Cookbooks play a huge role in Amy Thielen’s life. In her first book, the James Beard Award-winning cookbook The New Midwestern Table, Amy celebrates the hearty, from-the-earth cooking of her native Midwest. Now in her second book, Give a Girl a Knife, Amy shares her journey from childhood to adulthood, and how food was intertwined with it all.
Give a Girl a Knife will appeal to foodies eager to learn more about the inner-workings of upscale New York City kitchens—Amy worked under well-known chefs like David Bouley, Daniel Boulud, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten—as well as fans of coming-of-age memoirs with a culinary twist.
In addition to the engaging details about her life as a chef and glimpses of her intriguing family history, Amy cooks up some deliciously masterful prose with descriptions like, “On the raw side of things, an utterly ripe tomato at the end of August swings low on its vine, opalescent and suntanned gold at the shoulders, its voluptuous flesh nearly falling out of its skin.”
Between Amy’s evocative writing and her charming narrative voice, you’ll find yourself inspired to plant a garden, learn to cook with what you have on hand, and feel nostalgic for the Midwest.
Listen to a clip of Amy Thielen narrating Give a Girl a Knife: GIVE A GIRL A KNIFE
Hear more from Amy Thielen discuss her experience creating Give a Girl a Knife on audio: