fashioned values and rem'iniscent of a simpler time when people, loyalty, and a freshly made, juicy hamburger meant something. Over time, In-N-Out Burger has become nothing less than a cultural institu'tion that can lay claim to an insanely loyal following. Perman uses her investigative skills to uncover the story of a real American success story. It is not only a tale of a unique and profitable business that exceeds all expectations, but of a family's struggle to maintain a sustainable pop empire against the industry it helped pioneer, internal tensions, and a bitter lawsuit that threatened to bring the company to the brink. This is a lesson in a counterintuitive approach to doing business that places quality, customers, and employees over the riches promised by rapid expansion. In-N-Out Burger is a keenly observed narrative that explores the evolution of a California fad that transformed into an enduring cult of popularity; it is also the story of the conflicted, secretive, and ultimately tragic Snyder family who cooked a billion burgers and hooked a zillion fans. As the story of In-N-Out Burger unfolds, so too does the cultural history of America as influenced and shaped by car culture and fast food.

Stacy Perman (Author), Loren Lester (Narrator)

Audiobook

Edible History of Humanity

Tom Standage (Author), George K. Wilson (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life

For three days in January 2007, the most-emailed article in The New York Times was "Appreciations: Mr. Noodle," an editorial noting the passing, at age 96, of billionaire Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen. The very existence of the noodle inventor came as a shock to many, but not to Andy Raskin, who had spent nearly three years trying to meet Ando. Why? To fix the problems that plagued his love life. The Ramen King and I is Raskin's memoir about how despair - and a series of bizarre adventures at Japanese restaurants - led him to confront the truth of his romantic past, and how Ando became his unlikely spiritual guide. Through letters ostensibly penned to the culinary sage, Raskin reveals a relationship history plagued by infidelity, jealousy, and betrayal. After devouring Ando's essays (with titles such as "Peace Follows from a Full Stomach" and "Mankind is Noodlekind"), he sets out to meet the food pioneer - and to discover the secret to a committed relationship.

Andy Raskin (Author), Andy Raskin (Narrator)

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The Food of a Younger Land

Mark Kurlansky (Author), Stephen Hoye (Narrator)

Audiobook

Some Day You'll Thank Me for This: The Official Southern Ladies' Guide to Being a *Perfect* Mother

Charlotte Hays, Gayden Metcalfe (Author), Marguerite Gavin (Narrator)

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Making Sense of Wine

Since its first publication in 1989, Matt Kramer's extraordinarily accessible guide to wine has become a classic. Where others talk jargon about centrifuges, steel tanks, and acidity levels, Kramer talks about wine itself. The result is an enriching experience that goes far beyond knowing how to read a label or impress a waiter. The text explains everything an oenophile needs to know, including the creation and naming of wines, wine cellars, presentation and glassware, pairing wine with food, and much more. Kramer reminds us that wine is an expression of the earth that reveals the site and conditions under which it is cultivated. He explores connoisseurship through the practical devices of "thinking wine" and "drinking wine," making for a most enjoyable and engrossing journey through one of life's most dependable pleasures.

Matt Kramer (Author), Frederick Davidson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Cooking Audiobooks in Non-Fiction