Why had I not done this review earlier? After all, Steven Gdula is an old friend of mine, back from the Baltimore days. I met Steven though the local Baltimore music scene, he was a music writer and publisher of a music fanzine called Ant. He had seen all three bands I had played in and through seeing him on a regular basis we became fast friends. His love of music was only rivaled by his love of good eats, and through food we became even better friends.

Whenever, and this is no lie, I use, smell, see or read the word “Paprika”, I think of Steven. He is the one who turned me on to this little used spice in my early cooking repertoire. His Hungarian background set the stage for his family to frequently use this spice and cooking, for him, was a family rite, his heritage, and in his blood. Whenever I would throw a dinner party Steven would never cease to amaze me (and usually one-up-me) with the dish he would bring. He is someone, who in the kitchen, means serious business.

When I had received an email from him letting me know his second book was to be published and that it was about the history of the kitchen I was somehow not surprised.  Besides being a fabulous cook, he is a very talented writer, being published in various publications such as Details, the Washington Post, and Cooking Light, as well as writing “Wearing History: T-Shirts From The Gay Rights Movement.” (Alyson Books.)

In “The Warmest Room In The House” Steven chronicles the kitchen from the turn of the 20th century to the present. It is a fun and informative read about the best room in any house, the American Kitchen. His research is concise, yet delivered with wit and wonder. This is not your typical “history…ZZZ….history” book. Beginning with the dark age of the American “kitchen” (and I put that in quotes because it was nothing like what we know the kitchen of today to be, and it was a dark, hot place-literally) Steven moves through time decade by decade. I had no idea of the hardship women (and I am sure, some men) endured under those circumstances starting with the 1900’s. By the time the 40’s rolled around life in the kitchen must have seemed “modern” as compared to the drudgery of the previous decades. Maybe this is why the 50’s were tagged as the “Space Age” for the American kitchen!

I am so proud of my friend for having written this book and can appreciate all the hard research he did, as well as admire him for his knowledge about this subject. My final comment is this: This is a must have book for any food lover, chef or history nerd (which I am) that wants to learn about the little known back story of our kitchen history. It was one of my favorite “Food Reads” of 2008 and I look forward to reading his blog, Warmest Room In The House.