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This title in other formats:

The Last Chinese Chef

by Nicole Mones

The Last Chinese Chef Cover

ISBN13: 9780547053738
ISBN10: 0547053738
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

This alluring novel of friendship, love, and cuisine brings the best-selling author of Lost in Translation and A Cup of Light to one of the great Chinese subjects: food. As in her previous novels, Mones's captivating story also brings into focus a changing China — this time the hidden world of high culinary culture.

When Maggie McElroy, a widowed American food writer, learns of a Chinese paternity claim against her late husband's estate, she has to go immediately to Beijing. She asks her magazine for time off, but her editor counters with an assignment: to profile the rising culinary star Sam Liang.

In China Maggie unties the knots of her husband's past, finding out more than she expected about him and about herself. With Sam as her guide, she is also drawn deep into a world of food rooted in centuries of history and philosophy. To her surprise she begins to be transformed by the cuisine, by Sam's family — a querulous but loving pack of cooks and diners — and most of all by Sam himself. The Last Chinese Chef is the exhilarating story of a woman regaining her soul in the most unexpected of places.

Synopsis:

This exhilarating story is the transporting tale of how the sensual, romantic elements of haute Chinese cuisine become the perfect ingredients to lift the troubled soul of a grieving American woman.

Synopsis:

Reading group favorite Nicole Mones transports readers to the fascinating world of elite cuisine in modern China with the story of an American food writer traveling in Beijing. Recently widowed Maggie MacElroy is unexpectedly called to China to settle a claim against her late husband's estate. Shocked to discover that he may have led a secret life, she immerses herself in the comforting distraction of work. She is sent by the magazine she works for to profile Sam, a Chinese American who is the last in a line of gifted chefs in China tracing back to the imperial palace. As Sam prepares an elaborate banquet, his audition for the Cultural Olympics, Maggie learns to appreciate the beauty and balance, ritual and meaning of Chinese cooking and culture — and finds the secret ingredient that will bring solace to her heart.

Infused with themes of tradition and obligation, belonging and connection, Mones's satisfying, sensual novel just might be the perfect leisure read . . . This delicious book will leave you with an intense craving for perfectly prepared Chinese food (Wall Street Journal).

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
Hubert, December 16, 2009 (view all comments by Hubert)
A nicely woven story of the love developing between a chef and a writer, and love between the writer (a culinary journalist) and traditional Chinese food. The love story is light, if you're in love with a chef you'll recognize things. The food story is eye opening, about both the recipes as well as eating traditions in China. The descriptions of the food are very good - tastes, flavors, smells, form and shape are well caught, and links to books, calligraphy and history are well chosen. Recommended for food lovers.
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Debbi, February 9, 2009 (view all comments by Debbi)
Mones tells the story of the cultural and historical aspects of Chinese cooking within a story about an American food writer, Maggie McElroy, who is desperately trying to figure out her own life. This is food and travel writing at its best.
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Elyse, November 21, 2008 (view all comments by Elyse)
If you are a dedicated foodie, you might enjoy this book. The portrayal of traditional Chinese cooking was interesting, if a little unappetizing at times (especially for a vegetarian). So was the glimpse into life during the Cultural Revolution and just after.

The rest of the story was of less interest to me, but anyone enjoying a simple story of relationships would probably find this a satisfying book. Not great literature, but somewhat worthwhile.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780547053738
Author:
Mones, Nicole
Publisher:
Mariner Books
Subject:
Non-Classifiable
Subject:
Literary
Publication Date:
June 2008
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
278
Dimensions:
8.25x5.52x.74 in. .66 lbs.

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