Book Review of The Hundred-Foot Journey, by Richard Morais

I've been in-between the pages of The Hundred-Foot Journey now for a month, and I've cooked anything it's inspired for me. So today I bid goodbye (finally, and without remorse) to this novel by Richard Morais…

Below you will find my book review, and rating of this novel.

The Hundred-Foot Journey
By Richard Morais
(Non-Fiction)

       This was the first book I’ve read in this category, and it’s also the first book I’ve read based so heavily upon food. Richard Morais’s The Hundred-Foot Journey is a story greatly centralized around the burgeoning growth of Hassan Haji - a budding young chef in his family’s clan. Morais focuses heavily for the first half of the novel upon the Haji family’s relationship with that of Madame Mallory a Michelin star chef 100 feet across from their newly established Indian restaurant.

       The three most prominent characters in this whole novel are Hassan, Abbas, and Madame Mallory. Hassan is by far the most centric character in The Hundred-Foot Journey as this book is largely taken from his first-person narrative, and we get to experience his journey as a young teen to an older man in the end. Abbas is the true old-fashioned patriarch, and he truly plays the part through every bit of his interactions. By far the one character that really led me to believe that hey were real was Madame Mallory. The insight that Morais gives us into Madame Mallory’s life is insightful, and totally relatable for those of us that have lost out time and again on something we hold dear. It also highlights the nature of our own personal beasts that we tend to harbor and grow like a cancer when we are not at peace with our own selves.

       Madame Mallory is also relatable in regards to how she is willing to admit wrongs done, and the capability of making amends in her own way. It is through her development as a character that we see Hassan develop from a fledgling chef in his own family’s restaurant to Madame Mallory’s student of traditional French cuisine. As Hassan grows more with his skill as a chef, it becomes more prominent that he has now outgrown the teachings of Madame Mallory and a new direction for him becomes clear. This change from Lumiere to Paris however is where I found The Hundred-Foot Journey to begin its lapse from engaging, to tepid.

       The spice of The Hundred-Foot Journey was with characters back in Lumiere, from Madame Mallory, Abbas, and the rest of the Haji clan. Unfortunately Morais took Hassan and stopped developing him personally as a character - instead focusing on his development as a chef. Morais treated Hassan more like a kitchen instrument that cooks the food, as opposed to a character in his own right. Or that at least is how I felt. To be honest I felt so disappointed, like I had been in a spicy relationship, only to have it’s flavor cooked out as opposed to honed.

       The other thing that really killed this novel for me was Morais poor execution of narrative. The Hundred-Foot Journey starts out as a first-person narrative, but then becomes a third-person narrative when needed. Sadly the third-person narrative of Madame Mallory is truly the only real character development he was able to execute through the novel. To me it was a shame because I’ve read novels before based on first-person narrative in which the character is amazingly developed, as well as any other characters they interact with. I could just be biased, but character development for me is the number one thing that I find important in a novel.

       At most an author could have poor grammar, some crappy clichés, and dead sections but as long as the character is engaging it covers up such basic errors. Instead Hassan’s lack of character only accentuates Morais’s constant run-on sentences, and poorly chosen sexual innuendos.
       In the end, I still can’t shut out how much I liked the first half of this novel. It was engaging, colorful, and vibrant. In the end though a strong start doesn’t finish out a novel, it’s really every aspect that makes or breaks you. Richard Morais is a talented writer I’m certain, but for me this novel really didn’t do it for me. If you want a novel that is entertaining at parts, an easy read for those boring days, and something that makes you want to cook - then pick up a copy of The Hundred-Foot Journey. To me it’s been shelved in my “Not to Read Again” list...

My rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars.

If any of you have read this book, I'd love your thoughts. Do you feel that I'm way off the mark in my review? Or did I touch upon some of the things that you may have found lacking as well? 

I'd love anyone's thoughts and feelings on this book, as I love to see what other people caught that I didn't.

If any of you haven't read the book, and don't think you will then you can get some aspect of it in the movie's rendition of The Hundred-Foot Journey. 

After I finished this novel, Ricky and I went to see the movie (come on it's Steven Spielberg!) Like most movie adaptations of books - it was different, but highly enjoyable all the same. 

I'll leave you all with a trailer just in case! (Sometimes it's never bad to skip a book and just go to the movies.)

Spicy Beef Stew for the Chilly Autumn Days Tomorrow!

Hello everyone!
Today is an amazing fall day. I wish I could post a video on here of some of the activity going on around my neighborhood, but then I'd be broaching into a separate category of what this blog is about. Yet it's just so amazing watching all the squirrels in our backyard run around and get ready for this winter. They've been burying nut caches in our raised bed gardens as of late, and it really makes me think that this may be a pretty bad winter. If anything means that I'm going to be cooking more crock-pot meals because it's something that helps permeate the house with a warm, nostalgic aroma. (Then I can curl up under a million blankets while it's cooking!)

I decided to cook a Spicy Beef Stew tomorrow for The Hundred-Foot Journey. (Yes it's the last meal recipe!) I think it's fitting, and I also believe that it's great for these cooler fall days. (As I say that the wind just picked up…)

"It was lovely to see your sister again, after so many years. She was so good to us, when we just showed up unannounced at the door. So kind to the children. And my, can she cook! Ooh la la. Just as well as you. She gave us dinner. Délicieuse. A spicy beef stew, thick and gooey, perfect for the chilly night. And so different from our boeuf Bourguignon." (Morais 237-238).

See even Margaret from the book mentions what a great dish this is for chilly nights! (Trust me we'll be needing it!)

I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of (rather immensely) excited for the fall and winter this year. I've never lived in a beach community that almost shuts down in the off season, and Ricky and I are rather excited to experience it. I also think it's going to be great baking in this house. Which reminds me, I plan on baking a small cake or treat of some sort that is reminiscent of The Hundred-Foot Journey. That will be made for probably Wednesday which is when I'll be posting my book review. This time I truly mean to post a baked treat, unlike my failure at Apricot Almond Pastries…

So come scope out my Spicy Beef Stew tomorrow, and get yourselves ready for Wednesdays book review and baked goody!

Tomorrow I'm Making Ratatouille!!

First of all let me just start by saying the following: thank you for all of you that have now started following Cook and Books, or have shared my blog through your own sources. It means a lot to me and I appreciate the support. So thank you!

I know that my posts have lately been shortened in regards to context, and I truly don't mean to neglect my writing just because I may not have liked what I've read. Therefore I promise from today onward, that even if the book I'm reading is something I ultimately despise, I will still write good content to make it worth while. Hell it will probably just highlight more of my sarcastic tendencies. (Something my Professors said I could never eliminate from term papers...) 

So in this regard I bequeath to you a more detailed description of the meal I'm cooking tomorrow and how it ultimately ties back in to The Hundred-Foot Journey!

"Tomorrow we throw out our menu, everything we have done for the past nine years. All the heavy sauces, all the fancy dishes, they are finished. Tomorrow we begin afresh, entirely. From now on we are only going to serve simple dishes at Le Chien Méchant, dishes where the most beautiful and freshest ingredients speak for themselves." (Morais 203-204).

I absolutely love this about Hassan, because he finally is going back to his roots. This was the first time in this part of the book that finally invigorated me again. Personally this section really touched upon me in an interesting way because it made me think of Maine. I know you may be wondering how a book taking place in France can make me think of Maine - but it has to do a lot with Maine's (specifically Portland's) strong local food growth. There are a quite a few restaurants popping up that believe firmly in the concept of farm-to-table dining now, and to me that's amazing. (And difficult to implement here on off-season.) 

To me for Hassan to finally touch back on the roots of pure simple cooking was huge because it finally brought into him a sense of character. Something I find lacking in him as a whole. 

I chose to cook Ratatouille because Ricky and I have a lot of homegrown tomatoes that need to be cooked, and also because the ingredients are in season here in Maine. I wanted to keep in the realm of what this passage had a deeper meaning to - therefore this dish is going to be implemented.

I hope you all tune in tomorrow to see how my Ratatouille comes out. (I plan on making it look more like the one from the movie Ratatouille.)

A Cornish Hen Tomorrow - Merci!

For the love of God, am I glad I finished The Hundred-Foot Journey today… I've already begun typing up my review of the book, which I shall be posting Wednesday of next week. (You'll get to hear my sarcastic rating!)

Since we aren't yet there for this review, then I would like to move on to what my next dish is - a Cornish Hen for Friday's dinner. 

"Paul's Partridge in Mourning, as I named the dish, was the highlight of the evening, as the papers reported the following day. Up until that point, I was, I must confess, trying to hide my terror of performing before such a demanding audience, but the generous comments I received from my table suggested that my risky menu had paid off. In particular, I took great joy in seeing Le Comte de Nancy - who always called things as he saw them, was in fact capable of an insincere remark - tearing a bread roll apart with great gusto before lunging in to mop up the last smears of juice." (Morais 211-212).

I know - I'm not cooking a partridge… (You try finding one at a regular grocery store.) The recipe that Hassan made is actually based off a hen dish - he substituted partridge instead, thus I shall substitute back to hen. (It all comes full circle anyway.) 

I've actually made a cornish hen before, and I do love how it's a perfect meal for two people. Half a hen each, and there's really no difficulty determining how to do a "serving" size. I have the worst time shrinking recipes down for two people, and because of that I tend to waste food sometimes. (At least it makes great compost!)

So tune on in tomorrow evening for Cornish Hen! I'm personally excited to make Cornish Hen again, I love baking dishes in my oven. 

What to Cook Tomorrow - Especially When Uninspired…?

Hi everyone… I knew this was bound to happen at some point. I have a current lack of inspiration, and I'm not sure what's to blame - be it an insipid section of The Hundred-Foot Journey or just Autumnal Blues? Whatever the case may be, I still have no true inspiration for tomorrow's cooking. Yet I always turn to a rule of mine when these things happen, cook what's going to go bad… (Boy do I have a lot of stuff that's about to go bad…)
As you may imagine, I'm going to have a bunch of things thrown together tomorrow, and I find that I'll probably be making Bruschetta. (I know it's so easy!) Another reason I'm not feeling up to making another meal tomorrow is for another simple reason - leftovers, leftovers, leftovers. (Anyone wanna come over for dinner?)

One thing I'm grateful for right now though is that it's feeling more like Fall. Ricky and I bought some awesome decorations for Halloween, and no we have not put them up yet. (It's too damn early!) However at a local market we did grab two bunches of freshly cut corn stalks - they'll age beautifully through the fall season. (They'll also make excellent compost.)

You may be wondering why I'm mentioning the grateful feelings that I have - or hell you may not care (I wouldn't if I didn't know someone!) There is a reason though as to why I mention it, and it's because I am absolutely dreading reading the last section of The Hundred-Foot Journey… I don't really want to delve too much into it because I'll be reviewing it next Wednesday, but I'll be so disappointed if I feel like I've wasted time on this last half of the book. (For nothing…)
Let's just put it this way - my next book may have to be a Fantasy novel or something to bring back the oomph into my reading.

Have no fear though! The cooking will go on for another week for this novel, and there'll be a review next week as well for those of you wondering why the hell I'm dreading the last quarter of Morais's novel.
Tune back in tomorrow for a guaranteed Bruschetta, and who knows what else!

Crock Potting a Lamb Stew for Tomorrow!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the late post - tonight was Ricky's sister's birthday dinner at the family's. His dad even lit off some fireworks for us all - they were great for the unseasonably cool night tonight. (No really, it's unseasonably cold.)

Tomorrow's recipe is a little different than the one in The Hundred-Foot Journey, mainly because we can't just go out and buy meat such as rabbit at a grocery store. Ricky came up with the idea however of buying lamb because it has a similar taste to a gamey meat. The reason why I'm choosing to make this rendition of a recipe is due to the similarity of the first time Hassan made a dish for his family's kitchen and it was complimented. This is the first time Hassan makes a dish solely on his own in Madame Mallory's kitchen, and in the book he's making a hare stew.

This may not seem entirely like a compliment - but coming from Madame Mallory this truly was a change for Hassan's status in the kitchen. 

Mine won't truly be a game dish - however I hope that you all will come back for a recipe that I whip up tomorrow. It's going to be a crock pot meal - perfect for a chilly Football Sunday. (Also perfect for lazy individuals.)

Aphrodisiac Oysters for Tomorrow Night

Hello all, sorry for the late post this evening.

Ricky and I just failed a State of Maine exam tonight and needless to say we needed to go drink a bit at the Great Lost Bear this evening. (Sorry for random misspellings - I'm sure you'll figure out why!)

I have no freakin' clue what the hell I'll be making tomorrow - the only certain thing is that it'll involve oysters! Why oysters you may ask? Because that was precisely what Madame Mallory secretly tested Hassan with after he started working at the kitchen. I'm not joking when I say it took up like four pages of just straight oyster talk. (I mean seriously.)

I double checked the amount of oyster talk - it was only two full pages about it. (But still.)

As you may also have noted, the way this book hit me this week I'm not nearly as much of a fan of The Hundred-Foot Journey as I was when I first started. I still think it's a great read, but I'll leave the rest about this on a book review sometime in a couple of weeks. If anyone else has read this I'll hope you chime in and let me know what you think.

Anyway I'm also losing in my Fantasy Football Team right now, and I must at least go watch the game tonight. Nothing beats failing a test like coming home to see your fantasy stud player walk off the field injured to boot.

PS: I promise this will be the last mopey post for at least another month, I'm entitled to one dammit.

See you guys tomorrow!!

Tomorrow is Apricot Almond Pastry Day!!

Wanna know a secret? I've never (not even once) baked a pastry! I've baked cakes, muffins, bread, and cookies - just not pastries. I've no idea why, there are so many really nice pastries out there. Therefore I jumped at the first opportunity to make the Apricot Almond Pastries that Madame Mallory bakes Hassan.
I'm not going to completely elaborate, but I will say this is the very first thing Madame Mallory does to right things with the Hassan's family. I found that these simple pastries opened up the door for an important eye-opening revelation for Madame Mallory. In doing this it has thus far changed the momentum of the book - granted it will never truly fix her mistakes in the first sections, but it is a start.

I don't really have a recipe for the pastries I'm making tomorrow, I have a general idea so I guess we'll all be in the same boat when I make them tomorrow.
I'm excited to bake for a while tomorrow because it has finally cooled down here in Maine, and compared to the heat we had just a few days ago it's almost freezing. I also believe firmly that I'm just a pansy when it comes to seasonal changes in temperature… I do know though that yesterday evening Ricky and I caved in and placed our feather down duvet on our bed. Yep, it's only September - I value comfort however over "seasonal" norms.
A nice hot stove baking away tomorrow though, sounds infinitely nice…

Chicken Tikka Masala Tomorrow? I Think Yes!

Tomorrow ladies and gentlemen, is the much awaited Football Sunday of the season! It works out great as well because I have Chicken Tikka Masala on the menu. I may or may not alter the chicken so it comes out crispier for Ricky to enjoy while we watch the games… I guess you'll all discover which one I do once I figure it out too!
I don't want to give away too much about what the significance is with but it's important!

I hope I didn't leave you guys aching for more with that quote or anything… You know? I do know though that maybe it will make you all intrigued enough to read the book! You guys can still catch up I'm only on page 134 now! If you're still unsure though you can still wait for the book review when I have finished this one. I should have that done in about a couple of weeks.

I will say this though, I absolutely love love love masala! Needless to say I'm already hungry for tomorrow nights dinner. I think another reason I'm looking forward to it so much to though is because it's friggin Football Sunday! (God how I've missed you NFL…)

Now that I am at the half way point though for this book, does anyone have suggestions for me to read? Any books that anyone wishes someone would review? Or any ideas in general for me to read that is something outside of the realm of fantasy or science fiction? I'd love your thoughts! Spill 'em to me in the comments section below or email me!

French Food for Tomorrow!

I'm officially introduced to Madame Mallory from The Hundred-Foot Journey now.  I will say damn what a spit-fire old woman! I do not want to start giving away little tidbits about her now just yet! I want to give a full review later when I've completed this novel!

For Friday I will be cooking a French dish - not to French just yet mind you… However it will be a little taste of France (I hope). I'm going to make the following dish - steak with frites (fries), and a beet salad! (The beets are grown from someone in Ricky's family!)

I know this may not seem too French to some of you, however I found that this simple meal was a nice introduction to Madame Mallory's establishment - Le Saule Pleureur. It also helped unlock something in Hassan that he never quite mentioned since leaving India.

I'm still not 100% sure what I'm going to make for the steak (or the cut of steak), but I know that it'll be perfect for my dinner tomorrow night with Ricky. (Plus grilling in nice weather is a plus for both of us!)

PS: In case anyone cares, tonight the Seahawks are playing, and I want everyone to know that I hope I kick everyone's butt this week in my two fantasy leagues!

Cooking Italian Tomorrow for The Hundred-Foot Journey!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend, I know I certainly did! (Sorry if you didn't cause then that post just seems mean.)

I'm glad today wasn't a cooking day because the recipe I have planned for tomorrow would've been way to hot to make with the humidity. (60% dew points - uncomfortably humid.) The recipe I have for tomorrow involves cooking a risotto which isn't just as simple as regular rice. Arborio rice takes time to soak in the liquid and become properly cooked through before it's done. In other words I'm just glad today wasn't a cooking day…

I have decided to make a non-Indian dish however because of the importance the event had for Hassan and his family. I'll be making a Mushroom Risotto for tomorrow night's meal, and maybe just a side salad.

The reason why this food is important is because of events that have transpired thus far in The Hundred-Foot Journey wherein Hassan's family has left India. They have now been traveling through Europe for a substantial amount of time, and this little bit of Italian food is from an event that became important. (I won't be dropping any hints so don't ask!)

I believe that experiencing together differences that normally might make things difficult on our own, will bring together that which was once feeling broken even though it was never truly mentioned. Hassan's family bonded together again over the meal they had in Tuscany, and thus opening a new chapter in their lives. (You should all read the book to see what the hell I mean, no?)

Tomorrow will be my Mushroom Risotto, and then Wednesday I am taking a day off from posting. (I do need one day off a week you know!) Thursday I'll touch base again and let you all in on my recipe plans for Friday, Sunday, and Monday!

Pre-Cook Post for Tomorrow!

I want to first start off by saying this post may seem sporadic, with random off topic sentences, and this is because tonight is Fantasy Football Draft Night Part 1. Yes Part 1. In this family we are signed up for two fantasy football leagues - the off-season was too long this year… So when draft day is here I'm pretty much thinking in terms of QB's, RB's and WR's right now.

Yet I really would like to introduce the next recipe I'll be cooking for tomorrow night before Fantasy Football Draft Part 2!

I chose to cook something that Hassan's family makes at their restaurant - that ironically also is named after Hassan himself. It's called Hassan's Dry Chicken. There's a few reasons why I chose this recipe: it's importance, football draft night, and I had chicken (which I really need to cook).

There is a section in the book that I've taken a quote from, it may be simple but it really hit's close to the development of young Hassan as a future chef.

This was to me an important part - after all Hassan's still young in this section of the book. To make a suggestion to a dish, and then to have that dish become popular says something about Hassan's abilities.
I'm not particularly sure how I'm going to make this one yet, but I think this one may be a tad different then the books description. (Draft's in forty-five minutes!)

I hope you all will catch back up with me tomorrow evening as I post about this dish! It may be later than last night's post, tomorrow's draft is at 8:30PM. I'll make sure no matter what that I post tomorrow!!

Cooking Tomorrow for The Hundred-Foot Journey

Hello all, this was kind of an easy section of this book to cook for! Food is at the soul of this book thus far, and Hassan (the main character) even describes things in relation to food at times - often resulting in funny analogies. (Or I'm just immature).

I've decided to make on Friday a dish mentioned on the very first page of The Hundred-Foot Journey: Machli Ka Salan (Spicy Fish Curry). 

I feel that this meal was of important significance to the character Hassan and therefore there's just no way for me not to use it as the first dish I've cooked.

This quote is how we are introduced to our narrator from the beginning of this book, and from there it becomes a world full of food to be enjoyed.

Now I've never made fish before (never, not even once) so this will be a new venture for me. I know my boyfriend Ricky is going to have to help me cook the fish, otherwise I can picture firetrucks rushing down the street as I burn a fillet on a frying pan… Yes hello neighbors, we're new - have some burnt fish for dinner with us?
In addition to that I'm personally not a fan of fish (I.E. I friggin' hate it) but I shall try this because I can't blog about a recipe I don't even touch. I know Ricky will love it, he hates how I don't know how to cook fish - it'll be an adventure definitely.

Now I'm off to venture for ingredients for my cooking endeavor tomorrow, and I hope you all check back in on Friday evening (probably late, like really late) to see how my version of Machli Ka Salan turns out!

Book Intro: The Hundred-Foot Journey, Richard Morais

I decided I was going to start out easy with this new blog - after all I am still reading Harry Potter. Yet that doesn't mean I want to skimp out on what content I want to read myself and post about.

I don't know how I stumbled across this book, I know that a long while back I had bought The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard Morais when I was out at a local book store in Portland. I never read it though, let's just call it bad timing. Never buy more books when you're about ready to move out of an apartment. Because I'm pretty sure that I had packed this book into the Goodwill donation box by mistake. 

Now that the movie came out recently in theaters (no I haven't seen it yet!) it reminded me of how I had purchased this book so long ago and not been able to find it. 

So lo and behold I bought this book on my Kindle in about thirty seconds - and thus far have been devouring it in the past hour.

The best thing too is how this book will introduce the wonderful style of Indian cooking in my household. I can already imagine some of the dishes I'm going to cook up for us this coming week!

Here's a short synopsis from Amazon on The Hundred-Foot Journey for those of you that would also like to read this book now. At the end I also plan on publishing my own review per completion of this novel.

The Hundred-Foot Journey

By

Richard Morais

"That skinny Indian teenager has that mysterious something that comes along once a generation. He is one of those rare chefs who is simply born. He is an artist." And so begins the rise of Hassan Haji, the unlikely gourmand who recounts his life’s journey in Richard Morais’s charming novel, The Hundred-Foot Journey. Lively and brimming with the colors, flavors, and scents of the kitchen, The Hundred-Foot Journey is a succulent treat about family, nationality, and the mysteries of good taste.
Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumière, a small village in the French Alps.
The boisterous Haji family takes Lumière by storm. They open an inexpensive Indian restaurant opposite an esteemed French relais—that of the famous chef Madame Mallory—and infuse the sleepy town with the spices of India, transforming the lives of its eccentric villagers and infuriating their celebrated neighbor. Only after Madame Mallory wages culinary war with the immigrant family, does she finally agree to mentor young Hassan, leading him to Paris, the launch of his own restaurant, and a slew of new adventures.
The Hundred-Foot Journey is about how the hundred-foot distance between a new Indian kitchen and a traditional French one can represent the gulf between different cultures and desires. A testament to the inevitability of destiny, this is a fable for the ages—charming, endearing, and compulsively readable.