Synopses & Reviews
Two years out of college and with a degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Victoria Riccardi left a boyfriend, a rent-controlled New York City apartment, and a plum job in advertising to move to Kyoto to study
kaiseki, the exquisitely refined form of cooking that accompanies the formal Japanese tea ceremony. She arrived in Kyoto, a city she had dreamed about but never seen, with two bags, an open-ended plane ticket, and the ability to speak only sushi-bar Japanese. She left a year later, having learned the language, the art of kaiseki, and what was truly important to her.
Through special introductions and personal favors, Victoria was able to attend one of Kyotos most prestigious tea schools, where this ago-old Japanese art has been preserved for generations and where she was taken under the wing of an American expatriate who became her mentor in the highly choreographed rituals of this extraordinary culinary discipline.
During her year in Kyoto, Victoria explored the mysterious and rarefied world of tea kaiseki, living a life inaccessible to most foreigners. She also discovered the beguiling realm of modern-day Japanese food—the restaurants, specialty shops, and supermarkets. She participated in many fast-disappearing culinary customs, including making mochi (chewy rice cakes) by hand, a beloved family ritual barely surviving in a mechanized age. She celebrated the annual cleansing rites of New Years, donning an elaborate kimono and obi for a thirty-four-course extravaganza. She includes twenty-five recipes for favorite dishes she encountered, such as Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl, Japanese Beef and Vegetable Hotpot, and Green-Tea Cooked Salmon Over Rice.
Untangling My Chopsticks is a sumptuous journey into the tastes, traditions, and exotic undercurrents of Japan. It is also a coming-of-age tale steeped in history and ancient customs, a thoughtful meditation on life, love, and learning in another land.
Review
I relished every page. Victoria Riccardis prose reflects the same spirited, nuanced, intelligent style that she discovered on a pilgrimage to the heart of Kyotos tea kaiseki cuisine. Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun
Review
As Victoria Riccardi goes in search of culinary enlightenment in this intimate and beautifully crafted memoir about living, cooking, and falling in love with Kyoto, the reader is seduced and transported by the scenes and flavors she paints with words. Riccardi writes with a sensuous eye for detail that brings alive the extraordinary beauty of Japan and the sumptuous pleasures of its table. Lora Brody, author of Growing Up on the Chocolate Diet
Review
Victoria Riccardi writes from the heart. A personal story of determination and discovery, Untangling My Chopsticks offers a refreshing glimpse into the tastes, intrigues, and traditions of modern and ancient Japan.
Elizabeth Andoh, Japan correspondent, Gourmet magazine, and author of At Home with Japanese Cooking
Review
Victoria Abbott Riccardis Untangling My Chopsticks folds back the screen on a city and its traditions just enough to satisfy our curiosity without diminishing the mysterious allure. Her friendships and experiences are recounted with delightful delicacy, and the kaiseki meal and tea ceremony come alive not only as cultural rites but also as delectable gastronomic and esthetic experiences. Susan Herrmann Loomis, author of On Rue Tatin
Review
"[A] delightful and unusual culinary memoir....Although many of the ingredients used in [her] recipes are unusual, Riccardi, who writes for such magazines as Eating Well and Bon Appetit, makes them sound worth searching for." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Though she has a sense of humor...Riccardi is too busy immersing herself in kaiseki's daunting forms and rituals to spare much time for laughter....To those Americans unable to find liberation in constraint, tea cuisine may pose a confounding inversion of the ideal meal: a million dos and don'ts, and precious little on the plate." Rand Richards Cooper, The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
Two years out of Harvard and with a degree from Le Cordon Bleu, Victoria Riccardi left a boyfriend, a rent-controlled New York apartment, and a plum job in advertising she hated, and moved to Kyoto to study tea
kaiseki, the exquisitely refined meal served before the Japanese tea ceremony. Riccardi arrived in Kyoto, a city she had dreamed about but never seen, with two bags, an open-ended plane ticket, and the ability to speak only sushi bar Japanese. She left a year later, proficient in both the language and the art of tea
kaiseki.
Kaiseki is an ancient Japanese practice that dates back to the thirteenth century. Beginning as a modest vegetarian meal that Buddhist monks ate in Kyoto’s Zen temples, it developed into a highly symbolic, uniquely Japanese ritual. Riccardi, through special introductions and favors from numerous Japanese contacts, was able to attend one of Kyoto’s most prestigious tea schools, where she was taken under the wing of an American expatriate who became her kaiseki master.
Riccardi’s story is not only a journey into adventure and adulthood but also an engrossing, knowledgeable account of Japanese culture, food, and the romance of Kyoto. During her year in that city, Riccardi lived with a Japanese couple, taught at the English language school they ran, and explored the world of Japanese cuisine—the restaurants, food shops, supermarkets, and many fast-disappearing culinary customs. Her memoir is enhanced with twenty-five recipes, so readers can replicate some of the dishes Riccardi encountered.
About the Author
VICTORIA ABBOTT RICCARDI has written for the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and Bon Appétit. She lives with her husband in Newton, Massachusetts.