Save Me the Plums : My Gourmet Memoir

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *; Trailblazing food writer and beloved restaurant critic Ruth Reichl took the job (and the risk) of a lifetime when she entered the high-stakes world of magazine publishing. Now, for the first time, she chronicles her groundbreaking tenure as editor in chief of Gourmet.

‘;A must for any food lover . .

.Reichl is a warm, intimate writer. She peels back the curtain to a glamorous time of magazine-making. You’ll tear through this memoir.’Refinery29(The Best New Books of April 2019)

When Conde Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America’s oldest epicurean magazine, she declined.

She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone’s boss. Yet Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no?

This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul.

It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat. Readers will meet legendary chefs like David Chang and Eric Ripert, idiosyncratic writers like David Foster Wallace, and a colorful group of editors and art directors who, under Reichl’s leadership, transformed stately Gourmet into a cutting-edge publication. This was the golden age of print mediathe last spendthrift gasp before the Internet turned the magazine world upside down.

Complete with recipes, Save Me the Plums is a personal journey of a woman coming to terms with being in charge and making a mark, following a passion and holding on to her dreamseven when she ends up in a place she never expected to be.

Praise for Save Me the Plums

‘;Poignant and hilarious .

. . simply delicious .

. . Each serving of magazine folklore is worth savoring.In fact, Reichl’s story is juicier than a Peter Luger porterhouse.

Dig in.’The New York Times Book Review

‘;In this smart, touching, and dishy memoir . . .

Ruth Reichl recalls her years at the helm ofGourmetmagazine with clear eyes, a sense of humor, and some very appealing recipes.’Town & Country(The Must-Read Books of Spring 2019)

‘;If you haven’t picked up food writing queen Ruth Reichl’s new book, Save Me the Plums, I highly recommend you fix that problem. . .

. Reichl is in top form and ready to dish, with every chapter seeming like a dedicated behind-the-scenes documentary on its own.’Soleil Ho,San Francisco Chronicle