You and I Eat the Same

What an interesting and unique book! While what we might characterize as second- and third-wave food cultures sprout up worldwide, influenced by Alice Waters, Anthony Bourdain, and many others, it is wildly interesting to learn about unique initiatives taking place beyond the United States and to think about how American food cultures might be influenced by them. The global perspective of this work help take me beyond my local context to challenge my thinking about what is possible within local food cultures.

I love this book. This is one of those anthologies that is balanced on feelings, research to make you think, and sociological conundrums... it was the best before bed read because each essay was a perfect length and rich with stories / food for thought. I loved the diversity of voices, the nuance at trying to sort out current conversations around food (what is cultural appropriation in cooking?!), and the photos were beautiful, too.

I can see this being used for so many things and am racking up my ideas of who could use this and in what ways but an especially excited thinking about them as excerpts for a group read for a great discussion) college profs, these would be amazing HW assignments). All I wanted to do was talk to someone (my poor partner had to hear about most of these essays), because I had learned fascinating things about naming of food, how fire works, or the history of soy sauce and what it all means about society.. and how we eat today. There is such a range in this anthology that it’s also just fun to devour and lull over alone ( they all do tend to tie up semi-nicely by the end of each essay). There’s an essay about Mennonites making cheese is Mexico, essays from women about how intertwined immigration is to food, and musings on what ‘table manners’ look like around the world .. and how none of us really agree.. They are all relevant, all human centered, and all come back to food.

I loved this book, can you tell? I might even write a blog post about ways to use some of the pieces to get someone else excited about it. Well done and thank you to Chris Ying, MAD folks, and the publishers for this ARC !

Vibrant and fascinating book that brings us all together over something everyone does every day. Food has stories, history, overlap across continents and trends. A fascinating book for every foodie who wishes to know more.

Loved this book! I’m a recipe developer and these stories were tailor made for me. Lots of great bits about food and culture.

MAD, the Danish word for food, is a cultural symposium founded by chef René Redzepi and editor of the food magazine, Lucky Peach, Chris Ying. You and I Eat the Same is the first in a series of MAD Dispatches the two plan to release, with essays on how food brings different cultures together and how we can work on making food better - better for the environment, better for the people who farm and curate it, better for all of us, because we consume it.

There are 19 essays in this first volume, each running anywhere from 2-12 pages, on such topics as sesame seeds, flatbreads and how every culture wraps their meat in some kind of one, and, my favorite, "Coffee Saves Lives". Ask any of my coworkers, family, or friends, and they will heartily agree.

Each essay looks at culture and food's role in those cultures. The writing is light and instantly readable, bringing diversity into our homes and our lives. Tienlon Ho's "One Seed Rules Them All" says of sesame seeds that "a dish can feel of one place, while being from another"; really, the sesame seed can bring about world peace: "Humans have a remarkable ability to agree on hummus's deliciousness while disagreeing about everything else." Redzepi's "If It Does Well Here, It Belongs Well Here" exhorts that "the day we can't travel and move and learn from each other is the day we all turn into crazy nationalists" - a very timely statement. Did you know that there's a Mennonite community in Mexico? Read Michael Snyder's "Mennonite Cheese is Mexican Cheese" and learn the history of this colony's move. "People Will Eat Anything" is an alphabetical rundown of culinary delights, from abalone and confused flour beetle to zebra.

There are gorgeous, full-color photos throughout, and the writing praises culinary and cultural diversity in the best ways: breaking bread together is great, but growing it and helping others do it is even better. As Redzepi says in his foreword that, "If we can share a meal, maybe we can share a conversation, too."

I'd love to get this into my YA collection; I think teens will appreciate this message. We live in Queens, a community where we can travel the world by going outside and visiting a food truck, a dim sum house, and a mozzarepa vendor all within a 10-block radius. I'm looking forward to more MAD Dispatches and would love to see one of their symposiums. In the meantime, though, I'll content myself with videos on their website.

You and I Eat the Same is a great add to any collection, any foodie fan's bookshelf, and is a smart YA crossover bet.

Interesting and Informative. Makes you think about immigration and what we eat. Grateful on a personal level for the different cultural experiences.

You and I Eat the Same
My thanks to #NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review. You and I Eat the Same is a glorious anthology of essays about food and the things that bring us all together as humans. The stories are brief, often too brief, glimpses into lives around the world. Each essay is separate, yet part of the whole, easily taken in individually, a la carte, if you will, on a bus, waiting in line, or devoured all at once in a voracious, indulgent feast. This book would make a great gift for the foodie who wants to learn how we are all connected by food.