My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes) (2024)

Who should read this book:
1. People who like to cook
2. People who like NYC
3. People who like Berlin
4. People who like the Italian countryside
5. People who wish they could live in Paris, even if just for a little while
6. People who like happy endings
7. People who don't mind a little navel-gazing in the pursuit of a narrative
8. People who do not appreciate how fortunate we are to be able to get collard greens, chile peppers and tamarind sauce in just about any grocery store here in the US
9. People who obsess about figs, currants, leeks, bitter greens or plums
10. People who want to know the trick to (a) roasting a goose and/or (b) making flaky pastry crusts
11. People who have always wanted to celebrate Christmas in Germany
12. People whose parents are going through a divorce so that they can see there may be sunnier days ahead for their family
13. People who send their kids to a nanny/day care so that they can see that there can be benefits as well
14. People who wish they were bi-lingual
15. People who recognize the value of maintaining good friendships, even across miles of distance
16. People who want a book that is not too heavy or hard to read, which is rewarding, and which they can finish in a long weekend if a comfy chair and fireplace are available.

Albeit that I have definitely appreciated the included recipes and also do very well understand author Luisa Weiss' feelings of disjointedness with regard to what constitutes her home, her Heimat (as like her, I am often homesick for Germany or rather Europe when I live in Canada but also do not ever feel even remotely at home in Europe, and when visiting or living there, really always do miss North America as well), personally, I have to sadly admit that I have indeed found My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (With Recipes) mostly a rather tedious reading slog, as I simply have not all that much liked (and yes, been massively frustrated by) Luisa Weiss' constant whining and intense self-centredness. For honestly, everything in My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (With Recipes) seems to totally and utterly be and revolve about Luisa Weiss and only Luisa Weiss, about her feelings, her attitudes and really, it does seem as though everything else should be cast aside.

And while I am certainly happy for Luisa that at the end of

Not a bad or horrible reading experience

I think this author probably does food blogging better than she does personal memoir. The recipes at the end of each chapter were the best part of the book- even though a lot of them were for things I don't see myself attempting anytime soon (roasted goose, elderflower syrup). She even managed to avoid, for the most pary, the condescending foodie voice that I loathe in many blogs and cooksbooks (eg. "For this part of the recipe, I use *insert exotic brand* of *insert exotic ingredient* which I buy from *insert exotic specialty shop*"). Though I do have to mention one slip in her recipe for abbreviated Greek salad, where she smugly implores: "whatever you do, no balsamic, I beg of you". Yes, I flipped through the whole book to find that line, because for some reason it enraged me. If you're going to be so insistent that I don't use it, tell me why at least!

Anyway, the memoir itself is the boring story of rich-white-girl problems. Written way too tidily as a happily-ever-after story. Including a sign from the universe that was a flock of pigeons.

Also, I'm required to disclose that I received an advanced copy of this book through firstreads.

Oh dear, I wanted to like this book, which, like A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table is a memoir by a food blogger writer. Sadly, although both books cover similar territory--a memory, a recipe, a wedding--this one deeply lacks Wizenberg's sense of humor and light touch, and this author spends much of the book wringing her hands over one decision or another. I found her level of anxiety off-putting and felt that her life story was being told a bit prematurely before much has actually happened in her life. I should have guessed that I was not the right demographic for this book when I realized that the climax of the book was going to be a marriage proposal and then planning for a wedding. Sigh. Even though Weiss's writing is quite competent, that particular plot is just not exactly page-turning stuff unless it is written with a bit more humor by, say, Jane Austen.

I was eager to read this book before it came out because I thought it would be a modern German cookbook. How wrong I was! I'm not sure how to label this new sub-genre of chicklit (foodie memoir with recipes?), but for what it is it's OK. Very similar to 'I Loved, I Lost, I made Spaghetti' and many others like it. I guess Ruth Reichl really set the template with her autobiography, but Ruth is really an amazing writer.

Luisa is very likeable - she seemed like someone you'd want to be friends with. And her quest for a 'home' and confusion over where she should be comfortable are interesting. However, I thought that her text read a little flat - while I enjoyed her love story, I knew where it was going about 1/3 of the way through the book. She had a tendency to tell us more about feelings actions rather than showing them or allowing the story to unfold. While in some places this was almost like being told a story by a friend, in others I realized that's not how I like my books to read. We almost could have done with richer, longer autobiographical sections and maybe slightly less repetition or detail.

The recipes are good, easy to follow and include helpful notes. They're kind of an ethnic mix, though most of them could be put into rotation for decent single cook, though they're not all family friendly.

I'm not sure how I feel about this kind of book anymore - the field is becoming too crowded and a lot of the stories are starting to blur together. This isn't helped by most of the authors being somewhat likeable foodies who find themselves (and love) while cooking. But for what it is, this book is a pretty good representative of the genre - it's not bad, but it's not Ruth Reichl.

I truly, truly hated this, and think this book represents everything that sucks about blogging, and more specifically book deals that grow out of blogging. The author simply does not have a compelling story. Her life has been relatively mundane - which is fine, but certainly not worth writing about. However, even if this had just been a boring story, that would have been alright with me. What killed me was that the author THINKS she has a super compelling life story. She came across as overprivileged, whiny, and self-absorbed. She's like - I grew up in Berlin! and Boston! oh no - I have so many sides, I'm so complex! No one understands me! Where do I belong! I'm so indecisive because I'm always pleasing everyone! I had a dinner party, but I cooked fancy food that didn't resonate with my soul! oh no! must go back to my roots! Boo. Boo. Double boo. and utterly, utterly teenage drama boring. The story seemed to suggest that having divorced parents, and at times feeling discontented with your job/significant other/living situation is the greatest burden that anyone can possibly bear. Also, newsflash, quitting your kind-of-not-that-impressive-job and moving back to the city of your childhood to be with your post-college sweetheart is not that brave.

Most annoyingly (because I read this for the food aspect, not for her lame attempts at "finding herself") her food writing was incredibly amateur (like hey! I just learned about adjectives!). We get it, the berries are always like jewels, everything is "studded" with its various components, and you lustily consume things. Also, a lot of her descriptions were just kind of disgusting - slicks of sauce, things sticking in her throat. eew.

Blog-to-book adaptations can be hit or miss; luckily, this one joins Julie Powell’s Julie and Julia and Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life in the winners column. Raised in Berlin and Boston by her American father and Italian mother, Weiss felt split between her several cultures and languages. While she was working as a cookbook editor in New York City, she started a blog, The Wednesday Chef, as a way of working through the zillions of recipes she’d clipped from here and there, and of reconnecting with her European heritage: “when I came down with a rare and chronic illness known as perpetual homesickness, I knew the kitchen would be my remedy.”

After a bad breakup (for which she prescribes fresh Greek salad, ideally eaten outside), she returned to Berlin and unexpectedly found herself back in a relationship with Max, whom she’d met in Paris nearly a decade ago but drifted away from. She realized they were meant to be together when he agreed that potato salad should be dressed with oil and vinegar rather than mayonnaise. After a tough year for Weiss as she readjusts to Berlin’s bitter winters and lack of bitter greens, the book ends with the lovely scene of their rustic Italian wedding.

Weiss writes with warmth and candor and gets the food–life balance just right. I found a lot to relate to here (“I couldn’t ever allow myself to think about how annoying airports were, how expensive it was to go back and forth between Europe and the United States … I had to get on an airplane to see the people I love”) and – a crucial criterion for a foodie book – could actually imagine making most of these recipes, everything from plum preserves and a Swiss chard and Gruyère bake to a towering gooseberry meringue cream cake.

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story By Luisa Weiss Thank you Goodreads for sending me such a wonderful book. "It takes a village to raise a child" a phrase coined by Mrs. Clinton. There were so many people in Luisa's life that influenced her and her special talents, cooking was her forte. She even had a blog and many followers. One parent was in the US and the other in Germany. When she was an adult she flew back and forth from Germany to the US. What's so great about this book are the receipes and how they connected to events in her life. I loved the story and the receipes, which guided you to the finished result.

Não sei se é por ter estado em Berlim há menos de um mês... se é por já estar a preparar-me para lá passar umas semanas no Natal... se é por me ter encantado pela cidade... se é simplesmente pelas receitas culinárias... a verdade é que adorei cada momento que passei a ler este livro. Achei-o um encanto, um doce!
Não conhecia a autora nem o seu blog (embora adore "coscuvilhar" blogs de culinária) e não tinha ideia nenhuma do que esperar do livro. Apenas sabia que era uma mini biografia, género que muito aprecio e que falava de culinária e de uma cidade que me toca de muitas formas: a minha filha vive lá há 8 anos, tenho um genro alemão e acima de tudo é uma cidade repleta de História... nem sempre no seu melhor sentido, mas ainda assim uma respira História!
A partir destes dois ingredientes, a escrita da autora fez o resto! É uma escrita simples e fluida que tem o dom de nos transportar com extrema facilidade para os cenários que tão bem descreve. Leva-nos de uma Berlim recém unificada a uma América livre, a uma Itália repleta de campos cheios de luz, sol e uma gastronomia divinal... dá-nos a conhecer uma Alemanha cheia de tradições (a autora nasceu na Alemanha filha de pai americano e mãe italiana). E tudo isto acompanhado por incríveis receitas que nos são apresentadas pela autora quase como os seus estados de espírito! Cada receita que nos apresenta está ligada a uma situação que viveu, reflecte o seu estado de espírito, mas também nos transmite o amor com que foi confeccionada, até porque para que uma receita resulte é preciso usar uma grande dose de amor! E isso a autora faz na perfeição.
No entanto também tem os seus momentos maus e de repente vemo-nos solidárias com os seus medos, as suas faltas, as suas indecisões e decisões...
Uma das coisas que mais me atraiu foi a sua busca pelos ingredientes perfeito através dos mercados e lojinhas, ao mesmo tempo que nos levava a descobrir uma cidade cheia de vida! Deu-me vontade (mais do que a que já tenho) de explorar e conhecer melhor Berlim!
Só uma coisa me deixou um pouco triste: não estar ainda editado em Portugal para poder "obrigar" todas as minhas amigas (e alguns amigos) a lê-lo! Porque vale a pena! É tão doce!
É um livro que aconselho a quem gosta de viagens e gastronomia! Dois ingredientes de luxo, num livro só!

All I needed was a fabulous food memoir to break me out of my book slump. And a love story to boot! THIS is what a food memoir should be like! Think Laurie Colwin, David Lebovitz, Gesine Bullock-Prado, Elizabeth Bard--all great food writers whose memoirs I loved. Weiss takes us along the path of her divided childhood--Brookline, Massachusetts and Berlin, Germany--and the food memories that went along with that. She sometimes quickly fast forwards through parts of her life, but stops in parts where food played a big role. She’s honest to a fault when it comes to describing her failed engagement or how scared she was to leave New York to live in Berlin for what may or may not turn out to be a good idea. My heart ached for her as she describes her parents divorce at age three and the split feeling she’s felt most of her life, with her father moving back to the U.S. and her mother living in Germany, and being shipped back and forth during holidays and vacations. The feeling was palpable and I couldn’t help but think her parents were selfish in their own desires as opposed to doing what was best for their daughter. Her writing is easy breezy and you feel like you could sit down with her over a cup of tea, a nice pastry, and have a great talk.

That said, I had a few quibbles. She didn’t go into great detail into things I wanted to know about. How did her blog go from one reader to thousands? How did she get a book deal so quickly? How did she finally make friends in Berlin? She talks about these difficulties, then ends it with a pat sentence. “Click by click, people soon started to find my blog. First there were a handful, and then a few dozen, and then there were hundreds and thousands.” “A day after sending it [book proposal] out, an editor at Viking called my agent and told her she wanted to make a deal.” A little too easy breezy in her explanations, here.

I also found three or four misspellings. As a writer and editor myself, in this century when we still have physical editors and spellcheck, these sorts of errors in a book are unforgivable.

I always wonder about someone in their 30s writing a memoir; I tend to be a traditionalist and think memoir writers should have lead at least a longer life. But Weiss makes it work.

**I recieved this book free through goodreads firstreads!**

There is something wonderful about getting to read a book before it's officially released....it's like being let in on a juicy secret! And this was a wonderful secret!

Firstly, let me say that I do not know how to cook. If it's not frozen with instructions on the box, I'm absolutely lost. But ironically I like to read about people who can in fact cook.

Luisa Weiss however, makes me WANT to learn how to cook. The way she weaves her memories around certain foods and recipes has inspired me to try and give my own children some of those traditions.

"Be brave." That she was. I can not imagine my family living more than a quick car ride away, let alone scattered across the pond. The way Luisa took control of her life through trial and error is amazing. I wish I had her courage.

I loved the cover art - it's appealing yet simple (and actually looks like my handwriting on the cover!)

Overall, the best words I can think of to describe this book is COZY and COMFORTING. The fall/winter season is a perfect time to release it as it made me want to put on fuzzy socks, make a pot of tea and curl up under a blanket (even though this is the hottest time of year!) I only wish Luisa had included some simpler recipes for those of us who are cooking/baking challenged!

This was one of the better written food memoir books. It would have been interesting to better understand why she moved to the U.S. with her father when she was three, rather than staying in Berlin with her mother. Most mothers wouldn't let their ex-husbands take their children to a foreign country, so I wonder what was going on there.

She also seems to want to move back either to the U.S. or to Berlin every few years, which makes me wonder if, in a few years, she is going to tell her husband she needs to move back to the U.S.

The publisher states this is a good read for those who loved JULIE AND JULIA and I agree. A memoir about a woman who returns to her home town of Berlin to make a new start. She was inspired by Little House on the Prairie books which always warms my heart.

I'd heard great reviews about this book from the foodie bloggers I follow. It was good but not as good as I was expecting. And I'm not sure I'd try any of the recipes - not really my style of cooking. A nice love story though...

Wonderful story about an Italian American woman, raised in Berlin and Boston and her search for home and happiness through food and cooking. Really enjoyable read.

MMD Reading Challenge - A Book about a topic or subject you already love.

This truly is more of a lovestory only speckled with culinary anecdotes throughout, culminating in a truly marvellous sounding wedding in Italy. (The DREAM).
I would have expected some more foodie tidbits and more about the blog, all in all it was a nice read and since this is Luisa´s personal story, who am I to judge her life - buuuut I must say some of it felt a bit boring to read, there is something missing in the writing at times and it's not as immersive as I'd hoped.
Another thing that annoyed me, because of me myself and I and the slightly ocd-way I consume books: one or two recipes were printed at the end of all the (short) chapters, that I felt compelled to read and ugh, reading recipes you are not really interested in is not that much fun, let me tell you.
Speaking of which: there were surprisingly few things I feel like I want to cook from this, so much seemed way too iffy and time-intense?! What happened to keeping things nice and simple?

An okay and sweet book but I believe there are far better food memoirs out there (gonna try Ruth Reichl soon!)...

This is a very easy, engaging book. I enjoyed the snippets of the author’s life and I look forward to trying several of the recipes.

I think my favorite type of memoir might just be ones like My Berlin Kitchen where a chef or food enthusiast waxes poetic about their most treasured meals and recipes, filling the pages with personal anecdotes and "insider" tips. I get that these kind of memoirs aren't for everyone - after all, they aren't fast paced and not much happens other than cooking, baking, eating and the occasional trip to a local farmer's market. But I love them, especially when they're as well-written as this one was. I found myself feeling sad as I neared the end of the book, disappointed that my time with Luisa was coming to an end. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes that were included and will definitely be checking out her blog.

This is subtitled "A Love Story (With Recipes)" and that's basically the gist of the book. But it's actually not just a love story in the traditional sense. It's the love she has for family and friends, the love she has for cooking (and for books!) and the love she has for her two hometowns---Berlin and Boston.

Obviously I connected to her love of books but I also connected to the way that she felt torn between her two selves, the European self and the American one. The only real problem with her life is the fact that no matter where she is, she's missing people and places. There's no way to have everything and everyone she loves at the same time.

I'm not sure why I love memoirs about food so much because I hate cooking. In the case of this book, though, it's obvious: it's about food but it's also not really about food. It's about life, and we can all relate to that, right? Regardless of our prowess (or complete lack thereof) in the kitchen.

It's funny; I've always wanted to go to Europe but for whatever reason, Germany was never one of the places I really wanted to visit (even though right now, two of my favorite people are living in Munich). It's not that I think that it's creepy or still full of Nazis, because that's not it. I just always preferred the thought of visiting London or Paris or Rome or Dublin. But after reading this, I really want to see Berlin.

Highly recommended. (And I am also pressuring my aunt to read this book---both because she'll love it and, selfishly, because I hope she'll make me some of the recipes.)

Erbensuppe, Fructebrocht, Kartoffelsalat, and apfeltarte! In love! Luisa Weiss’ book, MY BERLIN KITCHEN made me really homesick for home back in Frankfurt Am Main, Germany. The foods, the culture, the land, the castles, the Rhine,…and many more. I was so happy to have accidentally stumbled on my favourite childhood foods the way the Germans made it, and to come across the recipes to make it. It took a long time to find them and it is now found. Am super excited to indulge. Also, hopeful to go back home one more time to the Rhine. Thank you, Luisa for the recipe to the German Pea Soup, Fruit Bread, German Potato Salad, and Apple Tart. And, yes, deeply miss the way the Germans celebrate St. Nick’s and Christmas spectacularly and esp. the Kristkindlmarkt with the lights and foods and spirit-

I am usually attracted to books dealing with identity issues, as far as different cultures and nationalities are concerned. This one falls exactly into that category written by a young woman born in Berlin, Germany to an Italian mother and an American father. She grows up on both sides of the Atlantic and is now searching for that feeling of "home". Well, when you add her descriptions of food and cooking, and a few recipes here and there, it makes for an interesting read.Her writing feels honest and is quite descriptive. Luisa Weiss is also the author of "Wednesday Chef", a blog about cooking recipes from the NY Times Wednesday food section and her life. Here is a link: http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/

I like The Wednesday Chef a lot, but I haven't been reading long enough to remember the whole story. This book was a nice summing up, as well as being many more things: cookbook, memoir, love story, coming-of-age. Maybe it's my age, but very much of it felt so familiar. Also, there are several delicious-sounding things in here that I want to cook.

Who hasn't dreamed about starting over in a completely different country. This book definitely made me want to visit Berlin. I really adored Luisa and the recipes sounded mouthwatering; I plan to try some of them.

I won this book on GoodReads First Reads program.

I couldn't do it. I really don't like not finishing a book, but this one is going back to the library. Boring and unoriginal. Read a version of this story, which has been done many times already, that is well-written - like A Homemade Life.

The amount of whining in this book was too much for me. If your biggest problem in life is not being able to find a certain ingredient consider yourself winning and shut up. I did copy down a recipe or two which added a second star to my rating.

This book can be broken into three parts. Her life growing up living between Germany and USA with divorced parents. How do children cope. Fortunately her parents were both very caring. Only mildly interesting as despite growing up in 2 countries her parents were not dysfunctional

The second part was her life as a young adult living in NewYork, starting a food blog and then her breaking up with her fiance Sam. The food blog stuff was interesting but the break up didn't provide alot of insight.

The third part of the book covers the year she return to Berlin and her hooking up with an old boyfriend. This was the most enjoyable and insightful part of the book. One got a taste or flavor of what life was like to live in Berlin.

Each chapter has a recipe based on the events that were transpiring in the book. Interestingly the only recipes I made were those was from the chapters when she lived in the USA. The recipes from her time in Berlin needed to be modified for the North American cook such as myself.

A highly enjoyable read if you love cooking and travel/food of other countries. This book gets a lot of negative reviews for not being “transformative”—know going in it’s not that kind of memoir. It is about a woman with a good life—not without hardships, but it’s a pretty charmed life and she acknowledges that wholeheartedly. She shares her wonderful real life love story, and overall this is a light, fun and interesting memoir. A side note—I listened to the audible version which I would not recommend....get the book, it has recipes throughout.

This was the sort of satisfying read that makes you feel like you’re wandering the streets of quaint European villages and basking in a life well-lived! I loved reading Luisa Weiss’ ode to the foods in her life but I wouldn’t say her recipes inspired a great amount of confidence to take the next step in my kitchen. Her recipes just felt a little too out of touch - her tips to forage for 20 sprigs of elderberries in your local park or pop over to the local Indian grocer to buy citric acid or command a 10-pound goose at the butcher and new cookware to make it all just facilitated thoughts of, “welp, I won’t be trying that anytime soon!”

Memoirs should always be paired with a menu, and the recipes in the book are such a wonderful edition. I loved being taken along on an honest, not always flattering, journey that I think many of us dream of one day taking: going home and seeing our past through the lens of who we are now.

I thought that this book was wonderful. I certainly understood the part about being torn between homes on two continents, and missing the other place wherever you are.
There are recipes at the end of each chapter.