Read to Eat

Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure

The Jamisons have spent their married life traveling the country teaching cooking classes, contributing food and travel articles to major magazines, and writing numerous award-winning cookbooks. Not a bad gig at all, in my estimation. In 2005, they took time off for a cook's dream of a vacation – eating their way around the world on their accumulated frequent-flyer miles. Their newest book collaboration presents a chronicle of their epic excursion, with a chapter for each of the 10 countries on the itinerary – Bali, Australia, New Caledonia, Singapore, Thailand, India, China, South Afri­ca, France, and Brazil. As they set out to "eat the world," we witness the Jamisons on their second honeymoon in Bali; arriving in India just in time to experience the celebration of Diwali, the Festival of Lights; enjoying winery tours in Australia; repairing damage caused by the indignities inflicted on their traveling companion, Flat Stanley, by a rogue monkey; taking a safari in South Africa; and getting reacquainted with the proprietors of a lovely family inn in Provence. There is informative discussion of the detailed planning of the trip, and each chapter concludes with travel contact information for the hotels and restaurants they visited, plus a recipe for a favorite dish from that portion of the trip. Tales of the Jamisons' delightful culinary adventure made me wish for an abundance of frequent-flyer miles and a like-minded traveling companion of my own.