Book Review: The Gallery of Regrettable Food

Continuing with last week’s food theme,  today Ron reviews a book that recently caught his eye.

Being a child of the 60′s and 70′s I can easily see how modern life (and food paradigms) have changed over the years. Which is what made The Gallery of Regrettable Food by James Lileks so much fun for me. It’s a wonderful catalogue of those dishes from the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s, which is complete with beautiful photographs, of some awful food. Foods that were considered chic and modern in their day, that would now be considered inedible and awful. For instance, when was the last time anyone had the nerve to serve a Jello mold type salad to company, let alone at a family meal? And there’s a couple of full chapters on Jello through the decades. With some truly errr ummm inspired creations. And it also poses the question of how did one actually cut into one of those multi-layered concoctions without the whole thing collapsing?

There are also some reproductions of ads through those decades, some frequently urging housewives on “How to please their men” through cooking. And urging the use of their products for some odd combinations  of foods. The epitome of which is the Ketchup Pistachio Cake. There are also whole chapters on the use of 7 UP in cooking, and of the varied uses of A-1 sauce.

And a whole chapter where “Aunt Jenny” tells you how to save your marriage by cooking with Spry (brand of vegetable shortening no longer made). The author writes with a tone that is both tongue-in-cheek, and surprisingly respectful of the prevalent attitudes of the time frame covered. And one that is wonderfully, dreadfully funny. The book is loosely organized around a series of cookbooks from the 50′s, and 60′s .

The Gallery of Regrettable Food is  Highly Recommended by me for anyone who’s a true foodie (like me) or a “student” of the decades of the 50′s through the 70′s. As it’s a wonderful culinary time capsule. Or anyone who wants to see the foods that their parents and/or grandparents remember fondly. One warning though, as some of the pictures, ok the food itself, can be somewhat unsettling to modern sensibilities.