Monday, March 1, 2010

The Kitchen Reader - It Ain't All About the Cookin' by Paula Deen


February's The Kitchen Reader book is Paula Deen's memoir, It Ain't All About The Cookin'. In Australia, we are not exposed to Paula Deen, but I did have a vague idea of who she was through reading other people's blogs, and knew that she was famous for using lots of butter in her cooking.


Paula's story is very inspiring. Hers is a true case of rags to riches off the back of her own labour (and with some help from loyal family and friends), with a bit of risk taking along the way that paid off. Paula's business grew from delivering sandwiches to Savannah offices through The Bag Lady business, to the multi-million dollar restaurant, television and publishing empire that it is today. Paula has even appeared in a movie (Elizabethtown), showing how far she has come from the cheerleader who fell in love with the wrong guy and married him against her parents' wishes. Along the way, she conquered the loss of her parents, a lack of funds, agoraphobia and a shiftless husband.



Paula's book is no holds barred - she even discloses some of her own dirty laundry, inviting the reader to make their own judgements. I personally liked her more for disclosing that she isn't a saint, unlike the many sanitised celebrities that enter our loungerooms. As Paula says, telling secrets is a great gift you give to others - tell a secret, get one back. She also refuses to pretend to be someone she's not. For example, in the Foreword, Paula states that she is a cook, not a chef. When she gets her own cooking show,
Paula's Home Cooking, and her producer asked her to take "princess bites", she refuses, and tastes the food as robustly as she would in her own home.


The book is peppered with some of Paula's most famous and favourite Southern recipes, many of which sound delicious - who could go past a good beef stroganoff or Mississippi mud cake? I have bookmarked the recipes (because there is no recipe index), and hope to try some of them one day soon.



I love the fact that Paula involved her family in her enterprises so that her businesses are true family businesses. Their involvement was not always willing (at least in the case of her sons), but it gave them an opportunity to grow and prosper together as they overcame the odds to build up a successful food empire. The importance of family is evident throughout the book, and Paula's belief in this fact helped her to deal with the initial rejection of her step-daughter on her second marriage.



Despite the very serious subject matter that is raised in Paula's book, her story is told with a sense of good humour. There are also some great characters in Paula's life for whom she has a very evident affection - her second husband, Michael, and her producer, Gordon Elliott, are standouts.



I enjoyed
It Ain't All About the Cookin' a lot. I admire Paula's gutsiness, initiative and obvious zest for life, and I think I could learn a lot from her in those respects. I could imagine there are plenty of people who might not like Paula's style, which is forceful and no holds barred, but I think she's a pretty amazing woman, and I am so glad that we got to read this book.


If you would like to hear other perspectives on this book, check out
The Kitchen Reader blogroll.

9 comments:

Jennifer said...

What a wonderful review!!!!

Paula is such an interesting person-and while she told things in the book that shocked me-she makes no apologies for being herself-I just love her!!!!

Thank you for reading along with us!

Gloria Baker said...

I love Paula Deen story, and her recipes. lovely post Cake law! Gloria

TLC said...

I'm embarrased to admit I'd never actually heard of her before other than in obscure pop culture Gilmore Girls references... I think I'll have to check her out!

Thanks for posting that!

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

An absolutely sweet reveiw-didn know all this and love Paula Deen all the more now....magnifique ...

happy day to u dear....

Susan said...

I am a big fan of Paula. She is a one of the few real down to earth people in the spotlight.

The Blonde Duck said...

I'm going to check out this book. It sounds really good.

Ivy said...

I've only heard of her through other bloggers but her book sounds very interesting.

Anonymous said...

Paula may make it Down Under one of these days! She really did tell all in this book, and I respect her for that. If I ever get famous and write a book, there's a lot of stuff I'd leave out!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Great review! I saw Paula on TMZ and she is one saucy lady! She alluded to "keeping things stiff" when referring to her hubby which made me laugh.