If You Can’t Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury

Everywhereist blogger DeRuiter (All Over the Place) dishes on gastronomy and gender in this delightfully salty memoir-in-essays. During the height of the MeToo movement in 2017, DeRuiter was incensed by the apology letter celebrity chef Mario Batali wrote after he was accused of sexual misconduct, which included a recipe for cinnamon rolls. She responded with a blog post in which she made Batali’s cinnamon rolls and eviscerated his apology (“Was his PR team drunk?”). The post went viral, ultimately winning a James Beard Award for long-form personal essay. With that piece as the collection’s guiding light, DeRuiter zeroes in on indignities she and other women face in the food world, from the time DeRuiter was second-guessed about the details in her negative review of a Michelin-starred restaurant to the expectation that women chefs “fight against sexism, misogyny, and harassment... all while cooking excellent food that would never get the same attention as their male counterparts.” Whether discussing her obsession with Red Lobster or highlighting offensive portrayals of women’s relationships with food in film and television, DeRuiter seamlessly blends gallows humor and sharp observation. The result is a witty and empowering volume that will satisfy foodies and non-foodies alike. Agent: Zoe Sandler, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Mar.)