Rottenkid: A Succulent Story of Survival
Prolific cookbook author Brigit Binns’ coming-of-age memoir―co-starring her alcoholic actor father Edward Binns and glamorous but viciously smart narcissistic mother―reveals how simultaneous privilege and profound neglect led Brigit to seek comfort in the kitchen, eventually allowing her to find some sense of self-worth. A memoir sauteed in Hollywood stories, world travel, and always, the need to belong.
Published on March 5, 2024
Order now from your favorite indie bookstore (Brigit’s is Omnivore Books in San Francisco), bookshop.org, or Amazon.
Praise for Rottenkid
“Definitely not the usual culinary memoir, this is a moving, tell-all story of survival, resilience—and the healing power of food.”
– Barbara Fairchild, Bon Appétit Magazine
“Brigit Binns may have had a hard-drinking actor for a father and a mother of dangerous exuberance, but she is the star of her life story. This child of Hollywood writes with an observant honesty, telling of hard times and harrowing psychological troubles with surprising humor and heart. You will come away from this book with great admiration for her spirit and great affection for her.”
– Rick Kogan, Legendary Chicago Tribune columnist, radio personality, and noted author
“A brave, delicious, and often darkly funny tale of growing up in the Hollywood of the 60’s and 70's, Rottenkid is Brigit’s story of breaking free from parental disapproval and finding herself. I loved reading this deftly crafted, insightful memoir by my childhood friend.”
– Cecilia Peck, Emmy-nominated filmmaker; daughter of Gregory Peck
“There’s no shortage of childhood trauma on display in Brigit Binns’ disarmingly honest Rottenkid. But with the knowledge that the author scripted, of all things, a Hollywood ending for herself, we’re able to enjoy the gallows humor and novelist’s eye for telling detail that enliven every page. For all its celebrity cameos (Henry Fonda! Fred Astaire!) and privileged settings (including a memorable stretch at boarding school), at its core, this is the story of a search for self amid the ruins of a lavishly dysfunctional family. You don’t have to be a Coppola to relate.”
– Andrew Friedman, author The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food, and Chefs, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits and Wanderers Created a New American Profession
Brigit Binns has written a powerful memoir of a childhood of Hollywood privilege among the offspring of other household names in competition with her father’s bottle and a wicked mother right out of Disney. “Born with a silver spoon in my mouth and a knife in my back,” somehow her precocious, painful, and randy youth led her to a life of sophistication as she waded through ill fitting men and learned how to cook. She has gone on to author numerous cookbooks that I count as indispensable. What a tasty read.
– “Meathead” Goldwyn, Hedonism Evangelist and BBW Whisperer. Author of NY Times bestseller Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling, and proprietor of the world’s most popular BBQ and grilling website, AmazingRibs.com
“A brutally honest and sometimes painful look at growing up in a truly dysfunctional family that will have you crying one moment and laughing the next.
Celebrated cookbook author and “rottenkid” Brigit Binns has the courage to bare her soul while conjuring up enticing recipes in a memoir peppered with Hollywood stars, politicians, boarding schools, and travel abroad that are simmered together in a pressure cooker to create a real page turner.”
– Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, The World Wine Guys; Authors of Red Wine, Gourmand International’s Best Wine Book in the World