{"product_id":"secret-ingredients-of-life-a-memoir-of-identity-appetite-and-the-hunger-for-home-9798997573003","title":"Secret Ingredients of Life: A Memoir of Identity, Appetite, and the Hunger for Home","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSecret Ingredients of Life: A Memoir of Identity, Appetite, and the Hunger for Home\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of a woman who learns that belonging is built, one choice at a time. Adopted at three days old, Susanne Dillingham grows up loved yet searching, carrying an ache she can't quite name. Years later, she experiences adoption from the other side as a birth mother, making a decision that will reshape how she understands family, love, and selfhood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Threaded through the heat of kitchens and the freedom of Italy, Susanne discovers that food is identity, memory, and the language of care when words fail. She transforms that insight into a life of hospitality, building The Tiny Chef from the ground up into a sought-after brand defined by seasonal cooking, wine pairing, and white-glove trust, the invisible structure that lets clients relax and feel held. As her reputation grows, so does the pressure of running a business without losing the soul that made it special.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e When a long-awaited search leads to a photo that feels like a mirror and a reunion that changes everything, Susanne must navigate the beautiful, complicated truth that family can be real in more than one direction and that success doesn't cure hunger; it simply gives you new ways to name it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Warm, honest, and richly sensory, \u003cem\u003eSecret Ingredients of Life\u003c\/em\u003e is a memoir about the sweetness and salt of survival, the heat that refines us, and the bravery to become your own home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Susanne Dillingham\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Tiny Chef, LLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/28\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 244\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.92lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.69d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798997573003\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDillingham, Susanne:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Susanne Dillingham is a chef, sommelier, author, and founder of The Tiny Chef. She trained at Apicius International School of Hospitality in Florence, Italy, and holds the WSET Advanced qualification and a Sommelier Diploma from the International Sommelier Guild. Her culinary education has extended far beyond the classroom, through vineyards, kitchens, and family farms across Europe.For nearly a decade, Susanne worked as a private chef for Jeff Gordon and Ingrid Vandebosch while building The Tiny Chef, her North Carolina-based culinary business specializing in private dinners, destination experiences, corporate events, and hands-on cooking classes. Her work has been featured in regional and national media, and she competed on Food Network's \"Extreme Chef\".Susanne lives with her daughter in historic Gold Hill, North Carolina, where she grows herbs, vegetables, fruit, and edible flowers and keeps honeybees. SECRET INGREDIENTS OF LIFE is her first book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Susanne Dillingham \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":49001617981597,"sku":"9798997573003","price":32.38,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_a916ce7e-0873-4d14-be5e-7a97d9e37599.jpg?v=1791982298","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/secret-ingredients-of-life-a-memoir-of-identity-appetite-and-the-hunger-for-home-9798997573003","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}