Unforgettable: The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert's Renegade Life

I too, read this book straight through immediately after it was delivered. What a beautiful book in all ways. I was transported into a mesmerizing world—far flung travel, exotic cultures, deep into a love affair with food and spices, the likes of which I could never have imagined. My life is better for having read the story of Paula Wolfert's life, to the present moment in which she lives with Alzheimer's. I appreciate the information the book provides regarding dementia, her diet and her activism. Her impassioned and deeply curious nature combined with the ability to convey the joy of experiencing heightened flavors through ingredients, technique, and stories is unforgettable. Although her recipes were exhaustively researched and composed, I do not fault her one iota for the complexity. There's an ease in reading this book, including the recipes, and the photos are sumptuous. I read nothing out of order as I'm prone to do, as the recipe is part of the narrative. Now that I'm done, I am going back to choose the first recipe to try. Thank you, Emily and all who made this book happen. Thank you, Paula for sharing your life in this ambitious book.

Paula Wolfert is not just a writer of cookbooks. Like only the very greatest of her colleagues, she is a writer about life and about how to live with joy and intensity. Now, as she deals openly and courageously with dementia, she has received a fitting tribute, and those of us who've been inspired by her love for the Big Taste have received a gift, in this labor of love by Emily Kaiser Thelin. The photographs by Eric Wolfinger brilliantly capture the depth and complexity of Wolfert's "bold flavors." The selection of favorite recipes is inspiring , and the interwoven story of Wolfert's "renegade life," right down to the present, is both heartbreaking and heart-nourishing. Food and memory, memory and food. Love. This remarkable book is indeed aptly titled "Unforgettable."

I'm married to a retired American French chef and we have owned Paula's books since the 80s and I'm so over the moon thrilled with this book. details of her early life are just mind blowing that she was such an adventurous spirit and trailblazer makes me want to travel more after reading this biography. The recipes interspersed among the stories are delicious and lovely. Thank you for Sharing your life with us .

This was a former library book. (Yes, I bought it used- many of Wolfert's books are now out of print, and/or expensive in 'revised' editions- and so, only going by the blurbs on Amazon, I wasn't sure that I would like this memoir.) To say this book (and the woman it chronicles) is fascinating, is an understatement. It's a standard memoir, but with recipes tagged on. Unlike Julie Powell's 2005 'diary of an aspiring cook' [Julie & Julia] made famous by the Amy Adams/Meryl Streep film of the same name, Paula Wolfert's fame has largely (if not totally) been confined within the effete and isolationist 'foodie circles' of Manhattan and San Francisco, and among chefs of 'high degree.' Which is, in some ways, a shame. Following in the footsteps of Julia Child's [Bertholle/Beck] oeuvre, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" [ 1961], Wolfert had just married, and escaped to Tangiers during the same period. Her cooking fame didn't really begin until a decade and more later, with the publication of her first book, 'Couscous and other good food from Morocco' [1973]. Since then, she has written/revised 8 other books, spanning 1973-2011. While most of us in that '70's generation were just trying out Wendy's Hamburgers (1969) or Burger King's 'flame-broiled' offerings ('Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce') for the first time, Wolfert was already very far ahead of the culinary curve- sometimes, too far ahead! And that's probably why, though I was already (barely) an adult when 'Couscous' was released, it's taken me until 2020 and COVID to read of her amazing life. The book is a chronology of a cooking detective's life, food obsessions, and recipes from each 'era' of Wolfert's life. While the cover art is quite 'Unforgettable' the writing is quite good, and the pictures and recipes are a visual and gustatory testament to a person whose own life might be the subject for a movie. Would I spend the time, money and special ordering on Amazon all the various spices in these recipes? Probably not. But I will try at least SOME of the recipes in this book, and maybe even order some of those pepper flakes mentioned in a lot of the recipes. If you've mastered Julia's recipes, if Paleo and Keto is starting to be the 'same old, same old' maybe picking up one of Wolfert's books, that talk about the JOY of being a REAL cook, and actually cooking for others, might just be for you.

The book arrived faster than I anticipated, protected in plastic and a cardboard box. Great price, too. I have been a Paula Wolfert fan since discovering "Couscous and Other Good Foods From Morocco" years ago at the library, and then had to go out and buy it. "Unforgettable" is even better than I thought it would be, and I was expecting a lot! I received it yesterday, and although I am in the middle of reading another book, I began to read the first chapter. It is taking me longer than usual, because I also keep randomly looking at all the beautiful photos and reading recipes and marking them for future occasions. What an amazing woman! Thank you Emily Kaiser Thelin for this wonderful book.

What a well researched, well written, thoroughly engaging, portrait of Paula. So well done, Emily, thank you! As a former restaurant critic for one of the largest newspapers in North America, and its food editor, I had the pleasure of spending a few days with Paula in the early 1980s. We dined together, cooked together, and I found Paula's enthusiasm so infectious, and her recipes so sensorially stimulating, that I purchased all the gear needed to replicate her Moroccan dishes after she left town. For a long time, I made b'stilla and many other dishes, which Paula had taught me -- and many of these recipes are in Emily Thelin's masterful profile of Paula. I LOVED this book and congratulate Emily on the achievement. And a big shout-out and digital hug to Paula!

I just finished reading Unforgettable- a biography/cookbook that reads like a novel about the early, middle and later continuing life of Paula Wolfert-written by Emily Kaiser Thelin. Most people probably don't realize that there is couscous and myriad spices, peppers, grains etc. on our shelves due to the indomitable research, intellectual capacity and old fashioned warmth of Paula Wolfert. Through this book, you learn about her one bad eye that made her afraid to use sharp knives; her personal relationships with her parents, grandparents, her husbands, her children and the gazillion chefs and "ordinary" home cooks from out of the way regions who taught her and inspired her. Hugging seems to have been one of her greatest tools! Fast forward to now, and this great cook, author and globe trotter has been diagnosed with Alzheimers. Read how she is dealing with it through diet, meditation and meds; and cry when she asks how to make an omelet. Paula Wolfert does not want us to pity her. She is fighting with every inch of her being and trying to help others as she does so. This book is poignant and inspiring. And btw- there are many amazing recipes and photographs as well! On a personal note, my Father, who died 3 years ago, spent time in North Africa during WW2. As I was reading this book, I could hear him talk about the couscous he enjoyed there. He even bought a couscous pot in the hope that someone would make it for him. Unfortunately, it was given away unused before I was old enough to claim it. Food memories are so powerful. They may prove to be the best medicine of all.

I loved this book so much that after buying a copy as a Christmas gift for my sister and brother-in-law, I ordered the kindle version for myself, too. The pictures are compelling and inviting, the recipes are interwoven for a full meal experience, and the backdrop stories about Paula are touching and inspiring. I highly recommend this --even if you don't cook!

I have been following Paula Wolfert's research and cookbook efforts for quite a while. I do appreciate all of the detail I read in her books, so it was most gratifying to read about her history. It even prompted me to order another book that she published in 1994, "The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean." Both are very good reads.

It is a crime that there aren't more people know about Paula and her amazing repertoire of food writing. "Unforgettable" is a great introduction to the life of a legendary food writer. The book is well-written, filled with details of Paula's colorful journey around the world the past five decades. Emily gets us a frank and no-BS look at the complicated, and often painful, past of her upbringing, health and relationships, ultimately the triumph of resilience, determination and humor over adversities. The book is packed with mouth-watering imagery of Paula's classic recipes, chronologically synchronized with the timeline of her memoir. All the recipes are fool-proof, insanely easy to make and so very Paula. Julia makes cooking fun. Paula makes cooking extraordinary. Extraordinary memorable.

I too, read this book straight through immediately after it was delivered. What a beautiful book in all ways. I was transported into a mesmerizing world—far flung travel, exotic cultures, deep into a love affair with food and spices, the likes of which I could never have imagined. My life is better for having read the story of Paula Wolfert's life, to the present moment in which she lives with Alzheimer's. I appreciate the information the book provides regarding dementia, her diet and her activism. Her impassioned and deeply curious nature combined with the ability to convey the joy of experiencing heightened flavors through ingredients, technique, and stories is unforgettable. Although her recipes were exhaustively researched and composed, I do not fault her one iota for the complexity. There's an ease in reading this book, including the recipes, and the photos are sumptuous. I read nothing out of order as I'm prone to do, as the recipe is part of the narrative. Now that I'm done, I am going back to choose the first recipe to try. Thank you, Emily and all who made this book happen. Thank you, Paula for sharing your life in this ambitious book.

Paula Wolfert is not just a writer of cookbooks. Like only the very greatest of her colleagues, she is a writer about life and about how to live with joy and intensity. Now, as she deals openly and courageously with dementia, she has received a fitting tribute, and those of us who've been inspired by her love for the Big Taste have received a gift, in this labor of love by Emily Kaiser Thelin. The photographs by Eric Wolfinger brilliantly capture the depth and complexity of Wolfert's "bold flavors." The selection of favorite recipes is inspiring , and the interwoven story of Wolfert's "renegade life," right down to the present, is both heartbreaking and heart-nourishing. Food and memory, memory and food. Love. This remarkable book is indeed aptly titled "Unforgettable."

I'm married to a retired American French chef and we have owned Paula's books since the 80s and I'm so over the moon thrilled with this book. details of her early life are just mind blowing that she was such an adventurous spirit and trailblazer makes me want to travel more after reading this biography. The recipes interspersed among the stories are delicious and lovely. Thank you for Sharing your life with us .

This was a former library book. (Yes, I bought it used- many of Wolfert's books are now out of print, and/or expensive in 'revised' editions- and so, only going by the blurbs on Amazon, I wasn't sure that I would like this memoir.) To say this book (and the woman it chronicles) is fascinating, is an understatement. It's a standard memoir, but with recipes tagged on. Unlike Julie Powell's 2005 'diary of an aspiring cook' [Julie & Julia] made famous by the Amy Adams/Meryl Streep film of the same name, Paula Wolfert's fame has largely (if not totally) been confined within the effete and isolationist 'foodie circles' of Manhattan and San Francisco, and among chefs of 'high degree.' Which is, in some ways, a shame. Following in the footsteps of Julia Child's [Bertholle/Beck] oeuvre, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" [ 1961], Wolfert had just married, and escaped to Tangiers during the same period. Her cooking fame didn't really begin until a decade and more later, with the publication of her first book, 'Couscous and other good food from Morocco' [1973]. Since then, she has written/revised 8 other books, spanning 1973-2011. While most of us in that '70's generation were just trying out Wendy's Hamburgers (1969) or Burger King's 'flame-broiled' offerings ('Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce') for the first time, Wolfert was already very far ahead of the culinary curve- sometimes, too far ahead! And that's probably why, though I was already (barely) an adult when 'Couscous' was released, it's taken me until 2020 and COVID to read of her amazing life. The book is a chronology of a cooking detective's life, food obsessions, and recipes from each 'era' of Wolfert's life. While the cover art is quite 'Unforgettable' the writing is quite good, and the pictures and recipes are a visual and gustatory testament to a person whose own life might be the subject for a movie. Would I spend the time, money and special ordering on Amazon all the various spices in these recipes? Probably not. But I will try at least SOME of the recipes in this book, and maybe even order some of those pepper flakes mentioned in a lot of the recipes. If you've mastered Julia's recipes, if Paleo and Keto is starting to be the 'same old, same old' maybe picking up one of Wolfert's books, that talk about the JOY of being a REAL cook, and actually cooking for others, might just be for you.

The book arrived faster than I anticipated, protected in plastic and a cardboard box. Great price, too. I have been a Paula Wolfert fan since discovering "Couscous and Other Good Foods From Morocco" years ago at the library, and then had to go out and buy it. "Unforgettable" is even better than I thought it would be, and I was expecting a lot! I received it yesterday, and although I am in the middle of reading another book, I began to read the first chapter. It is taking me longer than usual, because I also keep randomly looking at all the beautiful photos and reading recipes and marking them for future occasions. What an amazing woman! Thank you Emily Kaiser Thelin for this wonderful book.

What a well researched, well written, thoroughly engaging, portrait of Paula. So well done, Emily, thank you! As a former restaurant critic for one of the largest newspapers in North America, and its food editor, I had the pleasure of spending a few days with Paula in the early 1980s. We dined together, cooked together, and I found Paula's enthusiasm so infectious, and her recipes so sensorially stimulating, that I purchased all the gear needed to replicate her Moroccan dishes after she left town. For a long time, I made b'stilla and many other dishes, which Paula had taught me -- and many of these recipes are in Emily Thelin's masterful profile of Paula. I LOVED this book and congratulate Emily on the achievement. And a big shout-out and digital hug to Paula!

I just finished reading Unforgettable- a biography/cookbook that reads like a novel about the early, middle and later continuing life of Paula Wolfert-written by Emily Kaiser Thelin. Most people probably don't realize that there is couscous and myriad spices, peppers, grains etc. on our shelves due to the indomitable research, intellectual capacity and old fashioned warmth of Paula Wolfert. Through this book, you learn about her one bad eye that made her afraid to use sharp knives; her personal relationships with her parents, grandparents, her husbands, her children and the gazillion chefs and "ordinary" home cooks from out of the way regions who taught her and inspired her. Hugging seems to have been one of her greatest tools! Fast forward to now, and this great cook, author and globe trotter has been diagnosed with Alzheimers. Read how she is dealing with it through diet, meditation and meds; and cry when she asks how to make an omelet. Paula Wolfert does not want us to pity her. She is fighting with every inch of her being and trying to help others as she does so. This book is poignant and inspiring. And btw- there are many amazing recipes and photographs as well! On a personal note, my Father, who died 3 years ago, spent time in North Africa during WW2. As I was reading this book, I could hear him talk about the couscous he enjoyed there. He even bought a couscous pot in the hope that someone would make it for him. Unfortunately, it was given away unused before I was old enough to claim it. Food memories are so powerful. They may prove to be the best medicine of all.

I loved this book so much that after buying a copy as a Christmas gift for my sister and brother-in-law, I ordered the kindle version for myself, too. The pictures are compelling and inviting, the recipes are interwoven for a full meal experience, and the backdrop stories about Paula are touching and inspiring. I highly recommend this --even if you don't cook!

I have been following Paula Wolfert's research and cookbook efforts for quite a while. I do appreciate all of the detail I read in her books, so it was most gratifying to read about her history. It even prompted me to order another book that she published in 1994, "The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean." Both are very good reads.

It is a crime that there aren't more people know about Paula and her amazing repertoire of food writing. "Unforgettable" is a great introduction to the life of a legendary food writer. The book is well-written, filled with details of Paula's colorful journey around the world the past five decades. Emily gets us a frank and no-BS look at the complicated, and often painful, past of her upbringing, health and relationships, ultimately the triumph of resilience, determination and humor over adversities. The book is packed with mouth-watering imagery of Paula's classic recipes, chronologically synchronized with the timeline of her memoir. All the recipes are fool-proof, insanely easy to make and so very Paula. Julia makes cooking fun. Paula makes cooking extraordinary. Extraordinary memorable.

Paula's brother loaned me his copy and I fell in love and ordered this for myself. Love the book and the seller shipped quickly and in perfect condition!!! AAAA+++++

Loved her story and her recipes...all in my book club enjoyed it! Very easy read, light, so you can read other things around it...

What an intriguing, wonderful book! This gives one a glimpse of the colorful, fascinating life of Paula Woffert and the reward of her recipes with cultural insights. Wow! More than any cookbook could offer. Paula Woffert is a treasured human being. Thank you!!!!

Fantastic book. The biography tells amazing stories leading up to each recipe section. Every recipe I've made has been incredibly delicious.

I like the stories that shaped Paula's life and how she evolved in the precise cook we all admire. I liked the illustrations the recepies and the cultural study that Emily Kaiser Thelin made of a period in American cooking.

The story stands alone as a good read of an interesting life, and the recipes add great value and reason for keeping the book near the kitchen. Enjoyable and worthy tribute to Paula Wolfert and her influence on the spread of Mediterranean cooking.

Wonderful book filled with many great recipes and life stories from this remarkable person.

I devoured this book. As a culinary book junkie I have found few biographies that have kept me enthralled as this did. I also devoured the Leblebi recipe with equal enthusiasm and look forward to more. What a lovely woman and a rich life.

This is a great book with great stories. Paul Wolfert was just fantastic and did so much more than so many popular cookbook authors. So many of my favorite recipes came from her.

Put down the phone, the tablet, and computer. Silence the t.v. and the radio. This isn't just a cookbook, it's a movement. At long last we bring the family to the table again and rejoice in the bounty of memories that food offers us.

wonderful reading-great recipes I now use this as a favorite cookbook

My in-laws are quote “foodies”. I struggle to buy them Christmas presents that will inspire and surprise them. They LOVED this cookbook/present!

Nice addition to my cookbook collection. Very informative

An loving review of a great cooking career. The recipes throughout are very well chosen.

beautiful book. a piece of culinary history.

Fascinating story of a great woman chef who is not as generally well known as some others, but had significant impact on top chefs around the world.

Great book. Very well written and interesting read.

Paula Wolfert is the authority on Moroccan food

great read even if you don't use the recipes!

Great cookbook and stories by a really terrific cook!

What a wonderful book and tremendous tribute to Paula Wolfert.

Perfect

Excellent discovery of this wonderful cook and her interesting life.

This book is extraordinary. Not only is the text fascinating but recipes are included to illuminate each chapter. This book is well-written, fast paced, and brings to light the tragedy that is Alzheimer's (Ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox may not have the answer but his current research into tangle diseases is compelling.) This is a book for cooking but also for reading about a life well-lived at a time when the exploration and appreciation of international flavors was emerging in the US. Why it wasn't picked up by mainstream publishers is a true mystery! Kudos to Emily Thelin.

Enjoyed reading the book.

I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this book! So well written. Love the stories, the recipes, the beautiful photos. This needs to be a bestseller.

Just terrific! I have been a Paula fan from the get-go.. For those of you who will be taking Unforgettable into the kitchen, protect the cover. Sponging off food stains causes water damage. Oh well, won't be the first.

Unforgettable : The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert's Renegrade Life is a wonderful, extraordinary book. It's a foodie biography with certain special recipes, a must have for any serious cook. I have all of Paula Wolfert's books , she is a cooking legend, and this book is a wonderful, special edition a must have for any serious cook. I'm so fortunate that I had a Morrocan cooking class with Paula about 12 years ago at SM SLT. I'm bowled by this by beautiful, and very special book.

A Fitting Tribute a Work in Progress. Starting with the introduction, you know you are in good hands. Emily Thelin knows her subject and clearly admires her but this isn't simply gushing. It's the real deal. Wolfert's story is enchanting and you can sense her enthusiasm as the story builds. There are a lot of details about Wolfert's life that are new to me (I am a gushing fan) and it's like learning secrets about an old friend. The recipes are strong and I think the highest compliment is that my 15 year old son picked up the book and and made sandpot mushrooms this morning. Her Alzheimer struggle is very real and moving but more inspiring than anything. If Wolfert's books have seemed a little disjointed as she goes from Morocco to Spain to France and then clay pots, Unforgettable puts it all in context. I can't imagine not loving this book.