Journal Entry 1 by Ri from Cincinnati, Ohio USA on Friday, August 07, 2009

I loved this one!! There are so many colorful characters in the "contesting" world of competitive cooking. I had no idea that this world even existed until reading this book. I enjoyed that the author appears to be from (or at least nearish) Cincinnati, my hometown! I loved reading about these contesters so much that I had to DVR several Food Network Challenge shows to see them in person. It was so wild to watch episodes of National Chicken and the Gilroy Garlic Festival on tv and see Roxanne Chan, Diane Sparrow, and Camilla Saulsbury! This book was so entertaining, it made me consider entering the competitive cooking circuit myself!!

From Publishers Weekly
In this engrossing look at the competitive cooking circuit, journalist Sutherland follows the trail of competitions and a small group of regular participants. These often fanatical competitors, complete with their own Web sites and chat rooms, square off against the amateur one-time-only contenders at local and national levels across the country. With a healthy dose of humor, Sutherland conveys the inside stories and nail-biting moments as the regulars face off. From developing recipes to matching serving wear to outfits, the bravado of the male players and the disasters and pitfalls that can ensue for both regular and amateur alike, this work takes a long, thorough look at this American phenomenon. From chili contests that are more like frat parties to the National Chicken and National Beef competitions, Sutherland crisscrosses the country and along the way conveys her growing enthusiasm for and fascination with why one recipe or dish wins and another loses. She intersperses winning recipes with the account of her own growing delight, which leads her to enter a competition herself. Doing for cookoffs what Anthony Bourdain did for the restaurant business with Kitchen Confidential, Sutherland delivers a wonderful portrait of a true slice of Americana that should have readers reaching for their recipe files and saying, "I can do that."

Reserved for the Yummy Yummy VBB. 

Journal Entry 2 by ramson at New Orleans, Louisiana USA on Monday, July 05, 2010

Received from Ri via the yummy yummy bookbox @ bookobsessed.com. Sorry it took a while for me to make the journal entry.