Food and Country

Deploying humor and emotion, this penetrating, character-driven story gives us a different take on American culture and society, through the eyes of Ruth Reichl. A trailblazing NY Times food critic, a groundbreaking Gourmet Magazine editor, a best-selling memoirist, and for decades one of the most influential figures shaping American food culture, grows concerned about the fate of small farmers, ranchers, and chefs as they wrestle with both immediate and systemic challenges as the pandemic takes hold. Reichl reaches across political and social divides to discover innovators who are risking it all to survive on the front lines. As one person leads her to the next, she follows the unfolding stories of ranchers in Kansas and Georgia, farmers in Nebraska, Ohio, and the Bronx, a New England fisherman, and maverick chefs on both coasts. As she witnesses them navigate intractable circumstances, Reichl shares pieces of her own life, and in doing so, begins to take stock of the path she has traveled and the ideals she left behind. Through her eyes, we get to know the humanity and struggle behind the food we eat. In her own words: “How we grow and make our food shows us our values as a nation and as human beings.”