Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER &; Trailblazing food writer and beloved restaurant critic Ruth Reichl took the job (and the risk) of a lifetime when she entered the high-stakes world of magazine publishing. Now, for the first time, she chronicles her groundbreaking tenure as editor in chief of Gourmet.&;A must for any food lover . . . Reichl is a warm, intimate writer. She peels back the curtain to a glamorous time of magazine-making. You&;ll tear through this memoir.&;&;Refinery29 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Real Simple &; Good Housekeeping &; Town & Country When Condé 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.Praise for Save Me the Plums&;Poignant and hilarious . . . simply delicious . . . Each serving of magazine folklore is worth savoring. In fact, Reichl&;s story is juicier than a Peter Luger porterhouse. Dig in.&;&;The New York Times Book Review &;In this smart, touching, and dishy memoir . . . Ruth Reichl recalls her years at the helm of Gourmet magazine with clear eyes, a sense of humor, and some very appealing recipes.&;&;Town & Country &;If you haven&;t picked up food writing queen Ruth Reichl&;s new book, Save Me the Plums, I highly recommend you fix that problem. . . . Reichl is in top form and ready to dish, with every chapter seeming like a dedicated behind-the-scenes documentary on its own.&;&;Soleil Ho, San Francisco Chronicle