“There are many famous restaurants in California but Nepenthe which is perched on the majestic cliffs of Big Sur is somehow even more special. … Then as now, it was a favorite gathering place for writers, travelers, actors, dancers, and people who enjoyed both good company and good food. Romney Steele’s new cookbook is more than just a collection of recipes. It is more like a scrapbook which is filled with old family photographs, memories, and fragments of the legendary restaurant’s past. Since Romney grew up in the restaurant, her collection is as personal as a love letter and in some ways that’s exactly what it is, a love letter to both a place and time.” ––Tucson Citizen http://bit.ly/93lV6K
“Nepenthe is a gorgeous place, as shown in current and archive photos in the celebratory memoir-cookbook My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur” by Romney Steel. She’s the [restaurant founders, Bill and Lolly] Fassetts’ granddaughter, who grew up on the property and spent plenty of time in the kitchen. Eventually, she opened and ran Cafe Kevah at Nepenthe as a companion to the main restaurant.” ––Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/22/2623602/between-the-lines-pasta-book-is.html
“[Romney Steele's] recently published My Nepenthe, is a marvelous cookbook-cum-memoir providing not just splendid recipes – I speak with authority, having spent most of the recent holidays cooking from it – but also a catalogue of insight into the character of Big Sur and the free-spirited families that continue to provide this extraordinary part of California with such idiosyncrasy.” ––The Star http://www.thestar.com/travel/northamerica/article/770886–california-dreaming
“A few months back the armchair traveler in me found a new place to add to my “Must Visit” list. That place was Big Sur, California. I recently had a chance to re-visit that idyllic place with the book “My Nepenthe” by writer and food stylist Romney Steele. My Nepenthe is a wonderful combination of memoir and cookbook. It tells the story of Romney’s grandparents, Billy and Lolly Fassett, who founded Nepenthe Restaurant and Cafe Kevah in Big Sur, CA. Nepenthe Restaurant became a favorite place to visit and temporary home to many writers, artists, and musicians throughout the 1950’s and 60’s. But, more importantly, My Nepenthe talks about Romney’s experiences growing up there and how so much of who she is today is because of her time spent in Big Sur. ” ––Project Foodie http://www.projectfoodie.com/spotlights/cookbooks/going-back-to-big-sur.html
“[My Nepenthe is] filled with gathered families, recipes and beautiful photography. It makes me the bohemian that I want to be. ” ––Life Signatures http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2010/01/my-nepenthe-love/
My Nepenthe is stunning, unique, and absolutely captivating. Not just the lovely writing about Nani’s grandparents and large, extended family, not just the rich history of this unusual locale. The physical pages of this book leap to life with the most glorious splashes of color and texture. In addition to being a writer and cook, Nani is a food stylist, and her aesthetic completely drew me in. The photographs capture the bohemian lifestyle, with beatific looking women with long hair and flowing skirts; architectural details like heavy-hinged wooden doors and rustic cobblestone walls; and children playing together, then and now. It’s a portrait of a real family over time, in a place of glorious natural beauty.” ––5 Second Rule http://5secondrule.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/01/minestrone-recipe-from-my-nepenthe.html
“”My Nepenthe” is not here to teach you how to cook. Instead, it exists as a memoir to transport the reader to the Big Sur through the Fassett family recipes. “Ultimately, this book is a story about food, family, and the culture of place, and how it all unfolds around the table and why that matters,” author Romney Steele writes. … If you enjoy “la vie boheme,” the refuge of Nepenthe awaits. ” –SlashFood http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/06/my-nepenthe-cookbook-spotlight/
“To me the ultimate test for any book is to be immediately swept away when you open it, being pulled into whatever world that book portrays and to feel like you are actually a part of it. I had the pleasure of taking such a journey with the enchanting My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur written by Romney Steele” which was recently sent to me by the publisher to review. This is one of those cookbooks that from the start begs to be picked up, savored and soaked in, thick and gorgeous with its bright jewel-toned colors and amazing photos. With most cookbooks I review I do a quick read through of some of the key chapters, scanning the rest and going immediately to the recipes, with “My Nepenthe” I found myself keeping it on my nightstand and reading it page by page, chapter by chapter, each night until I finished it. It is not just a collection of recipes, although there are plenty of them, it is really the story of a magical place, Nepenthe–a restaurant and gathering spot on the cliffs of Big Sur in California” ––Kahakai Kitchen http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2009/12/cookbook-review-my-nepenthe-bohemian.html
“Romney Steele, is a food writer, cook and food stylist. She is also the granddaughter of Lolly and Bill Fassett. She witnessed the flowering of Nepenthe’s success first-hand, growing up there. She later launched Café Kevah, on Nepenthe’s grounds. She has created MY NEPENTHE: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur. Part memoir, part cookbook, this visually appealing book is loaded with vintage black and white photos and many color shots that evokes the special history of the California coast and the many events hosted by an extraordinary couple who created a popular destination restaurant that has endured for more than six decades. … MY NEPENTHE makes me want to get to Big Sur as soon as possible, but in the meantime, this lovely book makes me almost feel like I’ve been there before.” ––Stovetop Readings http://stovetopreadings.blogspot.com/2009/12/food-family-stunning-big-sur-views.html
Romney Steele, is a food writer, cook and food stylist. She is also the granddaughter of Lolly and Bill Fassett. She witnessed the flowering of Nepenthe’s success first-hand, growing up there. She later launched Café Kevah, on Nepenthe’s grounds. She has created MY NEPENTHE: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur (Andrews McMeel). Part memoir, part cookbook, this visually appealing book is loaded with vintage black and white photos and many color shots that evokes the special history of the California coast and the many events hosted by an extraordinary couple who created a popular destination restaurant that has endured for more than six decades.
“My Nepenthe goes deep into the areas history with author Romney Steele’s personal family stories and photos which bewitchingly capture the mid 1900s (reminding me quite a bit of Tessa Kiros’ lovely books). It’s a book to curl up on the couch and lose yourself in, taking walks on the beach looking for treasures with Aunt Dorcas or laughing at tales of Uncle Griff’s first job as a busboy, spilling wine on a patron and accidentally using her glove to wipe up the mess. In My Nepenthe, you have been invited to family dinner, only this family’s anecdotes also includes stories of Henry Miller’s ping pong skills and Richard Burton’s cigarette preferences as well as time-tested recipes.” ––Cook & Eat http://cookandeat.com/2009/12/03/big-sur-breakfast/
“My Nepenthe weaves together stories and tales about the famous California restaurant perched on the majestic cliffs of Big Sur. It celebrates the magic and history of place through food and the Fassett family who started Nepenthe. … Ultimately, My Nepenthe is a story about food, family, and the culture of place, and how it all unfolds around the table and why that matters.” ––Jessica’s Biscuit http://www.ecookbooks.com/p-24314-my-nepenthe.aspx
“My Nepenthe is a magical book. In it are stories of Big Sur through the last half century, recipes that have satisfied movie stars, hippies, and bohemian artists, luscious photographs that both trace history and bring one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes alive. Author Romney Steele tells her own family and food-filled story of growing up in and around the Nepenthe Restaurant, a Big Sur landmark since 1947. Her writing is so evocative, and the photography so awe-inspiring that reading My Nepenthe makes one nostalgic for growing up in Big Sur, even if one grew up elsewhere. Being raised in a restaurant, especially one with the history of Nepenthe, is also a guarantee of delicious recipes from the family cookie jar as well as the dining tables of the restaurant.” ––In Mama’s Kitchen http://bit.ly/2KJM7s
“Romney Steele’s book tells the story of her family’s long history and involvement in Big Sur’s development from a small, rural coastal area to a burgeoning bohemian enclave and popular tourist destination.” ––Epicurious, naming My Nepenthe among the Best Cookbooks of 2009 bit.ly/163BnN
“[Romney] Steele crafted [My Nepenthe] — referrred to by Sunset magazine as “a valentine to one of the most beautiful places to eat in the world” — not so much as a cookbook but as a storybook, she says, with recipes. It tells the tales of a place that was not about food but became so, that was more about “the culture of place and how it all unfolds around the table and why that matters.” The book serves up recipes and Steele’s memories of them, wrapped in reasons for making them and ways to serve them and the contexts that made them memorable.” ––Montery Herald http://bit.ly/36b10H
““My Nepenthe” makes me want to get in my car and drive south. Until I can, the book is the next best thing. ” ––Press Democrat http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091104/LIFESTYLE/911049956?tc=autorefresh
“I have just finished feasting, and am still savoring tasteful images and recipes from the most breathtakingly beautiful “cook book” I’ve ever read. Perhaps it is because it is so much more than food that is displayed here. Romney Steele has preserved the unique legacy of precious photos, of long forgotten places and faces, of people I have known and loved personally, all bound together in an elegant treasure chest she calls, “My Nepenthe“” ––Song of a Flower Child http://songofaflowerchild.blogspot.com/2009/10/memorial-to-kingdom-of-nepenthe-and-its.html
“Romney ‘Nani’ Steele wrote an amazing story about her family. A beautifully, written tapestry about her roots to Nepenthe and Big Sur, woven in are family recipes handed down from her grandmother, Lolly Fassett, herelf and other family memebers.” ––Christy and The Boys http://christyandtheboys.blogspot.com/2009/10/big-sur-big-event-and-big-thoughts.html
“Romney “Nani” Steele grew up scrambling through Big Sur’s brambles, beaches and creeks as a native granddaughter of Nepenthe founders Lolly and Bill Fassett, but fortunately for those who like good food, she also spent some serious time in the kitchen. Now the author-chef is sharing some 60-plus secrets she mastered along the way with My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur, including the adored “ambrosia burger,” the Nepenthe cheese pie and some of the most tempting pancakes I’ve ever seen – along with an overflowing chest of anecdotal treasures. ––Montery County Weekly http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2009/2009-Oct-22/just-try-to-get-your-mouth-around-this-slab-of-epicurean-activity/1/@@index
Add a Comment
We welcome your comments and thank you for keeping them on-topic and civil. While we encourage your creativity, we reserve the right to remove inappropriate, offensive, obscene or objectionable comments, spam or any comment that is in violation of copyright laws.
