The Best Cook in the World Audiobook By Rick Bragg cover art

The Best Cook in the World

Tales from My Momma's Southern Table: A Memoir and Cookbook

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The Best Cook in the World

By: Rick Bragg
Narrated by: Rick Bragg
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From the beloved, best-selling author of All over but the Shoutin', a delectable, rollicking food memoir, cookbook, and loving tribute to a region, a vanishing history, a family, and, especially, his mother.

Margaret Bragg does not own a single cookbook. She measures in "dabs" and "smidgens" and "tads" and "you know, hon, just some". She cannot be pinned down on how long to bake corn bread ("about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the mysteries of your oven"). Her notion of farm-to-table is a flatbed truck. But she can tell you the secrets to perfect mashed potatoes, corn pudding, redeye gravy, pinto beans and hambone, stewed cabbage, short ribs, chicken and dressing, biscuits, and butter rolls. The irresistible stories in this audiobook are of long memory - many of them predate the Civil War, handed down skillet by skillet, from one generation of Braggs to the next.

In The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg finally preserves his heritage by telling the stories that framed his mother's cooking and education, from childhood into old age. Because good food always has a good story, and a recipe, writes Bragg, is a story like anything else.

©2018 Rick Bragg (P)2018 Random House Audio Diets, Nutrition & Healthy Eating Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Food & Wine Gastronomy Memoir Heartfelt Southern Cooking

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Critic reviews

"Wonderful, rollicking, poignant, sometimes hilarious tales about how generations of Bragg’s extended family survived from one meal to the next." (USA Today)

"This book is a tribute, a monument, to his mother and her people, captured here in solid recipes for good food...All the stories in this book... gleam with a special luster; they’ve been polished by time, and no one is meant to get hung up on the details." (The Wall Street Journal)

"A beautifully written memoir... For readers who crave soul with their recipes this is a fitting tribute to foodways that are fast escaping." (Library Journal)

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Evocative Storytelling • Authentic Southern Voice • Heartwarming Family Memories • Rich Cultural History • Perfect Pacing
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Highly recommend 👏

Audio version is read by the author which adds authenticity due to his accent and pronunciation of colloquial words and phrases.

I was raised in the Tennessee mountains. His recipes are the food I grew up enjoying.

His mother is my mother except she never said potato. 😉

Takes me back to a sweeter time

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It might seem odd to have a cookbook on audio, but this is an author who needs to be heard. I will be buying the hardcover as well and expect many splatters and smudges on its soon to be used pages. A delight.

Bragg Has to Read Bragg

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Having grown up in Appalachia and watched the wonder of the older ladies cooking without measuring cups I was always amazed at the wonders they sat down at dinner..Loved the back stories and the recipes..well written and read:) Loved Loved

Like going home...

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Half way through, this is one of the most entertaining books ever, and the narration is awesome. I grew up in Appalachia, and this book unleashed a flood of memories of my Grandmother, who went through the depression as a widow with 8 children, husband killed in a sawmill accident, living off what you raise for yourself. The food is what folks lived off of, and remember many of the dishes myself as a young boy, visiting Grandma.

Not even done yet

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What can I say about the pure joy of having a friend - albeit a one-sided friendship - who walks along with you and tells you magical stories about his mama and his people? You can't wait to start listening, but you realize with each listen you're getting closer to the ending and I dread that.
I want to thank Rick Bragg for bringing me along as he tells his stories... the joy, the heartbreak, the honesty, the beauty of his people. I feel like I'm sitting at the table. And, most especially, thank you to his Mama for sharing her recipes. I will do my best, but I know my attempts won't be anywhere near as good as her creations...I just won't have the "feel of it".

Thank you

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I enjoyed everyone minute of this book. Rick Bragg is the perfect narrator and his stories about his people…OUR people (southerners) are the best.

So much more than a cookbook

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I really enjoyed this book. The author is also a wonderful narrator, he brought to life southern cooking and as his momma says, "our people". It made me think of stories I heard my grandmother tell, and I can't wait to try the biscuit recipe to see if it tastes like the ones she used to make.

Loved every minute!

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We have this book in audible and hardback
copy and love both. I have read most of Rick Bragg's books and enjoyed everyone. We have seen Rick Bragg in person once as he presented his latest book (September 2021) at the Fairhope, AL bookstore. Keep writing Rick! We love you!

Great Stories and Recipes

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The words put together to tell these stories are a work of Art! They paint a picture that the listener can almost see, feel, and taste! Thank you!!!

excellent book!!!!

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I loved the stories of a family with indomitable spirit and generous hearts. The purchase of both the audio book and then the book itself will ensure that I too can create some of Bragg’s Momma’s recipes. Many of the recipes were very much like what I have eaten at my mother’s table and I hope to pass those magical dishes down to my daughters. I’ve been inspired to start a collection of my Momma’s recipes to pass along part of my family’s history. What an enjoyable and poignant set of stories paired with recipes of a bygone era! Loved every minute!!

The author’s soft, mellow, southern voice is absolutely delicious!

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