Book ~ "Talking with My Mouth Full: My Life as a Professional Eater" (2012) Gail Simmons

From Goodreads ~ When Top Chef judge Gail Simmons first graduated from college, she felt hopelessly lost. All her friends were going to graduate school, business school, law school ... but what was she going to do? Fortunately, a family friend gave her some invaluable advice - make a list of what you love to do, and let that be your guide. Gail wrote down four words:

Eat. Write. Travel. Cook.

Little did she know, those four words would become the basis for a career as a professional eater, cook, food critic, magazine editor, and television star. Today, she's the host of Top Chef: Just Desserts, permanent judge on Top Chef, and Special Projects Director at Food & Wine magazine. She travels all over the world, eats extraordinary food, and meets fascinating people. She's living the dream that so many of us who love to cook and eat can only imagine. But how did she get there?

Talking with My Mouth Full follows her unusual and inspiring path to success, step-by-step and bite-by-bite. It takes the reader from her early years, growing up in a household where her mother ran a small cooking school, her father made his own wine, and family vacation destinations included Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East; through her adventures at culinary school in New York City and training as an apprentice in two of New York's most acclaimed kitchens; and on to her time spent assisting Vogue's legendary food critic Jeffrey Steingarten, working for renowned chef Daniel Boulud, and ultimately landing her current jobs at Food & Wine and on Top Chef. The book is a tribute to the incredible meals and mentors she's had along the way, examining the somewhat unconventional but always satisfying journey she has taken in order to create a career that didn't even exist when she first started working toward it.

With memorable stories about the greatest (and worst) dishes she's eaten, childhood and behind-the-scenes photos, and recipes from Gail's family and her own kitchen, Talking with My Mouth Full is a true treat.

I'm a fan of Top Chef.  Gord had recently read this book and said I'd like it so I thought I'd check it out.

It's Gail's story of being raised in Toronto and her love of food.  After university and writing for magazines for a while, she went to culinary school in New York to follow her dream of working with food.  This book describes the jobs she's had and her career progression to where she is today.

I'm not a fan of cooking ... I cook because I have to eat.  But it was interesting to read Gail's story ... her passion for food comes through.  And it was fun to read the behind-the-scenes of Top Chef.

I liked the writing style.  It got a bit detailed sometimes when she talked about food ... but like I said, I'm not a big fan of cooking.  There were pictures scattered throughout the book along with her food memories at the beginning of each chapter and lots of recipes at the end.