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Book Summary and Reviews of Three Many Cooks by Pam Anderson, Maggy Keet & Sharon Damelio

Three Many Cooks by Pam Anderson, Maggy Keet & Sharon Damelio

Three Many Cooks

One Mom, Two Daughters: Their Shared Stories of Food, Faith & Family

by Pam Anderson, Maggy Keet & Sharon Damelio

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Readers' Rating (47):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2015, 336 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

When the women behind the popular blog Three Many Cooks gather in the busiest room in the house, there are never too many cooks in the kitchen. Now acclaimed cookbook author Pam Anderson and her daughters, Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio, blend compelling reflections and well-loved recipes into one funny, candid, and irresistible book.

Together, Pam, Maggy, and Sharon reveal the challenging give-and-take between mothers and daughters, the passionate belief that food nourishes both body and soul, and the simple wonder that arises from good meals shared. Pam chronicles her epicurean journey, beginning at the apron hems of her grandmother and mother, and recounts how a cultural exchange to Provence led to twenty-five years of food and friendship. Firstborn Maggy rebelled against the family's culinary ways but eventually found her inner chef as a newlywed faced with the terrifying reality of cooking dinner every night. Younger daughter Sharon fell in love with food by helping her mother work, lending her searing opinions and elbow grease to the grueling process of testing recipes for Pam's bestselling cookbooks.

Three Many Cooks ladles out the highs and lows, the kitchen disasters and culinary triumphs, the bitter fights and lasting love. Of course, these stories would not be complete without a selection of treasured recipes that nurtured relationships, ended feuds, and expanded repertoires, recipes that evoke forgiveness, memory, passion, and perseverance: Pumpkin-Walnut Scones, baked by dueling sisters; Grilled Lemon Chicken, made legendary by Pam's father at every backyard cookout; Chicken Vindaloo that Maggy whipped up in a boat galley in the Caribbean; Carrot Cake obsessively perfected by Sharon for the wedding of friends; and many more.

Sometimes irreverent, sometimes reflective, always honest, this collection illustrates three women's  individual and shared search for a faith that confirms what they know to be true: The divine is often found hovering not over an altar but around the stove and kitchen table. So hop on a bar stool at the kitchen island and join them to commiserate, laugh, and, of course, eat!

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"More prose than cookbook, this work will be enjoyed by cooks and noncooks alike. The 26 recipes are easy to follow (though not always simple) and most are forgiving of substitutions (e.g., this cheese for that, store-bought pie crust for homemade). The book's highest readership will be found in libraries where cookbooks circulate well." - Library Journal

"A scrumptious pairing of nourishment and familial devotion." - Kirkus

This information about Three Many Cooks was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Laurin B. (Appleton, WI)

Oh, What a Beautiful Book!
This memoir from a former Cook's Illustrated test-kitchen cook and the two daughters she raised is truly a beautiful read! Three story tellers; one fluid point of view. "Is that even possible?", I thought at the outset, but now I know it's not only possible, but it is essay and memoir literature at its best!

Great anecdotal retelling of real life events connecting these three women leading up to a luscious recipe is the formula here for suspense and intrigue - wondering how this story will lead to a dish I know I'll want to cook and then finding it impossible to eat that dish without recalling the warm story that lead me to that satisfying end point!

A special treat is learning the back story of a true test-kitchen cook of a magazine I've adored, subscribed to and and learned from for years. That is certainly not the center of this graceful literary offering, but it is an unexpected payoff!

Where will this book end up on my shelf - with my favorite cozy reads or my best go-to cookbooks? Firmly right in the middle, I would say!

Laurette A. (Rome, NY)

Three Many Cooks is just right.
This book was not only enjoyable to read, but the recipes shared by the authors are worthy of making...they provide a wide variety and none are too complicated. I loved the way they shared little bits and pieces of their lives with the readers too. I feel it's a very honest book and one you will remember not only for the recipes but for the family stories, long after you've put down your fork.

Debbie-Lyn C. (Kitty Hawk, NC)

Three Many Cooks
Three Many Cooks is full of life's philosophies in relation to food! My heart was touched when reading about another family who also wraps so many events around food, much as my family does. Especially memorable sections include bring your own food BYOF policy, "caring less about perfection and more about connection", "gift of thrift", "savior complex" . My copy of Three Many Cooks will become dogged eared as it is passed from family member to family member!

Robin N. (La Quinta, CA)

A comfort food book and a cozy feeling read
I really really enjoyed this book written by a cooking mom and her two cooking daughters. I loved the recipes but I equally loved the story of their lives growing up as sisters and as daughters. I am Episcopalian so I totally related to their upbringing and their relation to the church. The book is joyful, full of wonderful stories of growing up, sisterly tiffs and awkward moments. Multiple generations are featured and you wish you had such a warm and loving family. No family is perfect but you feel like you are right in the middle being a part of it. It's a family of sisters I would have liked (I am an only child). Some of the stories growing up are hilarious. And at the center of it all is the ritual of cooking glorious food and sharing in the prep and eating. Loved this book!

Shawna, (TX)

Food, Family, & Memories
If you enjoy a great recipe and a story to go with it, Three Many Cooks is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Book clubs with "foodies" would enjoy the discussion food plays in our lives - both for sustenance and it's ability to bind people through shared experiences. A feel good read that will have you thinking about your family's favorite meals.

Priscilla K. (San Antonio, TX)

Three Many Cooks
This book (and recipes) share the closeness of a mother and her two daughters in the kitchen. The kitchen is their main source of living - with family and friends. The recipes are good and simple. I don't agree with all their drinking because I'm a non-drinker but a glass of wine with dinner is okay but not more than that. The two girls, though they had sibling rivalry, grow up mature and great cooks which includes their participating husbands. Good book to read - simple and entertaining.

...18 more reader reviews

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More Information

New York Times bestseller and author of seven books, Pam Anderson is AARP's official food expert and a Runner's World contributing columnist. She is the former executive editor at Cook's Illustrated. She and her two daughters, Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio, are the voices behind the blog Three Many Cooks, featured in several national publications, including Woman's Day and Redbook. Anderson lives in Connecticut with her husband.

Maggy Keet graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in English literature and sociology. After several years in the social-work field, she went back to school, graduating with a master's degree in globalization and international development from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. After living in Malawi and building a maternity clinic, she moved with her husband, Andy, to New York City where she now works fund-raising for Haiti.

Sharon Damelio graduated from Williams College with a degree in English and classics, and spent the next two years working at Fine Cooking magazine as assistant web editor. She recently graduated from Yale Divinity School with a master of divinity and now works at a nonprofit in Atlanta that provides programs and services to homeless and near-homeless individuals.

Visit them at threemanycooks.com

More Author Information

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