Gabrielle Hamilton

Blood, bones, and butter

Piper Loyd

John Manoogian III

A wonderful, poetic read. The last 15% devolves into endless lists, and one begins to wonder why half the book is her complaining about the man she chose to marry and have two kids with, but really, it's a beautiful life and story. Recommended.

Laura Mauler

It was a little disorienting how she would jump around in time, skipping 20 years here and then dropping a scene from that skipped time into a later chapter. Plus, what kind of author/chef skips the part where they travel the world? That's one of the most fun and interesting things people do in life, and she glossed it with a list of countries she hit and a few pages talking about how depressing Europe is in the winter. 

The lovelessness, the inability to talk deeply and chat lightly, the staying together for family (his family, which she adored and didn't want to lose) even after all emotion had turned to hard resentment and dislike - all of this made her marriage feel like it was straight out of the 1950s, which was deeply unsettling. Since her marriage was involved in about 50% of the book, I was unsettled for that much of the book. 

So why the four stars? First, I loved the descriptions of her early family life. Second, I love the descriptions of her husband's family, food, houses, kitchens, and Sunday lunches. Third, her descriptions of catering were fun and interesting. And finally, she is just really damn interesting.

Oh yeah, and this: "People who know me well understand fully what I am saying when I suggest that I am working an appetite and that we'd best be making our move. This means it is time to hit the road before my blood sugar - what's left of it - crashes to that point where I'm going to RUIN YOUR FUCKING DAY." Girrrrl, been there. Like every single weekend.

Jeannette Ordas

Wow. I loved this book. Honest, open and no bullshit. Her descriptions her family, her odd and failing marriage and the villa in Italy, god, how I liked this woman. When she writes about going to a talk where culinary grads get to talk to a group of women chefs, I loved her more. I liked her story and I liked her. A lot.

What a fascinating person! A gifted writer whose deep appreciation for food is palpable on the page. Really appreciated this book.

Sarah Erle

Patty Pforte

The book is a fun exploration of a woman's life first and the travels as she grows as a chef second. At times she is unbending but it, and she, is enjoyable along the way.

Elizabeth Moore

This is exactly the type of book that makes me wish Goodreads allowed for half stars - a solid, upwardly mobile 3-and-a-half Stars right here. I agree with other reviewers who note that Hamilton’s is uneven; that said, the good parts are so viscerally good. This story is as much a story of family as it is food, and it makes sense as it’s clear that family is what has fed, starved, and flavored Gabrielle Hamilton’s career, life, and filter of experience. I am absolutely enamored of the way she wrote about her childhood - dew-soaked sleeping bags, a pantry whose raiding returns chocolate, anchovies and cornichons instead of Fritos and Snack Packs, magical parents who were an ex-ballerina and a designer of magical, glitter-strewn big top circus scapes. Her time in Michigan and her friendship with Misty, an unexpected and unparalleled mentor disguised as a run-of-the-mill Midwestern catering cook (my favorite character in the book) was quite beautiful. Hamilton’s description of food (obviously) makes your mouth water - especially her early retellings of her monthly family pilgrimages to Rome and and Puglia. I only wish that the storyline and the tone (and even tense) of the story could have remained less convoluted - some of the relationship deep dives felt really one-sided and overly critical - especially given the fact that she clearly demonstrated with the stories of her mother the care and perspective she’s able to give to relationships. I highly recommend this read, just don’t expect a serving as perfectly plated and balanced as one of Hamilton’s exquisite meals. An entire portrait of one’s fascinating and worth-reading-about life is after all a bit harder to pull off than a perfectly braised rabbit leg.

Arden Stirling

Blood, Bones & Butter follows the chef Gabrielle Hamilton's extraordinary journey through the places she has inhabited over the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by complete strangers and learned the essence of hospitality; and the kitchen of her beloved Italian mother-in-law, who serves as the link between Hamilton's idyllic past and her own future family. Unflinchingly honest, moving, beautifully crafted and funny, this is a rollicking, passionate story of food, purpose and family.

Blood, bones, and butter

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