The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat: Craig Claiborne and the American Food Renaissance

In the 1950s, America was a land of overdone roast beef and canned green beansa gastronomic wasteland. Most restaurants relied on frozen, second-rate ingredients and served bogus Continental cuisine. Authentic French, Italian, and Chinese foods were virtually unknown. There was no such thing as food criticism at the time, and no such thing as a restaurant critic. Cooking at home wasnt thought of as a source of pleasure. Guests didnt chat around the kitchen. Professional equipment and cookware were used only in restaurants. One man changed all that.
From the bestselling author of Alice Waters and Chez Panisse comes the first biography of the passionate gastronome and troubled genius who became the most powerful force in the history of American foodthe founding father of the American food revolution. From his first day in 1957 as the food editor of the New York Times, Craig Claiborne was going to take his readers where they had never been before. Claiborne...