Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America

Review
"Taste Makers introduced me to the life stories of extraordinary women and offered me an invigorating history of cooking―as life's purpose, as pleasure, as political act―in America. Mayukh Sen writes with great heart and a spirit of vibrant inquiry to give us a magnificent book."
― Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning
"Reading Taste Makers is a lot like enjoying an amazing meal: It surprises you, fills you, and you're sorry when it's over. Mayukh Sen has crafted something truly special, a book where women's stories take center stage."
― Jessica Valenti, author of Sex Object: A Memoir
"Mayukh Sen isn't the first to write about women who made significant cultural contributions while being undervalued during their lifetimes, and even more so in death. But he does it in such a way as to make you think he might be the first. He is acutely aware of the cliches that have come to inhibit the genre, and he both challenges and upends them."
― Charlotte Druckman, editor of Women on Food
"A gathering of voices that's altogether necessary, radical, heartfelt, and intimate."
― Monique Truong, author of The Book of Salt
"A fascinating and impeccably researched book. Taste Makers is a joyous celebration of the cooks whose lives have enriched so much of our cooking and eating."
― Nigel Slater
"A beautiful, engaging, and long-overdue book, one which highlights some of the best-known and most influential cooks of the recent past as well as some whose names are not as familiar but should be. An invaluable book that’s also a pleasure to read."
― Mark Bittman, author of Animal, Vegetable, Junk
"Taste Makers is beautiful. Mayukh makes the American kitchen feel vast, interconnected and full of wonder – never insular, small-minded or cold – and weaves together these undertold stories with unmatched care and respect. He's a masterful chronicler of American cooks and cooking, and we're lucky to have this book."
― Ruby Tandoh, author of Eat Up!
"Through meticulous research and broad insight, Mayukh Sen follows seven immigrant women who crashed the gates of the U.S. food establishment in the twentieth century. Taste Makers is essential history for understanding American food’s current reckoning with inclusion and diversity."
― John Birdsall, author of The Man Who Ate Too Much
"In this dazzling debut, James Beard Award–winning food writer Sen looks at the lives of seven remarkable immigrant women whose passion for their homeland’s food transformed how Americans cook and eat... A vibrant, empathetic, and dynamic exploration of culture, identity, race, and gender... Thoughtfully written, Sen’s portrayals of his subjects reveal how rich and nuanced being 'American' can truly be. Food lovers with a big appetite for knowledge will gobble this up."
― Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A must-read for those interested in culinary or women’s history and the evolution of American cookbooks."
― Library Journal (starred review)
"Making a lively book debut, James Beard Award–winning journalist Sen, who teaches food journalism at NYU, celebrates the accomplishments of seven immigrant women who defiantly introduced new tastes, ingredients, and recipes to their adopted country...Well-crafted, engaging portraits of culinary and cultural pioneers."
― Kirkus
"Through his seven portraits, Sen restores a missing part of American culinary history, drawing on interviews, reviews and menus to create a compelling story about the love of food, the pull of the tastes of one’s homeland, the delicious pleasure of sharing the richness and complexity of your most cherished recipes with strangers at your table."
― Nilanajana Roy, Financial Times
"Mayukh Sen is an award-winning darling of the food journalism world, and Taste Makers, his first book, is both a necessary addition to the food-writing canon and a lovingly crafted work of women’s history."
― Rosa Cartagena, BitchMedia
"Taste Makers is a great springboard for discovering cookbooks written by immigrant women