Ruth Reichl talks about her time as editor in chief at Gourmet magazine. She talks about the chefs that she encounters and writers that she works with. This is about Ruth taking charge and running aspects of a magazine that she has never dealt with before while trying to stay true to herself. As always, wonderful writing!

Very interesting story about Ruth's time at Gourmet magazine. The foods she ate were described so well that I could practically taste them myself. The included recipes were a nice bonus- I'll be trying them myself in the future!

I've always loved Ruth Reichl's writing, but combined with the drama of her time at Gourmet made this book hard to put down. (And oh, do I miss Gourmet.) I felt all the excitement, stress, and ultimately heartbreak she felt during her time there. The writing is sharp and personable, making both the people and the food jump off the page.

Ruth Reichl writes truthfully about her tenure as editor of Gourmet magazine, and it's sudden downfall. Interesting look at the origins of Gourmet and how it evolved over time. Very sobering to think how quickly an established magazine can fall.

Loved it! Just as riveting and colorful as Reichl's past memoirs. Foodies will love it, and it's a love letter to Gourmet magazine as well as the publishing industry.

If they had 1/2 stars this would be 3.5 stars. I had previously read “Tender to the Bone” by Ms. Reichl which I found touching and really enjoyed. As such, I had great hope for “Save me the Plums”. For me however, this wasn’t as captivating as the prior book. It was hard for me to reconcile the portrait Ms. Reichl created of herself in “Tender to the Bone” with this book. There she was captured as a reflective, down to earth person steeped in the counter culture of Berkeley, CA. In this more recent book where she lands at Gourmet Magazine, she is now a highly paid executive, flying and traveling the world first class, using a limousine and driver, having a clothing allowance and staff to meet every need. While by the Epilogue it seemed she was trying to convince herself that the job hadn’t changed her and she didn’t need the shiny objects Gourmet trapped her with, she certainly didn’t convince me!
Additionally, I didn’t find her work at Gourmet Magazine very earth-shaking, that interesting, or really even very meaningful. Her characterization of who Gourmet Magazine readers were and what they demanded made me cringe. She portrayed them as a special class above whose fine sensibilities had to be nurtured and protected. I did cheer her on as she challenged those readers by pulling the curtain back on some of the practices of the food industry. But that was short lived and most of the book to me seemed to me to focus on the interworking of a failed business that would have had little value for the Ruth Reichl seen in her prior book. Accordingly, this book ended up for me being disjointed and conflicted.
So who was is the real Ruth Reichl, the Berkeley hippie gal that had been on the edge of a food revolution and didn’t buy into society trappings or the sophisticated New Yorker carefully navigating those trappings who thrived on everything Gourmet threw her way? Actually, like most of us, she is probably both. But she didn’t seem comfortable with that answer nor did the book reconcile this in a way that honored how complicated the issue is. Rather, her protests that the trappings didn’t matter or her brief examples of such seemed lacking in substance and unconvincing. Thus for me, the book didn’t seem to have the authenticity or courageous honesty that captured me in her prior book. I was privileged to receive a free advance copy of this book by NetGalley and the Publisher, Random House in exchange for an honest review.

I had heard of Ruth Riechl and the huge impact she has had in food media, but had never read any of her work. After reading one chapter of "Save Me the Plums", I became an instant fan. Her writing is so personable and welcoming and it was inspiring to read the story of a woman who got her childhood dream job with all the (many) trials and tribulations that came with the revamping of the iconic Gourmet magazine. I also loved the recipes that were included and how each dish played an important part in her life story.

I am now a Ruth Reichl fan. I read Garlic and Sapphires a while ago and enjoyed it but I recently read her novel, Delicious! and now I am hooked. Although I have never read Gourmet magazine this memoir of Reichl's pulls you into a world that is like a novel (in fact I can see where much of the inspiration for Delicious! came from). After a number of years as the New York Times restaurant critic, Ruth is offered the job of editor of Gourmet magazine. This is a magazine she discovered in used book stores when she was a child and instantly fell in love with. That magazine however which introduced its audience to foods from around the world had become a staid publication catering to the entrenched affluent audience of Conde Nast magazine readers. This is the story of how she and her co workers changed the publication for the better right up until it went out of business.
The New York world of Gourmet was as exciting as you would imagine it. Even after years eating at the best restaurants in NYC, Ruth is not a part of the world of Conde Nast where editors are given excellent salaries (6 times her restaurant critic salary) as well as a car and a driver and a clothing allowance. It takes her a while to actually take advantage of that kind of life style but she is quickly drawn into the world of the magazine and creates a more collegial working atmosphere. It becomes the best job of her life. Even better than the descriptions of working at Gourmet are the glimpses into her life with her parents and with her husband and son. Just reading about her life growing up in NYC seems fascinating to an American who grew up in the suburbs. This is a book that will appeal to those who love to eat, love to cook or just love to read about it.

This is a memoir that covers Ruth Reichl's time as editor of the famed food magazine, Gourmet.
She takes us on the journey of being offered and accepting the position, learning how to be an editor of a magazine which requires much plate spinning (pun intended!), through to the shocking announcement that the magazine would cease production immediately with the final issue printed in November 2009.
The parts of this memoir that shine are when Ruth describes food. This is no surprise as her background is both as a cook and a restaurant reviewer. Food is, indeed, her passion. Especially fun was the inside look into the Gourmet test kitchen and the working and reworking of recipes to get them just right. As well as a trip she undertakes to Paris in order to spend time and write about the city from a thrifty traveler's perspective.
Additionally, Reichl has a way of weaving threads of her personal life throughout the story. Particularly with regard to the transformation of her son from a finicky eater, due in part to a medical condition, to a full fledged man with a now healthy appetite and zest for inventive eating.
The memoir gets a little bogged down with characters, including the fact that there is quite a bit of name dropping, but I suppose one can't blame her, as she did spend a fair amount of time wooing highfalutin advertisers to the pages of the magazine. And, the flow of folks entering through the magazines door, at times, became confusing.
Overall, though, another fun food memoir from one of the masters of the craft!

Also discussed on episode 69 of the Book Cougars Podcast:
https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2019/episode-69-

And upcoming episode 70 to be aired on 2/19/19. Bookcougars.com

#SaveMeThePlums #NetGalley

I have loved her writing for years. She has a way of taking our relationship with food and making it exciting and sensual.
She explores how good is so much an expression of our history and shared experiences.
Thanks for allowing me to review this book to Netgalley and the publisher

I have no idea what first attracted me to Ruth Reichl’s books since I’m not much of a cook, live on the West Coast and don’t read food reviews or magazines like Gourmet. Yet I’ve read all her books and was absolutely delighted to discover she had written a new one. Thank you Random House and NetGalley for allowing me to read this literary treat in preview.

It’s not the food that I’m attracted to but her experiences and relationships with people, Michael and Nick included. She’s not a self-avowed feminist, yet she has confidently and carefully negotiated realms traditionally manned by men. In her ten-year tenure as editor-in-chief at Gourmet she became accustomed to a generous budget, clothing allowance and a driver, which was in stark contrast to the Paris-on-a-shoestring trip she took in the last days of the magazine where she rediscovered the kindness of strangers. She recounted an occasion when she was stranded in an airport and was invited by a fellow traveler to her home. She mused, “Those things never happen when you travel on the excess express. The more stars in your itinerary, the less likely you are to find the real life of another country. I’d forgotten how money becomes a barrier insulating you from ordinary life.”

One of my favorite moments in the book was when Reichl met a widower while dining and realized that the very expensive dress she had declined to buy in a speciality shop had belonged to his wife. Years later she met him again, but at a small restaurant and expressed surprise to see him “slumming..” He responded, “When you attain my age you will understand one of life’s great secrets: Luxury is best appreciated in small portions. When it becomes routine it loses its allure.”

She concludes with an acknowledgement: “This whole book is , or course, a thank-you to the late Si Newhouse, but it can’t be said often enough. If only the world had more people cheering for excellence.” Indeed.

Once again Ruth Reichl has written an endearing memoir about her life as a food aficionado, this time from the vantage point of the editor of a magazine. When she was wooed away from her successful New York Times position as a restaurant critic, she had her doubts about her own ability to pull off such a high power role as editor of Gourmet Magazine. It turned out that she was excellent at her new job, resulting in new energy and creativity at the highly regarded publication. What's fun for the reader is learning some of the ins and outs of magazine publishing, along with anecdotes about some big names in the culinary world and New York's fast lane. Reichl manages to make the narrative conversational and entertaining, almost as though we're sitting across the kitchen table from her. Knowing about the magazine's demise doesn't detract at all from the end, and the pace is quick and satisfying.

A behind the scenes look at Gourmet magazine and the fancy New York publishing world, as it was a decade ago (and sadly, is no more).

I am a fan of most things Ruth Reichl, and it is such a treat to have a new title from her. I got a bit lost in the names and job titles, but immersed in the tales of recipe testing, trips, etc. Chocolate cake, made scores of times and taste-testing all along? Paris, several times, for work? Lavish parties with the best canapes in town? Yes please, I'm in!

This will appeal to foodies, Gourmet lovers, appreciators of memoir. Not as moving as her earlier titles (Tender at the Bone, Garlic and Sapphires) but a fun romp.

With big thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A true delight! I have to admit, I have read all of her books and always enjoy them. This one was a fascinating peek into publishing, magazines and the food world. Lots of detail, some gossip and I felt like I learned so much.

I did find the timeline a little wonky at times. She spent a lot of time with some aspects of transiting into magazine work but then all asudden she had been there a year or more without talking about too much in between.

We're you a fan or reader of 'Gourmet' magazine? Are you the kind of person who pours over new recipes and lets your imagination run with options? If you are a fan of Ruth Reichl's writing then you'll definitely want to read this new book. You'll have glimpses into her upbringing, her time in LA and NY, work as a food critic, and then on to her move to Conte Nast.

The biggest surprise was learning that "brand Ruth" (all the promotional things that made her a household name) were done in an effort to save her beloved magazine; learning this made me sad -- that her employers used her this way. On the other hand, the world got to know a uniquely special person.

I have not read Ruth Reichl’s work before and wasn’t over eager to read this book. But read it I dd. Or should I say I devoured her memoir of updating Gourmet magazine--a magazine she loved as a child, and making it relevant to a wider, more food savvy audience. I enjoyed her account of learning the magazine publishing world: the business and political parts as well as the creative side. It is a delight to read. I did not want to stop.

I fell in love with Ruth Reichl's writing within a few pages of this book! I devoured every chapter and was extremely delighted to find that she included recipes as well. I appreciated every word on the pages and found this memoir to be so informative on how a monthly magazine is created.

A few years ago I gave my husband a copy of Ruth's book "Garlic and Sapphires", which he raved about nonstop, I now understand why. She has a gift with words that I've not experienced before. This may be the first book I've read by Ruth Reichl, but it will not be the last.

I love Ruth to begin with and I wasn't disappointed by this new memoir of hers. Particularly loved the juicy details of editor life at Condé Nast!

As a longtime fan of Reichl's writing, I really looked forward to this memoir of her time as editor of Gourmet. Unfortunately, it's not my favorite of her books. It's still good, and if I could, I'd give it 3.5 stars. I just didn't find the story as vivid or interesting as Tender to the Bone or her novel Delicious! (which I loved). I guess I was expecting Reichl to say more about how print media has been changing over the years. There was a bit of discussion about sales and the shift to web content, but I was surprised that with the hindsight and perspective she has now, she'd have talked a bit more about how the business side of magazine publishing. It actually surprised me to read about the extravagance and jet-setting still going on at Conde Nast only recently. I wanted to know how that worked! Is it really like The Devil Wears Prada over there still? The sections on the stylists were the most engaging to me because it gave Reichl a chance to describe the food and the concepts behind the cover and article design. That stuff is what I came for! I also quite liked the way she talked about the people and relationships she had with them, but it also felt like she really skimmed over things and didn't share enough gossip. Maybe it just wasn't enough sumptuous food description or behind the scenes details for me, but I'll still read whatever she publishes.

I loved this! 5 bright stars for Reichl's latest foodie memoir, dedicated to her time at Gourmet magazine. I adored Garlic and Sapphires, but was unfamiliar how and why she moved from the NYT to Gourmet. Her behind the scenes look at the Ruth era of Gourmet was riveting; I appreciated the peek into how magazines operate and how she transformed the publication under her leadership. The personal anecdotes about food and family were especially endearing. I can't wait to recommend this to my readers and listeners.