Save Me the Plums

The title of Ruth Reichl's book pays homage to William Carlos William's poem, This is Just to Say, a confessional note written by a husband who fears the plums he has eaten were being saved for something special.   Although it didn't start out that way, Reichl's ten years as editor-in-chief at Gourmet magazine was a plum job.  Sweet. Juicy. colorful and, at times, messy.

Reichl writes so honestly and wistfully that I feel I know her.  I feel like I can call her Ruth - which I will.  Her story is one of those humble beginnings tales.  Ruth never knew which mother would be waiting for her after school, the manic mom who once randomly bought a new house and a boat to park in front, or the depressive mother who took to her bed and read the same book for days on end.  As an escape, Ruth's father took her on outings around New York, most often including scrounging through dusty used book stores.  It was there, at age eight, that Ruth discovered Gourmet magazine, and was immediately taken by the rich photos, stories of exotic places, and very strange foods.

She grew to be a textbook example of a happy hippie, but eventually turned corporate working as a food critic for the New York Times.  When an offer to be the new editor of Gourmet magazine (before the acting editor even knew she was being replaced!) Ruth didn't exactly jump.  She knew nothing of editing. Change and challenge frightened her but the encouragement for others convinced her to make the move.

Ruth reinvented the magazine, turning it from something pretentious marketed to a certain class of refined consumers, to a palatable read for, well, down home folks like us. Eventually, sadly, the heavy hand of Internet publications issued the final knife cut and gourmet ceased publication.  

The book is fun for Food Network TV viewers and anyone interested in some inside baseball type stories about big business publishing.  There's plenty of name dropping throughout, but that was Ruth's world.  She schmoozed a lot, she ate well; she laughed often and she loved it.  

OK...I'm going to be trite here and suggest that you take a bite out of this quick, delectable story (and those words alone should tell you why I write for fun and not for profit....in addition to the fact that I cannot get over my love for parentheticals).

Thanks for stopping by.