Top ten memorable meals in literature

Diana Secker Tesdell is the editor of the Everyman’s Pocket Classic anthology Stories from the Kitchen. One of her ten most memorable meals in literature, as shared at the Guardian:

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

If I had it to do over again, I would have made a different kind of pie. The pie I threw at Mark made a terrific mess, but a blueberry pie would have been even better, since it would have permanently ruined his new blazer, the one he bought with Thelma. But Betty said bring a key lime pie, so I did.

This bitingly funny novel about the breakup of a marriage is narrated by Rachel, who writes cookbooks for a living. For my anthology, I selected a section in which Rachel muses about the relationship between potatoes and love. But for an account of a memorable meal, I would instead direct the reader to an indelible scene late in the novel, when Rachel finally gets up the nerve to confront her philandering husband – in the middle of a dinner party. Her revenge is satisfyingly accompanied by her recipe for key lime pie.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Heartburn is among Anna Murphy's top ten lesser-known literary heroines.

--Marshal Zeringue