title: Food: A Love Story
author: Jim Gaffigan

publication date: October 21, 2014
publisher: Crown Archetype

It’s been awhile since I’ve taken part in The Kitchen Reader book club, but I definitely couldn’t resist this month’s book pick (especially since I was one of three who suggested it – the other two being Vicki of I’d Rather Be At The Beach and Pech of Pechluck’s Food Adventures.)

Fair warning – I’m a big Jim Gaffigan fan. I’ve watched all his stand-up comedy specials, I own a couple of his DVDs and we’ve even gone to see his stand-up in person (plus I got to meet him on my birthday a few years ago!), so, when I found out he had written a book all about food… well, I had high expectations (to say the least).

If you’ve seen or heard any of Jim’s stand-up routines, then you know that he talks about food… a lot. From bacon to cheese to oysters and everything in between, he has a lot of food opinions. I still chuckle whenever I hear the phrase ‘hot-pockets’ because of him (and yes, I have to say it in the same sing-song voice he uses). Food: A Love Story is basically a rambling journey through Jim’s world of food – his loves, his hates, his pet peeves – it’s all here. It’s his stand-up routine, distilled to it’s edible core and let me tell you – it’s pretty funny.

In his introduction, he proclaims that he’s an ‘Eatie’, not a ‘Foodie’. The distinction between the two (in his mind), is that he just likes to eat, he doesn’t have that much food knowledge and he pretty much sticks to the same foods that he likes.

I have to admit that it was sometimes a little tough to read this book in one sitting – the super-short chapters and variety of topics were a little jumpy, but it was fun to put the book down after a few chapters and then return to it for a quick laugh and light-hearted read whenever I had a few minutes to spare. It didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat, or have me obsessively reading until the wee hours of the night, but I did really enjoy.

A few of the topics weren’t as funny as others (for me) since I disagreed with some of Jim’s opinions (I love oysters and don’t quite like to think of them as “snot from a rock”) and some of the jokes were a little repetitive (which works better in a stand-up routine, but not repeated several times within a few pages), but other words were hilarious, like this quote:

There’s an old Weight Watchers saying: “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.” I for one can think of a thousand things that taste better than thin feels. Many of them are two-word phrases that end with cheese.

Speaking of repetitive, I found that throughout the book, Jim praises his wife just a little too often. There’s only so many times that someone can read about how beautiful and talented and patient and awesome his wife is. Yes, we get it. You love her. Yes, she helped you write the book. Sorry, What does this have to do with food?

Anyhow, I have to say that although I quite enjoyed this book, it’s definitely not for everyone, and even those that appreciate Jim’s sense of humour might not be able to read it all in one go. But that’s ok – the structure of the book allows for short visits and quick laughs. And I’m ok with that. I love reading happy Foodie, er, I’m sorry, Eatie, thoughts because I have a love story with food too. 🙂

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