Talking With My Mouth Full: My Life As A Professional Eater (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Gail Simmons has certainly led an interesting, even a charmed life. In fact, she's a real charmer as well. She comes off as a truly likable person in her memoir, which isn't surprising given her on-screen personna. What is surprising is that there is very little of the naughty wit which she occasionally airs on TV evident in this book. One is left thinking, what a nice little sister, what a nice neighbor, what a nice mom of my kid's friend, but not much of that twinkle in her eye that one gets on "Top Chef." One is tempted to repeat John Riggins' infamous drunken advice to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor: "Loosen up, Gail, baby. You're too tight."Still, it's a fun read. Fun read with a lot of insights into the professional food world. If you don't know who Gail Simmons is (made famous by Top Chef, but with other work in the industry), the story of her life is probably not going to interest you. I enjoyed the descriptions of the industry though. Plus, being a Top Chef fan, I really liked the behind-the-scenes info there, though there wasn't very much of it. The book is not very well written though. The individual stories are all done well but the structure is very all over the place. The book doesn't have to be strictly chronological but it gets confusing when a single chapter goes back and forth over the course of a few decades (every chapter).
What do You think about Talking With My Mouth Full: My Life As A Professional Eater (2012)?
Very up my alley. Read in the matter of hours and super entertaining. Gotta be in to food though.
—Lauren
A great read! Great pace and story and strong voice.
—laura
