cover image Growing a Feast: The Chronicle of a Farm-to-Table Meal

Growing a Feast: The Chronicle of a Farm-to-Table Meal

Kurt Timmermeister. Norton, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-393-08889-2

In the sequel to his 2011 book Growing a Farmer, Timmermeister painstakingly chronicles the cultivation of a grand farm-made feast, asking readers to consider the source of their meals more carefully. Beginning two years before the day of the feast, we bear witness to the birth of Alice, the farm’s newest dairy cow, who will help make butter and cheese; we follow Timmermeister in each step of the delicate cheese-making and -aging process; and we discover the origins of his prized tomatoes. Timmermeister’s methodical prose in these sections can be tedious, reflecting the monotony the author finds in so much of farm life. Where the book shines is in its reflective passages; Timmermeister does not shrink from the honest truth, providing an unflinching account of slaughtering a bull that will both shock readers and immediately force them to question their reactions. The end of the book features recipes for many of the meals discussed. Agent: Elizabeth Wales, Wales Literary. (Jan)