Comfort Me with Apples - (Random House Reader's Circle) by Ruth Reichl (Paperback)

About the Book

Picking up where "Tender at the Bone" leaves off, "Comfort Me with Apples" recounts Reichl's transformation from chef to food writer, a process that led her through restaurants from Bangkok to Paris to Los Angeles and brought lessons in life, love, and food.

Book Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - In this beloved memoir from the author of Tender at the Bone, "Reichl writes with gusto, and her story has all the ingredients of a modern fairy tale: hard work, weird food, and endless curiosity" (The New Yorker).

"[Comfort Me with Apples] reminds you of a really great meal, well balanced and well seasoned, leaving you satisfied and wanting more."--New York

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly

Comfort Me with Apples recounts Ruth Reichl's transformation from chef to food writer, a process that led her through restaurants from Bangkok to Paris to Los Angeles and brought lessons in life, love, and food.

Her pursuit of good food and good company leads her to New York and China, France and Los Angeles, and her stories of cooking and dining with world-famous chefs range from the madcap to the sublime. Through it all, Reichl makes each and every course a hilarious and instructive occasion for novices and experts alike. She shares some of her favorite recipes while also sharing the intimacies of her personal life in a style so honest and warm that readers will feel they are enjoying a conversation over a meal with a friend.

Featuring a special Afterword by the author and more than a dozen personal family photos

Review Quotes

"Reichl writes with gusto, and her story has all the ingredients of a modern fairy tale: hard work, weird food, and endless curiosity."
--The New Yorker

"So many memoirs annoy by telling either too much or too little. This one tells just enough....The book reads not like life described but like life lived and then shaped....Each story affirms [Reichl's] desire to get beyond the surface, even as she celebrates its unlikely depths."
--The New York Times

"Magnificent, riotous...[Comfort Me with Apples] is an extended, lilting song about lovesickness and the restorative succor of good food....Two courses of Reichl's literary cooking will leave still-ravenous readers hoping for a third serving soon. [Rating: ] A."
--Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

Ruth Reichl is the New York Times bestselling author of five memoirs, the novel Delicious!, and the cookbook My Kitchen Year. She was editor in chief of Gourmet magazine and previously served as restaurant critic for The New York Times, as well as food editor and restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She has been honored with six James Beard Awards. In 2024, she received the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award.