Kitchens Of The Great Midwest: A Novel

"The greatest magic in this book isn’t its depiction of foodie culture, which itself is quite wonderful. The magic lies in the way the main character — an elusive celebrity chef of destination dining — is revealed. The book is a chronological series of vignettes, from an infancy in which her father feeds her pureed pork shoulder, to her 30s, when she is the celebrity chef hosting secret destination dinners at $5,000 a plate. Never, though, is she the main actor in the events. I’m still scratching my head about how J. Ryan Stradal pulled it off."