Victuals

“Four thousand miles Lundy drove for her new book, gathering tales, recipes and anecdotes. It’s a journey that comes alive in color far more vivid than those images you’ll often see, the kind that paint Appalachia as a backwater monoculture.”—USA Today

“Perhaps the finest book ever about mountain food.”—The Bitter Southerner

“To call it a cookbook seems almost unfair. This is not just a collection of recipes or, as so many cookbooks these days are, a ‘branding opportunity’ for an aspiring chef. In Victuals – which the book’s cover makes clear is pronounced ‘viddles’—Lundy has written a love letter to the foods, culture, and fortitude of Appalachian people.”—The Washington Post

“Part reminiscence, part living history, Victuals (right on the book cover, Lundy stresses that the word is pronounced “vi-dls”) would be an important study of southern Appalachia even without the 80 recipes that illustrate the region’s culinary diversity.”—The Chicago Tribune

“Each chapter of Victuals focuses on a tentpole of Appalachian cuisine; an ingredient or a tradition. Essays on each, along with 80 recipes, tell the story of this diverse mountain cuisine through the words of one of its biggest champions.”—Epicurious

“Victuals promises to be the jewel in [Ronni Lundy’s] crown, setting the record straight about her native cuisine, too long dismissed as homogenized, and telling instead the real story of a cookery thrillingly formed at the crossings of African, European, and Native Nation traditions. Did we mention it comes with recipes?”—Oxford American

“Long after the plates are cleaned and the dishes washed, I’ll return to this book for the stories. Lundy on Appalachia is like Edna Lewis on Virginia … Her voice brims with grace and good humor. ”—Wendell Brock, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“The recipes in Victuals are appealing enough to have begun making their way into my repertoire—an August experiment with her dead-simple recipe for cornbread led to my eating a whole pan of it within 24 hours. But it’s the nuanced glimpse the book offers of Appalachia, both poor and rich, supportive and combative, that I imagine will stick with me.”—National Geographic

“Victuals is a breathtaking work of literature that sneaks up on you, casts a spell, and corrects your misconceptions; it’s a cookbook less about cook and more book.”—The A.V. Club

“Lundy is a warm and charming guide with a deep-seated love and respect for the region and its approach to cuisine. Fans of locally sourced foods and Southern cooking will find a lot to like here, as Lundy does a terrific job of showcasing Appalachia’s breadth and depth.”—Publishers Weekly

Born in Corbin, Kentucky, RONNI LUNDY has long chronicled the people of the hillbilly diaspora as a journalist and cookbook author. She is the former restaurant reviewer and music critic for The Courier-Journal in Louisville, former editor of Louisville Magazine, and has contributed to many national magazines. Her book Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes and Honest Fried Chicken was recognized as one of six essential books on Southern cooking. In 2009, Lundy received the Southern Foodways Alliance Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award. She has contributed to Eating Well, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Esquire, and other magazines.

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