What I Made for Dinner: A Memoir

Belc (The Natural Mother of the Child) uses his Covid-era obsession with semifamous internet chefs as a springboard for a charming reflection on food and identity. “I am cooking to save my life,” Belc writes, acknowledging the intensity of his relationship with food influencers after Covid isolated him at home with his wife and three children (then ages seven, six, and four). Eventually, Belc’s adventures in the kitchen spin off into musings on his childhood, gender transition, and fertility troubles, as when he recalls cooking meals for his parents at 12 years old to blunt feelings of depression and loneliness. Revisiting recipes he prepared at 16 gives way to reflections on the moment Belc realized he was queer (“I was listening to music on a big classic iPod. I was sixteen years old. Old brown leaves crunched under my feet.... I’m gay, I whispered, to absolutely no one”). In 2021, the loquacious blogs of Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman offered solace when Belc’s plans to have another child hit roadblocks. Through it all, Belc proves a funny, generous guide who remains self-aware about his obsessions without undermining their sincerity. There’s plenty of sustenance in these pages. Agent: Ashley Lopez, Massie, McQuilkin & Altman. (June)