#5SmartReads - August 31, 2022
Abigail on celebrity chefs going public, ambition, and the first restaurant critic of color at the LA Times
Today’s #5SmartReads contributor is Abigail! Abigail is the Brooklyn based founder of This Needs Hot Sauce and the coauthor of Meal Prep Made Simple, a meal prep ebook designed to reduce decision fatigue and help you make delicious meals (preorder it here). She loves long walks, library books, and Wegmans ginger seltzer.
Get Z Is Driving Sales Of Romance Books To The Top Of Bestseller Lists (NPR)
Are you on BookTok? I am and I am sometimes overwhelmed by the sameness of the recommendations. I am glad that Gen Z is into books and that the stigma around reading romance is getting smaller (romance is great) but there are more than two authors! I hope that the BookTok community can grow and spotlight diverse authors. I've seen a bunch of TikToks recommending Bolu Babalola's Honey & Spice, a book I loved and I hope the trend continues.
From Hitha - my wise friend and romance author Nisha had some smart things to say about this piece on TikTok - give it a watch:
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The Public Life Of The Kardashians’ Private Chef (New York Times)
Private chefs are having a moment (is anyone else watching Wishbone Kitchen?) and it's interesting to see chefs like Chef K grow their public profiles after years behind the scenes.
The line between celebrity and content creator is ever blurry and it's so interesting to see high profile clients encourage their teams to share on social. We all love a peek behind the curtain.
5 Smart Kitchen Cleaning Tips From High-School Food-Science Teachers (Kitchn)
My high school didn't offer food science or home economics (I wish it had) but I love a good cleaning tip.
I recently lost my sense of smell due to covid and I cleaned my fridge without a sense of smell, which was a good idea!
What Comes After Ambition? (Elle)
Ann Friedman has influenced my thoughts on ambition and career trajectory for years, on the Call Your Girlfriend podcast, and as an independent newsletter writer.
Her piece about the ambition being focused on quality of life and reducing burnout is a must read and will resonate with many.
To my fellow millennials who read Lean In in college, this hit home.
The First Restaurant Critic Of Color At The LA Times (Los Angeles Review of Books)
Patricia Escárcega was the first restaurant critic of color at the LA Times.
She left her job after a pay dispute in which she was paid only 2/3 of her white colleague's salary, even though they had the same role and expectations. Her work at the paper was important, spotlighting mostly immigrant owned restaurants that rarely get the coverage they deserve.
I loved learning more about her background and her upcoming projects—the paper made a huge mistake in not paying her what she's worth.