CHOWDER RULES!

Tomato or potato?

When Manhattan chefs had the gall to insert tomatoes into the classic New England clam chowder recipe, Maine politician Cleveland Sleeper took umbrage and action, drafting an attention-getting bill to require that “anyone caught poisoning the chowder cauldron with tomatoes will be forced to dig a barrel of clams at HIGH TIDE.” Colorful, whimsical illustrations and energetic, suspenseful text relate Sleeper’s culinary concerns with drama, humor, and gusto and show how a feud developed. Before the bill could be filed, a Philadelphia restaurateur challenged Sleeper’s personally selected chef to a duel, which resulted in a media frenzy and eventual answer to the question of which soup was really the best. This lighthearted look at local politics, cooking, and loyalty to tradition shows how, in a simpler time, showmanship, economics, and politics merged. (Maine clam chowder was a major tourist attraction, and Iowa, a producer of tomatoes, objected to government interference in cooking.) Though a bit scanty in detail—when this occurred (1939) is not mentioned until the endnotes, for instance—this quirky examination of tradition, food, and law presents a comic taste of state history and provides a background for consideration of media and politics as well as competition and cooking shows. Sleeper and other named characters present White; some people of color appear in illustrations. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 74.3% of actual size.)

A lighthearted look at the art and soul of a recipe.