About the Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the James Beard Award–winning blogger behind The Everywhereist come hilarious, searing essays on how food and cooking stoke the flames of her feminism.
“With charm and humor, Geraldine DeRuiter welcomes us into her personal history and thus reconnects us with ourselves.”—Mikki Kendall, New York Times bestselling author of Hood Feminism
ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
When celebrity chef Mario Batali sent out an apology letter for the sexual harassment allegations made against him, he had the gall to include a recipe—for cinnamon rolls, of all things. Geraldine DeRuiter decided to make the recipe, and she happened to make food journalism history along with it. Her subsequent essay, with its scathing commentary about the pervasiveness of misogyny in the food world, would be read millions of times, lauded by industry luminaries from Martha Stewart to New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells, and would land DeRuiter in the middle of a media firestorm. She found herself on the receiving end of dozens of threats when all she wanted to do was make something to eat (and, okay fine, maybe take down the patriarchy).
In If You Can’t Take the Heat, DeRuiter shares stories about her shockingly true, painfully funny (and sometimes just painful) adventures in gastronomy. We’ll learn how she finally got a grip on her debilitating anxiety by emergency meal–planning for the apocalypse. (“You are probably deeply worried that in times of desperation I would eat your pets. And yes, I absolutely would.”) Or how she learned to embrace her hanger. (“Because women can be a lot of things, but we can’t be angry. Or president, apparently.”) And how she inadvertently caused another international incident with a negative restaurant review. (She made it on to the homepage of The New York Times’s website! And she got more death threats!)
Deliciously insightful and bitingly clever, If You Can’t Take the Heat is a fresh look at food and feminism from one of the culinary world’s sharpest voices.
About the Author :
Geraldine DeRuiter is the James Beard Award–winning blogger behind The Everywhereist and the author of All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts, Marie Claire, and Refinery 29. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, Rand. They are currently working on a cooking-themed video game and ordering too much takeout.
Review :
“Anything by Geraldine DeRuiter is required reading—her sharp, funny observations about food never fail to delight. . . . She expertly dismantles and exposes the patriarchy that underlies so much of contemporary food culture. . . . Following in the footsteps of culinary memoirists such as Nora Ephron and Laurie Colwin, DeRuiter has honed a perfect recipe for the food essay.”—Saveur, Best Narrative Food Books of 2024
“As the title promises, I was sometimes infuriated, sometimes astonished, by what I learned. But, mostly, I laughed at DeRuiter’s humor, which made this book a joy to read.”—NPR, Books We Love
“Whether writing about her affinity for Red Lobster or putting the pieces back together after a terrible kitchen fire, DeRuiter approaches the subject with both wry wit and a sharp tongue. . . . She manages to examine the ways that women are marginalized in the culinary world—and her own anxieties surrounding food—with refreshing candor and a big pinch of humor.”—Eater, “The Best Food Books to Read This Spring”
“Geraldine DeRuiter is wickedly hilarious and tenderhearted, observant and original, and candidly vocal when she sees an emperor with no clothes.”—The Seattle Times
“DeRuiter shares her stories with great candor, while providing important historical and academic research throughout.”—Electric Literature
“Witty does not begin to describe the razor-sharp takes DeRuiter packs in chapter after chapter of this hilarious, astute, and at times heartbreaking memoir . . . you'll find yourself wanting to hug, high-five, and cheer for her as she navigates anxieties and adventures full of food and feminist awakenings.”—Rabia Chaudry, author of Fatty Fatty Boom Boom
“If You Can’t Take the Heat is a hysterical and incisive journey through the world of food and feminism. Geraldine is smart, sarcastic, delightful, and sharper than a kitchen knife. This book is an absolute delight!”—Lyz Lenz, author of This American Ex-Wife
“Feminism, family, appetites literal and figurative, power dynamics, the search for one’s own voice—it’s all here, and more.”—Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of Lady in the Lake
“[Geraldine DeRuiter] writes with directness and laser-sharp observations as she documents her research, unafraid to name names.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Delightfully salty . . . DeRuiter seamlessly blends gallows humor and sharp observation. The result is a witty and empowering volume that will satisfy foodies and non-foodies alike.”—Publishers Weekly
“Funny, irreverent . . . DeRuiter brings her sharp wit to a range of subjects, including family, marriage, the end of a treasured friendship, and the meaning of comfort food.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Hilarious, clever, profound and poignant . . . [Geraldine DeRuiter’s] articulations are sincere and nostalgic.”—BookPage, starred review
