"An Onion in My Pocket: My Life with Vegetables," by Deborah Madison

Readers of this blog will not be surprised that I am writing about yet another “food and restaurant” memoir. I find these so fascinating (if they are written at least reasonably well). “An Onion in My Pocket: My Life with Vegetables” (Knopf, 2020) is about Deborah Madison’s childhood in California, years as a member of San Francisco’s Zen Center, great success as a writer of cookbooks and other food-related books, speaker, teacher, and award-winner in all these areas. But she is still best-known as the chef who worked in the famous Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, and then opened San Francisco’s Zen vegetable-centered restaurant, Greens, over four decades ago. At the time it was truly groundbreaking, as vegetarianism was generally considered very fringy and not particularly appealing back then. Although Madison was only there for a few years, her influence is still felt, as Greens continues to this day, with its delicious food, its stunning location on the Bay, and its gorgeous views. Although I am not a vegetarian (and many diners there are not), I have had the pleasure of eating there many times, and it is always a special experience. Madison also writes candidly but with appropriate reserve about her family, her travels, her high and low points, her challenges, and her times of doubt. But throughout she comes across as a very centered person (probably influenced by her twenty years as a Zen student), and one who has always taken great pleasure and pride in her work in the world of food. I like, too, the way she gives generous credit to the people she has worked for and with, and others she has interacted with over the years. As I have said about other San Francisco-based narratives, I take particular interest in, and pleasure in, the scenes related to the city and surroundings, but her descriptions of her times in Europe and other parts of the world, and her current home in New Mexico, are of great interest as well. An admirable and enjoyable memoir and life.