April Not Fiction Book Discussion

For our April Not Fiction Book Discussion we are reading The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation by David Kamp. Kamp, who is a regular contributor to periodicals including Vanity Fair and GQ, presents a social history of American food culture over the last five decades that chronicles what he sees as the happy evolution of American taste from provincial and conventional to multicultural gourmet. Kamp's history is rich with details about the lives of the celebrity chefs who helped create this movement, from the Big Three of James Beard, Julia Child, and Craig Claiborne to current stars of the Food Network such as Emeril Lagasse and Rachael Ray, and it also suggests the importance of the media and of consumer capitalism in shaping American trends and tastes. Possible topics for conversation could include the role of media and business in creating taste and demand, evolving American notions of gender and culture as reflected in our food culture, whether we agree with Kamp that the gourmet trend in American food culture is completely positive, and the relevance of the food revolution to our own lives. We hope you will be able to join us for our discussion, either at the Main Library on Tuesday, April 1, at 7:00 in Meeting Room A, or here on the blog.