2024 the best cooks in the world review

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(as of Oct 21, 2024 12:47:14 UTC - Details)

From the beloved, best-selling author of All over but the Shoutin', a delectable, rollicking food memoir, cookbook, and loving tribute to a region, a vanishing history, a family, and, especially, his mother.

Margaret Bragg does not own a single cookbook. She measures in "dabs" and "smidgens" and "tads" and "you know, hon, just some". She cannot be pinned down on how long to bake corn bread ("about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the mysteries of your oven"). Her notion of farm-to-table is a flatbed truck. But she can tell you the secrets to perfect mashed potatoes, corn pudding, redeye gravy, pinto beans and hambone, stewed cabbage, short ribs, chicken and dressing, biscuits, and butter rolls. The irresistible stories in this audiobook are of long memory - many of them predate the Civil War, handed down skillet by skillet, from one generation of Braggs to the next.

In The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg finally preserves his heritage by telling the stories that framed his mother's cooking and education, from childhood into old age. Because good food always has a good story, and a recipe, writes Bragg, is a story like anything else.

Reviewer: C. Antonak
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Charming, Witty, Unputdownable!
Review: I'm not very good at writing book reviews, so I don't usually do it. However, I feel compelled to say something about this utterly charming, witty and, dare I say, delicious book!!Rick grew up in rural Alabama, and he comes from a long line of characters who were also remarkable cooks. Rick writes of his ancestors in a loving and respectfully affectional way. He writes in the vernacular of the person. There is so much family lore combined with great cooking techniques and recipes in this book.Initially I bought this book for my Paperwhite, but I loved it so much, I bought a paperback so I could share it with the women in my book club, who are all wonderful cooks themselves.If you love to read, and if you love to cook, and if you love to eat, buy this book!

Reviewer: Natasha Smith
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Rick Bragg is a Treasure of The South
Review: I heard Rick Bragg interviewed on the Garden and Gun "Whole Hog" podcast..."The Best Cook in the World- His Momma". Bragg's slow Southern drawl and his sweet, poignant, recollections of his Momma drew me in and reminded me of days when I was very young, sitting around my grandmother's kitchen table in my own Southern town. The memories were amazing, wonderful, and heartbreaking at the same time. I went to purchase his book on Amazon and noted there was an Audio CD package of Bragg reading his own book! I admit the price gave me pause because I had never paid that much for a book to be read to me... but after hearing Bragg on that podcast, I knew I would be cheating myself if I didn't. I have only finished the first of the 16 CDs, but I am here to say, WORTH EVERY PENNY! It is like having my uncle here, talking with me about the old days, the struggles, and the victories... and Grandma- who would cook up incredible meals for a dozen people in a cast iron pan from a handful of ingredients she often measured in handfuls and pinches.... all before heading to church on Sunday morning.Bragg's audio book is a loving testament to his Momma, and also to many mothers and grandmothers of the depression era who fed and nurtured us royally from their humble beginnings.I still live in a Southern town, but not so many people here speak "Southern" anymore. This audio is a beautiful reminder of what it was like before radio and television homogenized regional accents. If you appreciate the South,old style cooking, or Southern sons who love their mommas, you will love this audio book. I also plan to buy the print version as well.

Reviewer: Janet A Gibes
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: What a great book!
Review: I don't purchase a lot of boooks, but THIS ONE I will keep on my kitchen counter. I feel like I am sitting in the room with him as he is interviewing his mother. The story of his family is amazing, touching, funny, and a tribute to the strength of the country folk. This book is so well written, I couldn't put it down (but then again, every Rick Bragg book is like this for me)! The recipes are a plus-I cook a lot, and have never been able to master country cooking. Rick Bragg has enabled me to do this. A great book!

Reviewer: Billy Hicks
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Another excellent book by Rick Bragg!
Review: This is one of his best ever! We loved this book! It is not your typical cookbook with a personal vignette added to the recipes. This is a book of the history of a multigenerational southern family with recipes interspersed as the grounding point of the family - and that is the food we eat and how that food got to our tables. It is absolutely hysterical, and poignant as is most of his writings. The way he writes puts you in the story and makes memories of your past come swirling through your mind. And, in the dialogue, he recaptures what the South sounded like in my youth (not the homogenous speech of today). Truly a book worth reading and passing along to everyone you know. By the way, you don't have to be Southern to enjoy this book; family relationships paired with food is unique in every part of the country. If you love Rick Braggs's book as much as we do, this one is a must!

Reviewer: Jj
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very interesting book
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book, each chapter ends with a recipe or two. It really speaks of old time cooking. I would definitely make some of the recipes, but others were for things like possum!Some of the stories were ‘laugh out loud’!

Reviewer: CWK
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: One of the best books I've ever read.
Review: I can't say enough good things about this book. It is a heartfelt, informative, inspiring, and entertaining true story about real people and real food. I wish every teenager and young adult would read this book. They need to realize what it's like to grow up and survive without everything being easy and readily available. Many of the younger generation of today think a good meal is a $6.00 cup of coffee and a $12.00 plate of 2 bites of fish and rice (sushi). Rick Bragg's folks made do with what they had and made it taste good. My headline reads one of the best, but The Best Cook in the World may be the best book I've ever read.

Reviewer: Randall Foster
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Most people from the south will identify with this book.
Review: Love this author. Great memories of his Mom and other great cooks in his family.

Reviewer: carolinedivine
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Old fashioned yarns flavored with soulful recipes
Review: The recollections of a “growing up “ with the most delicious foods straight from the country. Bragg shares the family secrets of an almost forgotten childhood of home cooked meals replete with the recipe details. It is a nostalgic trip home to the Southern family roots of what makes growing up in the South special and character building. Family and food is all you need to survive the world in good times and bad. I can’t wait to cook up some apple fried pies soon. Buy the book. Cook the food. Your family will remember you, always. Bragg was wrong, however. My mama was the best cook in the world.

Reviewer: J. Dee
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Loved this book.

Reviewer: Kikster
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Fantastic stories and great southern recipes. Loved it!

Reviewer: Nancy H
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It’s a large book because there is much to tell in his family history. It’s all from times past but there are some good recipes. I’m not from the South but I’m going to try some these recipes since they sound so good.