Jeffrey Steingarten is a witty, honest, funny writer who is truly dedicated to a cause close to all of our hearts – cooking, eating and enjoying food. The lengths this man will go to, to seek out and try a new food experience or get a recipe right has had me doubled over in hysterics on many, many occasions. So, when I found out that he had interviewed American Vogue’s August cover girl, Gwyneth Paltrow, whose cookbook, My Father’s Daughter will be published next March for that very issue, I knew that this was a read not to be missed!
As reproducing the entire article online would take away the fun of flipping through the pages and reading the article yourself, here is the first part – to help whet your appetite:
One day a few months ago, I was told that Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow had written a cookbook, and I was asked if I would like to write about it. After all, food is my field. Eating is my business. The idea was that I would spend some time cooking with Paltrow. As you might imagine, this could be a perilous assignment. If I discovered that Paltrow’s cooking was all pretense or, even worse, not very good to eat, I’d be trapped. She was scheduled for the August cover. Nobody would care to read a story disclosing that Gwyneth Paltrow is a bad cook. I would need to lie. But in sharp contrast to my everyday behavior, I never lie in my writing, and I certainly wouldn’t want to start now. The whole idea was impossibly risky.
Gwyneth Paltrow as shot by Mario Testino for the August edition of American Vogue
Gwyneth looking glam while cooking up a feast!
I love the expression of pure happiness on Gwyneth's face here
Lost in a sea of cooking books one imagines!
