A lovely combination of recipes and personal stories. The recipes are intriguing and the book overall is enjoyable to read

This is a unique coming-of-age story told by a young American who has family of Indian, Puerto Rican and Italian descent. Navigating a society where people want to try to "pin you down" -- meaning "who are you, where are you from" - his stories shed light on identity and family. His stories of his childhood resonated with me (even though I am white). I particularly enjoyed the recipes in this book from his three cultural influences. A short but fun and interesting read with photos!

Thank you to Netgalley and Fordham University Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I was really drawn to the story of this cookbook, the idea of a melting pot via cookbook was really great. I probably will skip for a physical purchase but would recommend if you need to kickstart some cooking ideas.

Combining memoir and recipes is an interesting concept but I’m not sure it really came together here. Both halves feel a bit incomplete rather than complementing and extending each other.

What a very interesting book about This man named RA J a w n y. His family was in the mix of india and puerto rican and italian. His father was from India. And his mother was a mix of puerto rican Italian.She recorded his relationship was not in order to consider crying. It's interesting how he was trying to Just from being in queens to one island New York.
I On weekends he would go to his grandmother's House in the bronx when he was a little boy. . He loved his grandmother's cooking and the memories of her growing up. He would go over to his aunt's house in the south bronx. This Was an eye Opener for him because the speaker was very poor.. You wanted to fit in america so bad. His father still holds Customs from this time india. His mother went along with it but she was not very happy when she had to go to the so called parties. This book was interesting because they were talking about his life and then give a recipe. I These recipes resonate within bringing back memories of his childhood. These recipes are very interesting because they were taken of different cultures and all put together. His mother learned how to cook Indian food. Because of this His father. I like when you little bo You learn how to make his grandmother's M e a t b a l l. It was a really great book.

This was an enjoyable mixture between autobiography, reflection on identity, class and race and an international cook book. All memories seem to be attached to some special food somebody always prepared on special occasions.
Unfortunately I'll not be able to find all the ingredients needed here in Germany.

This is a coming of age book with definitely more story than recipes. I loved the way he though of his gran. This was a nice journey to take.

Food, stories, and family history make this a cozy yet sometimes heartbreaking autobiography. All of the influences explored felt purposeful - there was nothing that felt out of place or longwinded. The recipes were a fun addition, and helped to lighten the mood during some of the heavier stories.

This is a short memoir and recipe book that takes us on a journey through the author's life. The stories and recipes combine his cultures - Indian, Italian, Puerto Rican - into delicious sounding foods.

What a wonderful book full of stories, food, life, cooking. It is such an interesting book, so multicultural and family related stories and recipes. A memoir that will make you think about your own family and community and all the places the food/recipes we now eat and use come from. I really enjoyed it and found it informative and fun.

I will be trying some of the recipes but find some a little daunting. But I am always up for a challenge.

Thank you NetGalley and Fordham University Press, Empire State Editions for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved the combination of personal stories and recipes. A very interesting read, I learned a lot about different dishes!

Colorful Palate is a warmly written and appealing memoir of cross-cultural family roots and personal recollections growing up, written by Raj Tawney. Released 3rd Oct 2023 by Fordham University Press, it's 160 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is the best kind of culinary memoir: interesting and engaging stories and memories alongside well written concise and authentic family recipes scattered throughout. It's -not- a formally arranged cookbook, there aren't any instagram-worthy styled and finished dishes perfecly staged and lit, and the recipes which are included are incorporated into the text with their "origin stories". It gives the whole an authentic and friendly/appealing vibe, and the author is wonderful to read and clearly loves his family and is rightfully proud of his melting pot cultural upbringing.

The recipes which are included are written down just as a family friend or relative would relate them; written in bullet point lists, sometimes with approximate measures and suggested alternative ingredients or prep. Ingredient measures are provided with imperial (American) measurements, as well as a pinch of this, or add to taste.

The absolute humanity and humor of his writing, in a blended multicultural family, seems so refreshing in a time of stark American division over questions of race and affiliation. It's a beautiful book.

Five stars. A great choice for public or secondary school+ library acquisition, for fans of memoirs, and a must for foodies. It's not really a cookbook by any rigid definition of the word. It's is a lovely read and worth seeking out.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A wonderful addition to anyone’s library. The author shares with us his life experience alongside recipes and how they’ve shaped him. The recipes and the stories are varied, wonderful, delicious and heartfelt. I was given the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this book and I am grateful for the experience.

Happy to include this title in The Year in Reading, my annual year-end longread highlighting personal favourite titles for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see feature article at link)

I read this book as a pre-release e-book obtained through NetGalley, provided by the publisher.

This is a heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking autobiography of the author – beginning when he was 5 years old and ending with his wedding. This is unique because of his own ethnic mixture of three cultures who do not accept one another well, nor are any of them accepted by mainstream society. Tolerance is not acceptance, as can be seen with incidents of bullying and discrimination. This included vivid lessons concerning economic divisions and ageism. The author though certainly went through a unique journey through life!

It's also a cookbook. The author gives informal recipes from his relatives of all of these cultures, along with stories of making them, cooking them, and enjoying them. Some of them are "how tos" about making something out of one culture out of the buffet items of another, and are certainly funny. Others, I cannot wait to try!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A wonderful culinary account of a childhood. A great combination of a good book and food. What's not to like.

In Raj Tawney’s captivating memoir, "Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience", readers are treated to a poignant exploration of identity, family, and cultural diversity. Set against the backdrop of suburban New York, Raj's narrative paints a vivid picture of his coming-of-age journey.


Raj was envious of those who were of just one ethnicity. They seemed to know “who” they were. His father immigrated from India and his mother was from the Bronx, of Puerto Rican and Italian heritage. Even his mother had problems integrating into his father’s family.



Despite that, he realized the importance of family and the food that brings them together. Any of the cultures in his upbringing could appear at mealtimes. Through heartfelt anecdotes, he unveils the significance of family bonds and the pivotal role that food plays in connecting generations. Each chapter is followed by a recipe which plays an integral part in the story. He learned much of the family history by helping his maternal grandmother in the kitchen. She related stories of growing up in the Bronx where people were segregated by national origin. She also lost part of her cultural connection upon moving to the suburbs.



One of the most compelling aspects of the narrative is Raj's unlikely friendship with an elderly woman navigating her own challenges in a rapidly changing world that she felt less engaged in, while he was still trying to figure out who he was.


Even though I haven’t tried any of the recipes in the book yet, I consider "Colorful Palate" to be a celebration of diversity and resilience that I believe readers will appreciate.

I loved reading about the author's growing up in the Bronx with the influence of his Puerto Rican grandmother and her tasty dishes that include an Italian recipe or two. His love of cooking multiple types of food also came from his PuertoRican-Italian mother who cooked Indian dishes at home for the family and his Indian father.

It was interesting to see how a family with three different cultural influences brought up the sons - the author and his older brother, who nevertheless grew up going their own way to develop their own American identities. The coming of age memoir is a cheerful one, with happy overtones in spite of his parents' alienation from each other. I find it notable that the couple were estranged but continued to live in the same home.

The recipes included in the book are mostly Indian recipes, delicious sounding but requiring many steps and varieties of ingredients and spices. I liked the simple Italian recipe of spaghetti and meatballs that his grandmother used to prepare.

I enjoyed reading this well written, easy to read book and would recommend it to foodies and those interested in the dynamics of multi cultural families.