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A Woman's Place: The Inventors, Rumrunners, Lawbreakers, Scientists, and Single Moms Who Changed the World with Food

by Stef Ferrari
>Ahluwalia, Deepi & Jessica Olah (illus.). Little, Brown. Mar. 2019. 192p. illus. index. ISBN 9780316452243. $25; ebk. ISBN 9780316452250. COOKING
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Life & Thyme columnist Ahluwalia, with senior editor Ferrari, takes us on a trip through history to discover women's influence on cooking. Short profiles of major figures are divided into three sections: Innovators, Instigators and Inventors. Innovators include Malinda Russell, author of Domestic Cook Book (1866), "widely believed to be the first cookbook by an African American." Instigators feature the Haenyeo, from the Korean island of Jeju. These women dive for seafood with just a mask, flippers, and a weight belt. Inventors highlights Sister Mary of Jesus de Agreda and the San Antonio Chili Queens. Other entries include Girl Scouts of America, Betty Crocker, and Ruth Graves Wakefield, the woman behind Toll House cookies.
VERDICT This diverse gastronomic overview would especially interest high school students for possible projects. The illustrations by Olah and list of further reading complement the text and make for an entertaining way to learn about women in culinary history.
Reviewed by Barbara Kundanis, Longmont P.L., CO , Feb 08, 2019
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