Overview

In Notes on Cooking, Lauren Braun Costello and Russell Reich provide us with 217 insights into what it takes to be a good cook – what they call a “concentration of the culinary craft.” Though each item is brief, most are immediately useful, insightful, and will have an impact on your kitchen habits. It makes an excellent gift for the starting and intermediate cook, but even experienced cooks will benefit from reflecting on the wisdom in it.

Full review

In Notes on Cooking, Lauren Braun Costello and Russell Reich provide us with 217 insights into what it takes to be a good cook – what they call a “concentration of the culinary craft.” Costello was the owner and Executive Chef of Gotham Caterers in New York City, received a Grand Diploma in Culinary Arts with distinction from The French Culinary Institute, and was awarded a Les Dames d’Escoffier Scholarship. Reich, author of Notes on Directing (with the late Frank Hauser) provides the voice of the book and the perspective of a student in cooking, which he was to Costello.

The book asserts off the bat that it is short and immediately useful and insightful, and it delivers on those promises. In the time that it takes you to finish going through the words (likely a day or so), most anyone with an interest in cooking, from the beginner to the professional, will have taken away something to improve his or her craft. Each item is brief, but has an impact, whether it will reflect on your habits in the kitchen or be a subject for debate or opposition. With experience and reflection, the idea is to break the rules or build on them as one sees fit.

Some notes, like numbers 34 (don’t wear perfume while you cook), 211 (avoid even numbers when plating food), 116 (presentation side [of meat] down first) and 94 (use a cold pan for butter) seem like common sense, but I never gave them any thought before reading the book. The short explanations after each are like one “A-ha!” moment after another. Some, like 59 (mise en place) are controversial, especially when the prevailing culture in food media (especially in the States) is to make it appear like the preparation and cooking processes can be choreographed seamlessly. However, the book is firm in its stance and makes perfect sense in its justification. “Better to overshoot and provoke,” the authors say in the foreword, “than to risk having all the impact of a marshmallow.” Other notes are more philosophical (10. Your soul is in the food, 16. Don’t TRY to be different), but the strong, guiding tone of the writing prevents the notes from becoming sentimental. Some cooks, however, may find that some notes (62. Wash your hands) are too obvious, but there’s always adequate explanation. In this instance, it’s exactly how to wash your hands. More experienced cooks will be able to point out omissions. However, given the breadth of the subject matter, the authors have done well in setting the limits of their scope. Certainly it can only invite more ideas to materialize.

Lidia Bastianich says of the book, “every cookbook should have this short book as a preface.” I agree with this assessment: many books have recipes, few have basic instructions, but rare is a book such as this that teaches the nuances of the cooking process to make it more efficient and enjoyable. The book makes an excellent gift for the starting and intermediate cook (or perhaps someone off to embark on a culinary career), but even experienced cooks will benefit from reflecting on the wisdom in it.