Women in the Kitchen by Anne Willan hits on a lot of my passions including history (women's, American, and food), cookbooks and even genealogy - ding, ding, ding! Like the author, I am a collector of cookbooks, however, where the author seems to collect rare and historically significant titles, mine are mostly of the church auxiliary variety, and include way too many casseroles and recipes requiring a jello mold. Still, somedays there's nothing better than hunkering down with an old cookbook or - in the case of this book - a excerpts from a dozen of them.

The book looks at 12 women who wrote cookbooks beginning with Hannah Wooley in the 1600s and working up to Alice Waters, a contemporary cookbook author. The author provides a short history of each woman, their place in history and local culture, their kitchen, and what each brought to the growth of cookbooks and the art of cooking. Each section ends with a couple of the woman's recipes in their original form and then in a modern form. It's a brilliant touch..

When I got done reading Women in the Kitchen, I realized it was a lot like taking a cruise: a fun, no-pressure journey through a bunch of cool period cookbooks and the women who wrote them. And just like a cruise, I was given enough information to help me decide which cookbooks and women I wanted to explore more deeply (Sarah Rutledge and her The Carolina Housewife, as well as Edna Lewis and her The Taste of Country Cooking), and which I didn't have to revisit (Hannah Glasse, but also Julia Child whom I've already read extensively).

And, of course, I earmarked several recipes which I'll be putting to the test in my own kitchen in the coming days and weeks, including Savory Pumpkin and Apple Pie (Hannah Woolley), Thanksgiving Pudding (Sarah Rutledge), English Monkey (Fannie Farmer) and Polenta with Italian Sausages (Marcella Hazan). Yum!

I also downloaded the author's memoir, One Souffle at a Time, and am excited to learn more about her and her take on French cooling.

Overall, this was a great introduction to some old cookbooks I hadn't come across before. The writing was clear and engaging, if not exactly imaginative, and the author did a great job of mixing in enough of the history I was looking for to make it a satisfying read.

If you're interested in learning more about the history of food, cookbooks and the women who write them without wanting to go too deep, Women in the Kitchen by Anne Willan is a wonderful choice. The inclusion of recipes with modern translations easily moved this from a 4-star to a 5-star read for me, and placed it firmly on my cookbook shelf as opposed to my history shelf.

This review was based on an advance copy read.

This was a delightful read! I enjoyed being able to read about empowering women and their love for creating cookbooks for others. I absolutely love cookbooks and knowing a history behind them is so fascinating to me. I think this is a book I will gladly recommend

Women in the Kitchen profiles 12 different women who wrote and published cookbooks from as early as the 1660's all the way through current times. Most of these cookbook authors are British or American and they come from various walks of life. There are well-known names profiled in the book (Julia Child, Alice Waters, Edna Lewis, Irma Rombauer, and Fannie Farmer) and some lesser known names. These were nice digestible mini-biographies and each chapter also featured recipes from the profiled woman's cookbook.

While this book won't tell you everything that you need to know about these women, it's a great jumping off point to figure out who you may want to read more about. It was interesting to see what these women had in common and how they influenced each other and other cookbook authors.

Women in the Kitchen by Anne Willan is a book about cookbooks! This book profiles 12 women in history who defined the way we eat today! I loved this book and especially loved the featured recipes. Anyone who likes to cook would enjoy this book.

This is a somewhat interesting book that profiles 12 women who wrote American cookbooks throughout history. The premise is that these are the women who "defined" cooking but I'm not sure I agree with her choices. Not that I am any kind of culinary expert, but I haven't heard of most of them other than Julia Child, and I collect vintage cookbooks. My own all-time favorite cookbook (from any time) is the Meta Given set of two huge books with tiny print and almost no pictures (and those are in black and white, since it was published so long ago). I grew up cooking from those books and there are notes in it rating recipes and making suggestions with dates going back to the 1940's when it was my grandmother's and then my mother's and they would record every recipe they cooked. If ever there was a book to teach you everything you needed to know, from how to dress a chicken to how to make perfect pie crust to 30 different recipes using pumpkin, it was hers. Shrug. I also half expected something about the fictional Betty Crocker since while she was not a real person "she" had such an effect on cooking in America. One of my other favorite female cookbook authors is the woman who wrote The Golden Age Cookbook, a vegetarian cookbook for "those who follow a bloodless diet" written over a hundred years ago (find it free on Kindle and Project G).

While reading this book, it was hard not to compare it to The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks, a similar type of book that compiled histories of influential cookbooks and their authors (that time in African American authors). Both tell the stories of the authors and give just a sampling of recipes. This one felt very dry about the authors.

Willan translates every recipe she gives from the original to her updated version. In most cases, I didn't feel that was really necessary. Most of us can follow a recipe even if it's given in vague old fashioned ways. A small note could say what temperature was recommended or how much a gill was, for instance. More recipes could have been included if each one wasn't in here twice.

The author is apparently a chef herself, but she did too much humble bragging about spending time at Julia Child's house and talking about her own career. I don't know who she is, so it got old hearing herself mentioned in the league of these great chefs and authors. It may be different for readers who are fans of hers (I honestly have no idea if she is big enough to have her own fans).

In all, the book was interesting but could have been far more so. There were not nearly enough recipes for those of us who love old cookbooks and want to try the originals. A simple blog post could have summed up each author and the cookbook and given a link to get the original book, and would have probably been more satisfying for me. The authors themselves have all sort of run together in my mind a week after finishing it, and none of the recipes were ones that I'd feel compelled to rush to try.

Three stars for "liked it" but it wasn't a home run for me.

I read a digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

This book is a delight. Not only did I learn that the two first famous female cookbook authors were also named Hannah, but the evolution of the recipes provided a unique look at women and cooks in the English speaking world. The original recipes were a bit confusing but Anne Wilan provides an easily adaptable recipe for the 21st century.

Some of the recipe introductions were a bit repetitive, but it did not detract from overall read of the book. I have made the big and small pea soup recipe, a smart solution to homegrown peas, which was magical. I did add a bit of vegetable broth, but this will be making it into my spring/summer roster of soups. I also tried to carrot pureé which was ok, but an interesting idea.

I recommend this book if you like to give historical recipes a try and if you are interested in food history. This is a cookbook without strange ingredients so the recipes are accessible no matter where you live.

Very interesting introduction into culinary cultural history. Highlighted are woman from different eras and some interesting recipes to accompany each.

Women in the Kitchen offers vignettes of women who excelled in culinary arts and produced cookbooks. Each selection is from a different era. Adter providing a synopsis of the cook's history, several recipes are included. I was more interested in the history of the women than the actual recipes. I enjoyed reading about Julia Child and Edna Lewis the most. It's a great introduction to culinary cultural history.

WOW! Great read, Basically the history of women as cookbook writers. While reading we learn about the historical background of the time. The first “cookbook/medicine /beauty/ tip” book being written in 1661, in England. Interesting how some other followed committing plagiarism ouch. The author Anne Willan is a serious cookbook collector (I thought I was one but no way!!) gives us an historical introduction of the author of each book and experiences. So interesting. There are recipes from the vintage books updated to our times. Keep in mind the earlier books did not have clear instructions assuming many things and not even quantities. Food preparation was over fire, so those sets of instructions might not be of use for us now. Anne Willan took those recipes and make a version for us, taking us into a travel capsule to see what was being served at that time and the ingredients used.

I wish there were more pictures of the pages of the original book but while reading I googled it and found historical pictures and even some of those earlier books on sale/auction for hundreds of dollars.
Needless to say I love love this book. Thanks for the history, I have learned so much.!!
You wont be able to keep this book down.

I loved this book. It gave a historical context to cookbooks by women through the ages, but wasn't 'dry'. I enjoyed learning a little (or for some a lot) more about the authors, their books, and how that applied to the books that were written. I also thought it was fun to see the original recipes transformed to what we would consider a recipe in case you wanted to attempt an old recipe from the 1600s or Colonial America and where to find some of those ingredients/what you can substitute.

When I first read about this book, I was fascinated with the idea. I’m so happy I decided to read it.
WOMEN IN THE KITCHEN is much more than just a cookbook. Author Anne Willan brings to light the history and recipes of 12 inspiring culinary creators. From Hannah Wooley 1622-1675 through to Sarah Rutledge 1782-1855 all the way to Alice Waters 1944-?, these women were instrumental in the world of cooking. Each chapter is dedicated to one of these amazing woman, covering a brief history on each one, and featuring some of their recipes.

In this, more than a cookbook book, you’ll find recipes like Savory Pumpkin and Apple Pie, Big and Baby Green Pea Soup, Corn Griddle Cakes, Potato Yeast Rolls, New England Lobster Salad, Blond Gingerbread, Crispy Fried Scallops, Corn Flake Drops (Cookies), Coq Au Vin Brown Sugar Caramel Pie, Polenta with Italian Sausages, and Mango Salad with Chile Pepper.

I very much enjoyed reading WOMEN IN THE KITCHEN. I took away from it so much more than bios and recipes. To me it’s a reminder that no matter how different we are, the one thing that connects us is not only the need for food, but the love of delicious food and the care and preparation that goes into it. Kudos to Anne Willan for this inspirational read.

Quick note. While you will find photos of the authors, there are no pictures of the food (if you have read my cookbook reviews, you know how I am about photos). But the lack of photos takes nothing away from WOMEN IN THE KITCHEN.

A fascinating compendium of women cookbook authors from the middle ages to present. Each chapter presents the background of an author, followed by several of her recipes. Willan first prints the original recipe in full, then a modern interpretation and explanation--especially helpful for the 16th and 17th century recipes, but even Julia Child benefits from some translation.

You'll learn interesting facts, like the origin of the word "ketchup" (from the Chinese word "ketsiap", for fermented fish sauce). The recipes look approachable and tempting to try, including things like chocolate pudding with rosemary, crispy fried scallops, and glazed purple plum tart.

My only wish would be for more pictures of the authors (when available) and the dishes themselves.

This was an excellent book that really blew my socks off. I learned so much about the amazing women who pushed cooking forward. The chapters were perfectly balanced in length, short enough to digest but long enough that no details were seemingly sacrificed.I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys food writing or just an excellent historical read. This was a fun read and made me hungry in the process!

As a non-cook who enjoys watching cooking shows and reading food writing, I usually skip the recipes, but in the case of Women in the Kitchen, I found the recipes to be the best part of the book. To be honest, I found the biographies of these cooks to be somewhat perfunctory. But the recipes told another story. For most of the recipes, Willan has included both the original recipe as written, and then has "translated" it so that modern cooks can prepare it. The reader can compare ingredients that would have been available at the time in question (who knew that soy sauce was available in 1810 America?) with those of today or some other time. The methods of preparing food have changed over time, no surprise, but it's not the sort of thing you might think of when reading a Louis May Alcott novel for instance. Now you can. Another book that was a fascinating look at preparing food in America's history is Stirring the Pot with Benjamin Franklin by Rae Katherine Eighmy. (Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for a digital review copy.)

A book I could not put down a book of women chefs who wrote cookbooks .From the first recipe book long ago in history to the present.AnneWillan the author who writes beautifully herself a well known cookbook author not only writes about these chefs but also modernizes recipies.A book I will be recommending and gifting to my cookbook loving friends.#netgalley#scribner