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Loading... The Last Chinese Chefby Nicole Mones
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Our reading group sometimes does not pick the best books to read but in this case, I was enchanted and pleasantly surprised with the selection. Meet Maggie, a food critic, who writes about American cuisine but needs to travel to China to get to the bottom of a paternity suit against her late husband. She manages to combine this personal trip with business when she gets to interview the grandson of the "Last Chinese Chef." It is a journey of discovery for both Maggie and Sam about themselves as individuals and how they fit into the world. Nicole Mones truly paints a historical as well as gastronomical picture of China. If you have picked up and enjoyed any of Ruth Reichl's books then you would certainly enjoy this novel by Mones. (  ) knithappened | Nov 10, 2009 |  The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones is a satisfying novel about the connections between food and culture and, specifically, the cultural role of cooking in imperial and communist China. The story centers on magazine columnist and recent widow, Maggie McElroy, as she travels to China to handle a matter involving her husband's estate. She combines the trip with an assignment to write about an up and coming Chinese American chef competing for a spot on the 'culinary Olympics' team. Through Sam, and his grandfather's famous book, The Last Chinese Chef, Maggie is introduced to the culinary history of China. She also comes to appreciate the Chinese concept of guanxi -- 'connection, relationship, mutual indebtedness . . . . the safety net of obligation and mutuality that held up society.' She sees how guanxi works among the people she meets, and also how the concept is reflected in China's cooking and dining. Sam teaches her that the finest Chinese cooking looks to make connections, not only between flavor and texture, but between the food and literature, art, and history. There are several layers to the story. Like the classic Chinese cuisine Mones writes about, the book combines flavors and textures in ways that are enjoyable, complex, and often surprising. Also posted on Rose City Reader. (  ) ggchickapee | Sep 25, 2009 | The main story line of this book is the interaction of a widower and a half Chinese/half American chef. Besides exploring the emotional issues that come with being a widower at a young age and finding one's place when one is of two cultures, the book explores Chinese culture, especially Chinese food culture. I like reading books about food and culture, and I found this book to be very interesting. I have a number of ideas to discuss with my Chinese acquaintances, to test whether they think the ideas presented in the book are true in their experience. ( ) willyt | Aug 18, 2009 | I love this book. I checked it out at the library, read it over the weekend, and promptly got on Amazon and bought it. I only barely resisted just leaving for China to eat. I love books that revel in food. I also love reading about China. The Last Chinese Chef has both, what an indulgance. From the first line - "Apprentices have asked me, what is the most exalted peak of cuisine?" I was totally absorbed. I loved the (fictional) quotes from an Imperial Chef, I was fascinated by the complicated interaction of Chinese food culture and Chinese life, the meaning of guanxi, and delighted by the wonders of Chinese cuisine. In America, I have only once eaten anything near what is described in the book. Once we went out to eat with my husband's father. He speaks Mandarin, and spoke to the waiter for a few moments. The next thing we knew, we were being treated to "special menu from chef" complete with the whole fish as a final course. It was amazing. Craving Chinese food, and reading it again. (  ) nittnut | Jul 28, 2009 | Overall sweet book, a lot of detail about how a Chinese chef is made and the importance of culture and tradition. I read this book after 'the house of sand and fog' and found it to be pleasant which was what I was in need of. Slow paced overall but at the same time a nice, easy and pleasant read. (  ) Sefarina | Jun 8, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
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She and Sam hit it off right away, even though he is involved in a very important competition for a place on the Chinese national cooking team for the 2008 Olympics. They travel together to the south of China where she meets her husband's possible daughter--with Sam standing by to act as translator--and where Maggie meets much of Sam's family. He has been welcomed back with open arms, even though he occasionally feels that he has one foot in China and one in Ohio. The Beijing uncles and the Hangzhou uncle are a raucous, loving, argumentative bunch of foodies who advise Sam about menus, encourage a romance with Maggie, make him start over again when the dish isn't perfect, and alternately praise and criticize his cooking.
Maggie loves being in the middle of it all and finds herself more and more drawn to Sam. She begins, with Sam's help, to see food as "healing" and understands the guanxi or "connectedness" that takes place around food. At the beginning of each chapter is a paragraph taken from a book entitled The Last Chinese Chef, written by Sam's grandfather and translated by Sam and his father. Mones has written that book, too, which is an explanation of the place of food in Chinese history and family life. The novel is rich with meaning and lore and an examination of loving relationships. Don't even touch this book when you're hungry. The descriptions make the aromas and textures float right off the page. --Valerie Ryan
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:23 -0400)
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