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The Food Philosopher's® Guide to Epicurean Delights

By Claudia Pillow and Annalise Roberts

THE FOOD PHILOSOPHER'S® GUIDE TO EPICUREAN DELIGHTS IS A
cookbook that inspires. It inspires people to think and talk about food, eating, and their own lives. It encourages them to plan and cook meals, and then sit down to enjoy eating with family and friends. It is a cookbook in which thoughtful prose, carefully constructed recipes and insightful how-to's unite to capture the attention of readers. It nudges its way into their consciousness and grabs hold to involve them in a way other books cannot.

The Food Philosopher® concept was developed by two sisters who collaborated to produce compelling food-related lore, in a variety of media, that speaks to today's hunger for improving how we eat and live. Increasingly, Americans are grappling with eating challenges that involve social, psychological and nutritional considerations. Issues range from how to eat healthy, time management for preparing and serving a meal, to having the confidence to share that meal with others. The Food Philosopher® brand provides coaching to help individuals and families face these challenges, especially the need to manage busy lifestyles that restrict our ability to nurture ourselves and others.

For the two food philosopher sisters, the great common denominator in life is food. It is a manageable ingredient in people's daily lives. Unfortunately, they observe that in many stressed American households there is a rise in isolationist eating, where there is no bonding around a table, no sharing of information or ideas. A recent article in the New York Times quoted Marion Nestle, chairwoman of the department of food studies at New York University and author of "Food Politics: How The Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health" , as saying, "There are still some die-hards that are doing it the old-fashioned way where everybody sits around the dinner table and talks to each other, but increasingly I think it's just easier for people to have a kind a laissez-faire attitude about it."

When people are deprived of the social and psychological aspects of eating, relationships suffer and day-to-day routines become shallow and stale. People need to savor food and take time to nourish the body as well as the soul. It is what makes us human. As Dr. Robin Fox, University Professor of Social Theory at Rutgers University, remarked, "All animals eat, but we are the only animal that cooks."

But are we cooking? Obviously, not as much as we should. In 1998, 47% of the food dollar was spent on food away from home, compared with only 30% in 1965¹. Are we properly nourishing our bodies? Probably not, considering that two out of every three adults and one out of every six children are overweight². Are we nurturing our souls? Doubtful, since antidepressant use in America has never been higher and one out of every eight children takes antidepressants.³ How can Americans reconnect and restore meaning to their lives?

First and foremost, people need a reason to cook. The Food Philosopher's® Guide to Epicurean Delights provides a collection of delicious recipes that nurture the body, comfort the soul, and enrich the quality of everyday life. The cookbook explains how the process of preparing and eating food is the glue that helps bind family and friends together. Readers learn to "do for oneself," to nourish themselves and those around them.

Second, the authors provide the reader with a "system" to manage food-related decisions in order to get control of the permanent hurry syndrome that has overtaken so many households. The "system" helps to simplify and balance life.

Finally, this book of 152 time-tested recipes will provide readers with the confidence they need to plan, prepare, and serve delicious meals to family and friends. The authors' favorite recipes can become the foundation for a reader's own repertoire, one that can be personalized and updated for years to come.

This cookbook is not about being perfect—a professional chef or a celebrity. Nor is it about a place or ego. It is about believing that what and how we eat affect our quality of life.

1 USDA Food Review, Volume 23, Issue 1 January- April 2000
2 Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002
3 US Drug Enforcement Administration, 1998

©2002 by Claudia Pillow and Annalise Roberts

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