Frankfurt Book Fair Introduces Cookbook Section
This year’s Frankfurt Book Fair will introduce a new element: the Gourmet Book Gallery, a 400-square-foot section within the fair dedicated to cookbook publishers and publishers of food and lifestyle magazines. The space, which will be located beside the Congress Centre, will feature appearances by celebrity chefs as well as wine- and food-tasting sessions (the gallery will also include reps from wine-growing regions and culinary institutions). There are plans in the works for special events for trade visitors, booksellers and the general public. According to fair organizers, booksellers are starting to look to gourmet products—such as tea, coffee and wine—as an additional source of revenue. But culinary suppliers have traditionally left the book trade unexplored. “The new international Gourmet Gallery area is intended to create a platform at the Book Fair for presenting current trends and a forum for new partnerships,” said fair director Juergen Boos. The fair runs October 14—18, and exhibitors can register until August 12 at www.book-fair.com/gourmet-gallery.
Michael Jackson’s Chef Writes Cookbook
Kai Chase, a professional chef hired by Michael Jackson to maintain a healthy food regimen, talked to the Associated Press about the pop icon, and mentioned she has written a cookbook. She said Jackson encouraged her to write the book, and that it is tentatively titled Fit for a King. It includes recipes Chase cooked for Jackson and the story of the time she worked for him. No word on a publisher yet. Incidentally, Elvis Presley’s longtime cook, Alvena Roy, shared recipes she cooked for Presley in Fit for a King: The Elvis Presley Cookbook by Elizabeth McKeon, which was published in 1998.
British Wine Critic Sues Random Under U.K. Laws
British wine critic, writer and auctioneer Michael Broadbent is suing Random House Inc., publisher of The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace, under U.K. laws, for defamation of character, The Booksellerreports. The book tells the story of the “Jefferson bottles affair,” in which more than a dozen bottles of wine, engraved “Th. J,” were discovered in 1985. One of the bottles sold for more than $150,000. Broadbent is claiming that Wallace “accuses him of inventing a bid for the half-bottle of 1784 Margaux, to ensure the final buyer paid over the odds.” Random published the hardcover in the U.S. last year; Three Rivers released a paperback edition in April of this year.
No Canadians in Phaidon’s Book of Hot New Chefs
Grub Street reports that Canadian chefs are “super ticked off” that not a single Canuck is included in Coco: 10 World Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs, which Phaidon will publish in October. When he learned that there was one spot left on the list, chef/food writer Shaun Smith wrote to Phaidon, asking the house to consider a Canadian. However, the book’s 100th spot had already been given to London chef Anthony Demetre. Publicity firm YC Media released a letter saying, “We understand the disappointment of not being included. However, the decision of who is chosen in the book is not Phaidon's, rather the 10 noted chefs who curated the emerging talents in the book.”
Julie & Julia: What Did You Think?
Julie & Julia opens this week. Before you see the movie, go back and read my 2005 interview with Julie Powell, and more recent conversation with Nora Ephron and Judith Jones. Tell us what you think about the movie by posting a comment on this article.
PWInterviews David Leite
Be sure to check out this week's issue of PW, where senior reviews editor Mark Rotella interviews David Leite, food writer, blogger and author of The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe's Western Coast (Clarkson Potter).
This article originally appeared inCooking the Books, PW’s e-newsletter for cookbooks.
