Jan Wong knows food is better when shared, so when she set out to write a book about home cooking in France, Italy, and China, she asked her 22-year-old son, Sam, to join her. While he wasn't keen on spending excessive time with his mom, he dreamed of becoming a chef. Ultimately, it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

On their journey, Jan and Sam live and cook with locals, seeing first-hand how globalization is changing food, families, and cultures. In southeast France, they move in with a family sheltering undocumented migrants. From Bernadette, the housekeeper, they learn classic French family fare such as blanquette de veau. In a hamlet in the heart of Italy's Slow Food country, the villagers teach them without fuss or fanfare how to make authentic spaghetti alle vongole and a proper risotto with leeks. In Shanghai, they home-cook firecracker chicken and scallion pancakes with the nouveaux riches and their migrant maids, who comprise one of the biggest demographic shift in world history. Along the way, mother and son explore their sometimes-fraught relationship, uniting — and occasionally clashing — over their mutual love of cooking.

A memoir about family, an exploration of the globalization of food cultures, and a meditation on the complicated relationships between mothers and sons, Apron Strings is complex, unpredictable, and unexpectedly hilarious.


Ordering Information

Apron Strings is available from Goose Lane Editions, Barnes and Noble, Indigo, and Amazon.






Praise for Apron Strings, Navigating Food and Family in France, Italy, and China:

“Jan Wong takes us on a trip through three of the world’s greatest cuisines to learn the secrets of their food as well as the civilizations — past and present —that underlie what they eat. From a farm family in France coping with globalization to the stubborn traditions of central Italy and the cultural confusion of today’s China, we meet the families and people behind the dishes — and learn to make them as well. A wonderful story about Jan’s own efforts to bond with her son, Apron Strings is what we have come to expect from Jan Wong: funny, insightful, and brutally honest.”
-- Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China

“Sharp-eyed and intrepid, Jan Wong and her resourceful son Sam investigate at first hand what happens in three cultures where people are renowned for practising and enjoying great culinary art as normal daily custom. The resulting report, spiced as it is with honesty and wit, lays out for us a rich and thought-provoking spread.”
-- Margaret Visser, author of The Rituals of Dinner

“For a foodie like me, Jan’s book is irresistible, but the fact is that anyone will love this book. Apron Strings is one of the most appealing, charming, loveable books I’ve read in years.”
-- Stevie Cameron, author of On the Take

“A sharp-minded — and famously sharp-tongued — reporter drags her fully grown, chef-trained son on a homestay cooking tour of France, Italy, and China. What could possible not go wrong? Inquisitive, caustic, delicious, and can’t-look-away entertaining, this is Jan Wong at the peak of her powers.”
-- Chris Nuttall-Smith, Top Chef Canada

“A fun and feisty journey through three great culinary cultures around the world. Jan Wong’s keen attention to detail and sense of humour make for a captivating read.”
-- Jen Lin-Liu, author of On the Noodle Road

"Wielding the journalistic chops that she became famous for, Wong simply describes what she sees in plain language, acting like she’s embedded in a war zone, and that gives the piece a powerful emotional charge."
-- Now magazine

“This book will satisfy you as thoroughly as one of those four-course meals... I couldn’t put it down.”
-- Ann Tudor, blogger at Fast and Fearless Cooking

"What sets it apart is Wong’s nearly-obsessively sharp observational skills, which lead to snippets of wisdom about how culture and politics influence the kitchen."
-- The Toronto Star

"Wong, an award-winning journalist and author, observes the intimate aspects of home cooking."
-- Metro News Toronto


Interviews:

With Natasha Hall on CJAD800

The Social on CTV -- Viewing from outside Canada? Try this link.

Chatelaine

Atlantic Books Today


Must-read Lists:

CBC Fall 2017 Works of Canadian nonfiction to watch for

Toronto Star Twenty-five must-read books this fall