Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism.
The Dartmouth
June 27, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Simmons' memoir gives taste of her life outside of ‘Top Chef'

Although I am far from culinarily inclined, I was ecstatic to learn that "Top Chef" judge and "Top Chef: Just Desserts" host Gail Simmons had written a memoir. In "Talking With My Mouth Full: My Life as a Professional Eater," released last month by Hyperion, Simmons begins each chapter with a mouthwatering portrayal of a particular meal or a moment in her life in which food played a key role. Descriptions like "a loaf of zucchini bread with flecks of green," "a puffy, eggy German pancake with blueberries" and "delicate gnocchi in red pepper sauce" remind readers of Simmons' prowess as both a writer and an eater.

Most people would be hard-pressed to find someone even less adept at cooking my housemates, who were on my Foreign Study Program, had to painstakingly teach me step-by-step how to boil pasta, and my family receives a poinsettia from Papa John's Pizza each year for our "excellent patronage" of the establishment yet, somehow, I am completely hooked on "Top Chef." I was eager to delve into the life of this spunky, glamorous woman whose fashion sense and food savvy I envied weekly on TV. I am a more than enthusiastic eater, and as souffles, truffles and petit fours flash before my eyes in each episode, I cannot help but salivate over the showcased delectable gastronomic creations. I am not only fascinated by the food, however, but also by the lives of the judges who harshly instruct contestants to "pack their knives and go." Simmons' memoir offers insight into this world.

My journey into uncharted bookstore territory the cookbooks section of Barnes & Noble to get this memoir had me a bit worried that I was about to parse through 200 pages of cooking tips and tedious lists of ingredients, but I found myself enveloped in the story of Gail's life, and I became inspired by her genuine and unabashed love of food. Simmons' first chapter, "My Mother's Kitchen Counter," contains a heartwarming description of her life growing up in a Jewish family in Toronto. She recounts her father's homemade applesauce, which she still smuggles back with her to New York, and her mother's affinity for pate. From the first chapter, I felt as if Simmons was welcoming me to her dinner table, humbly sharing her love of food, which originated not from swanky bistros or Parisian patisseries, but from her family's deep appreciation for the ritual, cultural and ancestral experience of eating. A message she relays throughout the novel is her mother's belief that "a woman in the kitchen isn't a symbol of domesticity but of empowerment."

My favorite part of Simmons' book was her honest exposure of the quirky, down-to-earth, sometimes insecure "normal" woman who is often hidden behind a stern exterior on "Top Chef." Simmons' account of her sometimes rocky rise to fame including months spent in her parents' basement and working as a fact-checker as a magazine intern is refreshingly honest.

She details how her diverse young adult experiences were each formative in their own ways. Her French-Canadian background and her degree in Spanish from McGill University came in handy when interviewing various non-English speaking chefs. Working as the only female chef in various New York kitchens toughened her up and taught her to get her hands dirty, and working in public relations and marketing for a famous restaurant prepared her with the tools to be a smart businesswoman and successful chef.

Although Simmons does illustrate some of her adventures on "Top Chef" she describes her workout regime, her relationships with her co-workers and her travels to exotic filming locales the most captivating portions of her memoir are those that reveal her endearing qualities as a daughter, sister and wife, something that is not seen on her TV shows. She cleverly links her experiences with food with important moments in life in one particularly charming scene, for example, Simmons recounts how her current husband Jeremy proposed to her by bringing her a giant picnic from her favorite brunch spot in New York. Her emphasis on how food often accompanies important life experiences is particularly touching.

The way in which Simmons ends her book with a list of recipes captures the strength of her memoir. The series of recipes she includes are not for the most decadent meals she has ever consumed or even for the best creations on "Top Chef," but rather for the family dishes that inspired her love of cooking and the meals that have accompanied her best life experiences. By sharing with readers her mother's zucchini bread recipe, her father's sour pickle recipe and the recipe for the Welsh rarebit she ate on the morning of her engagement, Simmons offers readers one final "taste" of her life and love of food.


More from The Dartmouth