When Daniel Duane (A Mouth Like Yours) and his wife welcomed their daughter into the world, he found his writing, surfing and rock-climbing skills of little use in his life as a new father. Though his repertoire initially consisted of burritos and stir-fry, he decided to become the family cook.
From this simple beginning sprang an eight-year obsession with cookbooks, kitchen techniques and obtaining the freshest ingredients. Ignoring the reservations of his wife, who grew up in a restaurateur family and wanted to leave complicated cuisine behind, Duane embarked on a journey that would eventually include butchering his own meat, diving for live abalone and taking a two-day steak-eating tour of Las Vegas. While his adventures in the culinary world sustained him through personal tragedies, they also occasionally put a strain on his relationships with family and friends, finally leading him to question whether his enthusiasm stemmed from a desire to feed his family or from pure self-interest. The pitfalls he recounts, including an over-the-top truffle-themed dinner party that left his friends with a lifelong truffle aversion, range from amusing to harrowing, as Duane finds that learning to cook like a man is not as important as learning to be a man.
Duane describes his evolution as a cook as it entwines with his evolution as a father and examines how food shapes our lives. Readers of any level of culinary skill will relate to this funny, reflective and honest memoir. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger, Infinite Reads