The Third Plate

Field Notes on the Future of Food

By: Dan Barber

Narrated by: Dan Barber

Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Today’s optimistic farm-to-table food culture has a dark secret: The local food movement has failed to change how we eat. It has also offered a false promise for the future of food. In his visionary New York Times best-selling book, chef Dan Barber, recently showcased on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, offers a radical new way of thinking about food that will heal the land and taste good, too. Looking to the detrimental cooking of our past, and the misguided dining of our present, Barber points to a future “third plate”: A new form of American eating where good farming and good food intersect. Barber’s The Third Plate charts a bright path forward for eaters and chefs alike, daring everyone to imagine a future for our national cuisine that is as sustainable as it is delicious.

©2014 Dan Barber (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“[A]uthor Dan Barber's tales are engaging, funny and delicious... The Third Plate invites inevitable comparisons with Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, which Barber invokes more than once. And, indeed, its framework of a foodie seeking truth through visits with sages and personal experiments echoes Pollan's landmark tome (not to mention his passages on wheat cultivation, which, astonishingly, best Pollan's corn cultivation chapters by many pages.) But at the risk of heresy, I would call this The Omnivore's Dilemma 2.0... The Third Plate serves as a brilliant culinary manifesto with a message as obvious as it is overlooked. Promote, grow and eat a diet that's in harmony with the earth and the earth will reward you for it. It's an inspiring message that could truly help save our water, air and land before it's too late.” (The Chicago Tribune)

“Not since Michael Pollan has such a powerful storyteller emerged to reform American food.” (The Washington Post)

“There hasn’t been a call-to-action book with the potential to change the way we eat since Michael Pollan’s 2006 release, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Now there is. Dan Barber’s The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food is a compelling global journey in search of a new understanding about how to build a more sustainable food system….The Third Plate is an argument for good rather than an argument against bad. This recipe might at times be challenging, but what’s served in the end is a dish for a better future….Barber writes a food manifesto for the ages.” (Pittsburgh-Post Gazette)

"Compelling... The Third Plate reimagines American farm culture not as a romantic return to simpler times but as a smart, modern version of it...The Third Plate is fun to read, a lively mix of food history, environmental philosophy and restaurant lore... an important and exciting addition to the sustainability discussion.” (The Wall Street Journal)

bad transitions

the transitions between recordings did not transition well. the fade in cut off the front of the word.

Excellent read

This book makes you think beyond traditional labels of food or foodies (vegan, vegetarian, etc) for sustainable environments.

I love this book

this book has become one of my favorites. I really enjoy how deeply chef Barber's curiosity and investigation into various aspects of food, flavor, history, and how to bring incredible flavor to the table. I love the way he describes the growth medium. it has I inspired me to want to be a farmer and a chef.

I Can't Recommend This Book Enough

Would you listen to The Third Plate again? Why?

I've already started. There's just so much thought-provoking information here.

What other book might you compare The Third Plate to and why?

The Omnivore's Dilemma. It get's you thinking about food, farming, the environment and the connectedness of everything.

What about Dan Barber’s performance did you like?

Good tone, good pacing.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I've been trying to get everyone I know to read or listen to this book.

Educational, inspiring, and entertaining.

I'm going to recommend this book to all of my friends who have any interest in health, social issues, or the environment

Thought & Palate Provoking

Third Plate represents the next level of understanding and subsequent solutions relating to the mired (and maligned) agro-industrial complex. Unlike most books covering food farming and its impact on the environment, Barber distills the problem into a simple part...if the flavor is there consumers will proactively change how crops (including animals) are harvested to the benefit of our planet, ergo humanity. There are true epiphanies to be found in this book as he spotlights Spanish gastronomy and groundbreaking work of independent organic farmers of the States. Well worth the time and if you exist in the culinary world it should be required reading.

Chef breaks down food in America

If you’re interested in how we grow, serve and eat food in the US, this is the book for you. Dan Barber does a lovely job of really digging into all parts of how we get our food, looking around the world at crazy things like natural foie gras and fish farms and phytoplankton bread to bring back home. He does a very good job narrating, and I appreciate that it is in his own voice. That said, he is not quite up to the quality of most professional narrators and if that bugs you, you may not make it through this book. The description field notes is perfect because it is a little all over the place, investigating whatever he is into.

Wonderful and Inspiring

A true masterpiece of realising that no problem has just two sides to it, but rather it's a multifaceted issues that can not be given simple yes and no answers.
At times the book feels somewhat stale with mostly namedropping, but nothing that can't be pushed through.

Very Intriguing

Fantastic listen for agriculturalist and chefs alike. The future of food is starting to look very intriguing!

Optimistic, Intelligent and Provocative

Would you consider the audio edition of The Third Plate to be better than the print version?

Yes! It is read by the author, and he is brilliant.

What other book might you compare The Third Plate to and why?

Those by Wendell Berry and Michael Pollan. Barber offers such hope to another way of living and eating.

What about Dan Barber’s performance did you like?

He was articulate, passionate and so knowledgeable.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I would love to hear more books read by their authors--they understand their writing and can communicate it.