How to Eat a Small Country
Encyclopedia
How to Eat a Small Country: A Family’s Pursuit of Happiness, One Meal at a Time is a memoir by Amy Finley
, the Season 3 winner of The Next Food Network Star
and former host of The Gourmet Next Door on Food Network
. The memoir, released by Clarkson Potter/Random House
in April 2011, chronicles her abrupt departure from television in 2008 to save her marriage, moving her family to a rural farm in Burgundy, France
and roadtripping around the country in search of some of the disappearing regional dishes written about by Waverly Root in his 1958 book, The Food of France.
Anthony Bourdain
, himself notorious for graphic food descriptions, offered a blurb for the cover of the book and called it “an unexpected and delightful memoir.” Cookbook author Dorie Greenspan and former Chez Panisse
chef David Lebovitz also praised the book on its cover. Kirkus Reviews
gave the book five stars and called it a “charming, bare-bones chronicle of a woman reclaiming her family and a couple reclaiming their relationship.” Booklist
also admired the book and called it a “bold bouillabaisse of a food memoir.” The Boston Globe
compared the book favorably to Eat, Pray, Love, calling How to Eat a Small Country, "less precious, more honest, and ultimately more rewarding" than Gilbert's book, and opined about the controversial rabbit chapter that, "cooking, real cooking, it turns out, is a test that reveals a lot more than eating does."
Amy Finley
Amy Finley is a cook and writer who was the winner of the third season of The Next Food Network Star and was thus awarded a commitment to host a cooking show on the Food Network...
, the Season 3 winner of The Next Food Network Star
The Next Food Network Star
The Next Food Network Star is a reality television series produced by and aired on the Food Network in the United States that awards the winner his or her own series on the Food Network...
and former host of The Gourmet Next Door on Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
. The memoir, released by Clarkson Potter/Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in April 2011, chronicles her abrupt departure from television in 2008 to save her marriage, moving her family to a rural farm in Burgundy, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and roadtripping around the country in search of some of the disappearing regional dishes written about by Waverly Root in his 1958 book, The Food of France.
Story
A professionally trained cook turned anxious stay-at-home mom, Amy Finley’s marriage was already in fragile shape when she sent in an audition tape for the third season of The Next Food Network Star. When she was cast on the show in 2007, her husband, who feared for their privacy and hated the idea of reality shows and what celebrity could do to their marriage, forbade her to participate, but Finley did anyway, hoping to jumpstart her career and self-esteem. But while she was filming the show in New York, her husband retaliated by threatening to divorce her. Finley was the last contestant eliminated from Season 3 before the two person finale and returned home defeated to put her marriage back in order, but was recalled into the competition when one of the finalists had to withdraw, and ultimately was voted the winner and starred in her own cooking show, The Gourmet Next Door. But she gave up the show when she realized her family was so shaky, the stress would probably cause her marriage to fail. To get away from a life that had gotten too complicated, they moved to France and took a road trip Finley had dreamed about since she was living in Paris, falling in love with her husband, and going to culinary school. They drive all over France, and while they are learning about and enjoying regional dishes, Finley tries to figure out how her marriage became so delicate, and how to make it, and herself, strong again.Critical reception
Some early readers reacted strongly to the book’s opening chapter, in which Finley and her husband butcher a rabbit so that Finley can cook ‘’lapin a la moutarde’’, a traditional dish from Burgundy, where they are living. Throughout the book, Finley frankly discusses other old and disappearing French specialties, like ‘’tete de veau’’, the boiled face of a baby cow, and some readers found her descriptions off-putting. However other readers praised Finley for being so honest about traveling with children and how hard it is to put a marriage back together.Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
, himself notorious for graphic food descriptions, offered a blurb for the cover of the book and called it “an unexpected and delightful memoir.” Cookbook author Dorie Greenspan and former Chez Panisse
Chez Panisse
Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California restaurant known for using local, organic foods and credited as the inspiration for the style of cooking known as California cuisine. Well-known restauranteur, author, and food activist Alice Waters co-founded Chez Panisse in 1971 with film producer Paul...
chef David Lebovitz also praised the book on its cover. Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
gave the book five stars and called it a “charming, bare-bones chronicle of a woman reclaiming her family and a couple reclaiming their relationship.” Booklist
Booklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
also admired the book and called it a “bold bouillabaisse of a food memoir.” The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
compared the book favorably to Eat, Pray, Love, calling How to Eat a Small Country, "less precious, more honest, and ultimately more rewarding" than Gilbert's book, and opined about the controversial rabbit chapter that, "cooking, real cooking, it turns out, is a test that reveals a lot more than eating does."