Books in the category: People/places

Seven Fires, Francis Mallmann | 2009 | US

Reviewer says
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Big. Bold. Burning! Those words summarize this near flawless book from famed South American chef and restaurateur, Francis Mallmann, and author Peter Kaminsky. Seven Fires refers to the techniques that Mallmann uses when cooking: Chapa, Little Hell, Parilla, Horno de Barro, Rescoldo, Asador and Caldero. You ask, “Where are hibachi and sterno?” Not to be found in this book. Seven Fires is about serious grilling – the type that you dream of doing. The cover teases us with Mallman genteelly grilling over burning embers, but open the cover and whole hogs are split wide, splayed above massive infernos. But not to fear, this book is truly accessible to all.

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16 Aug 2009 – 13:17
By Gfron1 | Also posted in 5-star, Americas, Central/South America, Food preparation, Food writing and issues, book from a restaurant, factual stories/tales, general audience, locally known food author/chef, mostly savoury, quite detailed, recipes and context, review, specific techniques | Comments (1)

Vefa’s Kitchen, Vefa Alexiadou | 2009 | UK

Reviewer says
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This comprehensive book of Greek food offers an assortment of delicious dishes, from salads and soups to mezedes (appetizers) for the summer to slow-cooked Greek dishes we grew up with as Greeks. Vefa’s Kitchen also showcases a huge array of regional desserts and pastries, breads and other baked delights. At more than 650 recipes, the scope of this book is nearly unparalleled.

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17 Jul 2009 – 00:15
By Peter Minaki | Also posted in 4-star, Greece, Ingredients, Southern Europe, book from a celebrity or tv-show, comprehensive, cooking reference, general audience, historical cooking, mostly recipes, quite detailed, review | Comments (6)

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook, Heston Blumenthal | 2008 | UK

Reviewer says
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It’s 43cm long, 33cm wide, 8cm thick, weighs about five kilograms, has 534 pages, and was one of the most anticipated cookbooks in 2008. From the silver embossed slipcase to the photography and artwork, the writing and the feel of the paper, it would be hard not to notice and admire the Big Fat Duck Cookbook on the shelves of a bookstore.

On initial impressions, perhaps like the restaurant itself, the book appears to be an intimidating creature. Open it and you will be hit by Heston Blumenthal’s passion. Inside is the story of Blumenthal and his restaurant, the recipes and stories behind many of the dishes from the Fat Duck, and a series of essays explaining the science behind the food. Beyond the science, there are journeys into food history, philosophy, personal anecdotes, humour, and the sheer dumb luck that can trigger a great idea. It is a dizzying amount of information in one book. But for those who have read Blumenthal’s previous books, his newspaper columns, or seen his TV show will know that he has a gift for explaining complicated concepts in terms that the layman can understand.

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02 Jul 2009 – 22:24
By Daniel Chan | Also posted in 5-star, England, advanced audience, avant garde techniques, biography, book from a restaurant, comprehensive, factual stories/tales, internationally known food author/chef, recipes and context, review | Comments (2)

Planet Cake, Paris Cutler | 2009 | AU

Reviewer says
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Planet Cake is the book from the famous Sydney boutique cake shop of the same name, renowned for its elaborate sugarcraft creations and celebrity customers. The book promises beautifully decorated cakes that are “fabulous, professional, and easy”, and it seems to deliver in most respects, combining Planet Cake’s distinctive decorative style with good base recipes. The chapters of this book are very well structured, making it easy for beginners or more advanced decorators to find their way around. Whilst no-one would pretend that becoming a cake decorator is a simple feat, for the motivated home cook, Planet Cake can give you the tools to get there.

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14 Jun 2009 – 23:59
By Sarah | Also posted in 4-star, book from a restaurant, cakes and desserts, decoration/presentation, for beginners, mostly recipes, review, specific techniques, textbook/technical guide | Comments (1)

Feed Me Now!, Bill Granger | 2009 | AU

Reviewer says
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Feed Me Now!, Australian chef Bill Granger’s latest book, promises a “joyful, practical collection of recipes that cater to the day-to-day food dilemmas of busy modern families” that use few ingredients and require minimum fuss. While the recipe difficulty varies, they are easy to follow. However, the book still contains quite a few not-so-instant recipes, and the photography, while beautiful, appears at odds with Granger’s laid-back style.

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09 Jun 2009 – 15:45
By Sarah | Also posted in 2-star, for busy people, internationally known food author/chef, mixed/non-regional cuisine, mostly recipes, quite detailed, review | Comments (0)

The Clatter of Forks and Spoons, Richard Corrigan | 2008 | UK

Reviewer says
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In “The Clatter of Forks and Spoons”, Irish chef Richard Corrigan covers the food that he grew up with as the child of a farmer in Ireland, traditional recipes, and the dishes he serves at his restaurant. Many of the dishes are simple and comforting, and will rarely require any searches for exotic ingredients or specialist equipment. Corrigan is also a storyteller, so you will find essays, anecdotes, and observations throughout the book. He presents his views with a great passion, but it’s done in a similar manner to what you would get from having a feisty debate with a good friend over a beer. He is also a champion of artisanal producers and allows many of these producers their own voice in his essays.

This is an outstanding book from three viewpoints. Firstly, in Corrigan’s writing, no words are wasted and his essays could be a book in their own right. The second are the recipes. It is food for the soul, the ingredients are listed in a clear manner, and the instructions are presented in a conversational tone. Finally, it’s a beautiful book. The photography suits the book in that it has a feel more like a family photo album than food porn. Many people will find this book a worthwhile purchase, including those who want to rediscover their Irish and British roots, those who simply enjoy good food writing, and anyone who simply wants to cook a delicious meal.

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19 May 2009 – 19:06
By Daniel Chan | Also posted in 5-star, Britain/Ireland, general audience, locally known food author/chef, opinions/essays, quite detailed, recipes and context, review, seasonal food | Comments (2)

The Complete Robuchon, Joel Robuchon | 2008 | US

Reviewer says
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Walk into any chef’s kitchen, and dig around long enough, and you’ll find a buried treasure of recipes. Mine is a humble stack of tattered, splattered papers sitting on a shelf in unruly fashion. A more experienced chef will have a file cabinet, a binder with sheets neatly tucked into plastic protectors, or laminated sheets clipped on a wall. The Complete Robuchon is that treasure chest for Joel Robuchon and his army of cooks. “French home cooking for the way we live now” is the apt subtitle and this book, and deserves its place next to the other fat books in your kitchen. In fact, I suggest placing it right next to Bittman and between the two you really could cook anything.

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07 May 2009 – 05:54
By Gfron1 | Also posted in 4-star, France, advanced audience, comprehensive, internationally known food author/chef, mostly recipes, review | Comments (0)

Anjum’s New Indian, Anjum Anand | 2008 | UK

Reviewer says
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Anjum’s New Indian offers inviting recipes, useful background information and a warm but not over-the-top enthusiasm for food. The book features recipes from a BBC television series, Indian Food Made Easy, focusing on regional dishes of India.

The book could easily have been yet another one of those “inspired by the flavours of …” titles, leaving the user none the wiser about what really makes a cuisine, but thankfully the author not only tells the reader how many dishes are traditionally prepared, but is also open about what changes she has made and why. It makes this book doubly valuable: helping you understand traditional methods and flavours while giving you at times lighter, simpler or just personally preferred alternatives. The results are delicious and attractive for omnivores and vegetarians alike.

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14 Apr 2009 – 20:19
By Duncan Markham | Also posted in 5-star, India, Southern Asia, book from a celebrity or tv-show, general audience, light content, mostly recipes, review | Comments (0)

Macaron, Pierre Hermé | 2008 | FR

Reviewer says
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Everyone who has ever tried to make macarons will know that it is not as simple as it might look. Like Pierre Hermé’s famous macarons, it would be difficult for any macaron book to surpass this one. There are 57 macaron recipes, each one very detailed. Something which is extremely helpful for both macaron newcomers and veterans: photo-illustrated step-by-step instructions for making shells and fillings. Although this book is in French, the recipes and instructions are clear enough that most macaron lovers would find a solution to the language barrier.

FRENCH TRANSLATION
Si vous avez déjà essayé de faire des macarons, vous savez sans doute que la tâche est bien plus difficile qu’elle n’en a l’air. Tout comme les macarons célèbres de Pierre Hermé, son livre sur ces petits délices est sans égal. Cette œuvre contient pas moins de 57 recettes pour macarons, chacune bien détaillée pour aider tant ceux qui savent déjà en faire, que ceux sans aucune expérience. Les photos illustrent chaque étape dans la préparation des coquilles et des garnitures. Bien que ce livre soit rédigé en langue française, les recettes sont suffisamment claires d’ailleurs, même les amateurs de macarons non-francophones pourraient surmonter la barrière de la langue.

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15 Mar 2009 – 18:39
By Matevž Kmet | Also posted in 5-star, France, advanced audience, biscuits/cookies/sweet delights, internationally known food author/chef, mostly recipes, quite detailed, review | Comments (9)

Cooking, James Peterson | 2007 | US

Reviewer says
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This enormous volume inspires awe and some moments of disappointment. James Peterson presents an amazingly rich collection of recipes (600) and information about techniques in his book titled very simply “Cooking”. Just opening to the table of contents, spanning six pages, is enough to convince you that this could be the one, the book that covers all the bases you might need for a strong standard repertoire of dishes. The table of contents lists every major recipe in the book. Wonderful. Not only a wealth of classics, but a long list of technical explanations with photographs (1500), tips and recommendations turn this into a book which many owners would be satisfied with. It’s aimed at a USAmerican audience and is probably of most use to cooks with some confidence in approaching cooking, even if they aren’t experienced cooks.

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18 Feb 2009 – 10:33
By Duncan Markham | Also posted in 4-star, Skills/techniques, comprehensive, cooking reference, general audience, internationally known food author/chef, mixed/non-regional cuisine, mostly recipes, review | Comments (0)

Under Pressure, Thomas Keller | 2008 | US

Reviewer says
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The 2008-2009 class of modernist cookbooks was stellar. It seems that chefs and authors have recognized that a growing class of home cooks has filled their pantry with calcium lactate, agar agar, gelatin sheets and lecithin. The days of flashy coffee table books filled with out-of-reach food porn have been pushed aside for star studded cook books filled with National Geographic worthy photos and accessible (albeit challenging) recipes. Among this class we can find Johnny Iuzinni, Grant Achatz, Joel Robuchon and Thomas Keller. The latter leads the class in its yawp to cooks and chefs across the globe that its time to look forward while keeping your roots solid and well honed.

At just shy of 300 pages with high quality color pictures on half of the pages, and more recipes than my vacuum packer can handle, this cookbook packs a wallop. Consider sous vide’s espoused virtues – “Fruits, which are especially susceptible to rapid oxidation and discoloration, remain bright when cooked sous vide rather than becoming dull and brown,” or “Fish, perhaps more than any protein, has such a small window of doneness that it requires the most finesse on the part of the cook. Sous vide makes cooking fish easier and more consistent, especially in a busy kitchen.” These are tidbits that welcome the home cook into the industrial kitchen with open arms.

If you’re interested in rolling up your sleeves, plugging in the circulator, and cranking out some amazing foods, then this is a great option for you.

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09 Feb 2009 – 20:08
By Gfron1 | Also posted in 4-star, advanced audience, avant garde techniques, cooking reference, internationally known food author/chef, mixed/non-regional cuisine, mostly recipes, quite detailed, review, specific techniques | Comments (2)

Lighten Up, Jill Dupleix | 2009 | UK

Reviewer says
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It seems like we’re forever being told to eat healthier, lighter food yet at the same time there aren’t exactly a mountain of attractive food books that really focus on interesting healthy options. Too many healthy-eating books make food much less fun than it needs to be. To my surprise, Jill Dupleix successfully combines the ideas of lighter eating without making you feel like you’re launching into a 100% fat-free nightmare. Lighten Up offers a welcome diversity of good, appetising recipes in an attractive package. The tone won’t suit everyone, and the trendy ingredients might put some people off at first, but this is a book well worth looking at. I was surprised at how interesting I found the range of recipes.

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29 Jan 2009 – 12:55
By Duncan Markham | Also posted in 5-star, general audience, healthy cooking, internationally known food author/chef, light content, mixed/non-regional cuisine, mostly recipes, review | Comments (1)

A Day at elBulli, Ferran Adrià | 2008 | UK

Reviewer says
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In the public imagination, the leading light of what has commonly been called the Molecular Gastronomy movement is the restaurant elBulli and its head chef, Ferran Adrià. For many years, elBulli has produced large, beautiful volumes of innovative dishes, techniques and the philosophy of their creation, first in Spanish and then, with some delay, in English. Unattainably expensive for many chefs and non-chefs alike, these books have provided one of the few clear insights into what Ferran Adrià and his restaurant is about, minus the breathless enthusiasm of food critics or hyped “weird-shit” descriptions of lesser food writers. At last there is a book that is aimed at the public, perhaps leading to better understanding of what this approach to cooking and eating is about. Sceptics might not make it through to the interesting bits, however, as this book is a vanity work of many pages and photos that only becomes interesting the further you look. In many ways this is little more than a coffee table book, yet fails in that form. It is simultaneously dull, unwieldy, informative and complex. The “potted guide” to elBulli, to use a slightly old fashioned term, just without the brevity!

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11 Jan 2009 – 16:21
By Duncan Markham | Also posted in 3-star, Spain, avant garde techniques, biography, book from a restaurant, food history, general audience, internationally known food author/chef, light content, mixed/non-regional cuisine, review | Comments (6)

Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, Ina Garten | 2008 | US

Reviewer says
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The Barefoot Contessa’s new cookbook retains the same qualities of reliability, versatility, and simplicity consistent throughout the Barefoot Contessa series, but it has enough flaws (expense, a few obviously throwaway recipes and sections, over-the-top richness) and references earlier books in the series too much to be truly friendly to new readers of Ina Garten.

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10 Jan 2009 – 09:41
By Mark Manguerra | Also posted in 2-star, book from a celebrity or tv-show, general audience, internationally known food author/chef, light content, mixed/non-regional cuisine, mostly recipes, review | Comments (10)

Cook With Jamie, Jamie Oliver | 2007 | US

Reviewer says
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Cook With Jamie, released by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in 2007, is a bestseller and was awarded the 2007 IACP award for best cookbook under the General category. While the photographs are breathtaking and Oliver works his magic and makes simple food beautiful and inspired, it still has it flaws—but it may very well still be one of the best Jamie Oliver cookbooks around, and worthy of an award even.

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21 Dec 2008 – 02:02
By Mark Manguerra | Also posted in 4-star, general audience, internationally known food author/chef, light content, mixed/non-regional cuisine, mostly recipes, mostly savoury, review | Comments (3)

Secrets of the Red Lantern, Pauline Nguyen | 2007 | AU

Reviewer says
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An attractive book presenting the story of the family of an Australian Vietnamese restaurateur and the Red Lantern restaurant in Sydney. It combines narrative with recipes. The photography is warm. Decorative patterns add a great deal to the appeal of the pages and to the fabric cover. The book is both saddening and frustrating. Despite the visual attraction and the promise of delicious food, Secrets of the Red Lantern presents a bleak narrative and has serious flaws which greatly mar the experience for some readers.

Few Australians have much understanding of the refugee experience or, more to the point, the Australian Vietnamese experience. It is good to see an attempt to recount the situation of people escaping Vietnam to seek a new life, the treatment as refugees in camps and then Australia, and how they have struggled and changed over the last thirty years. Combining this with the theme of food is logical. Many evocative books on food combine personal experience with the web of memory and emotion sustained by food. However, the story of this family involves so much suffering — largely at the hands of the writer’s father — that I found it uncomfortable to read this in what is clearly meant to be a cookbook. By ‘uncomfortable’ I don’t mean confronting; instead, I felt the narrative was out of place in this book.

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08 Dec 2008 – 14:32
By Duncan Markham | Also posted in 2-star, Australia, Southeast Asia, biography, biography, book from a restaurant, general audience, light content, recipes and context, review | Comments (0)

Coming: Living the Sweet Life in Paris

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David Lebovitz moved to Paris in 2002 to start a new life. After cramming all his worldly belongings into three suitcases, he arrived, hopes high, at his new apartment near the Bastille. But as this career pastry chef and cookbook author would soon learn, it’s a different world en France.

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05 Dec 2008 – 02:43
By Mark - admin | Also posted in France, book news, coming soon, gastronomic travel tales, general audience, guidebooks/travelogues, internationally known food author/chef, light content | Comments (0)

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New release: Memories of Philippine Kitchens

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In the newly revised and updated Memories of Philippine Kitchens, Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan, owners and chef at the Purple Yam and formerly of Cendrillon in Manhattan, present a fascinating—and very personal—look at Filipino cuisine and culture.

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New release: A Girl and Her Pig

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April Bloomfield takes home cooks on an intimate tour of the food that has made her a star. Thoughtful, voice-driven recipes go behind the scenes of Bloomfield’s lauded restaurants and into her own home kitchen, where her attention to detail and reverence for honest ingredients result in unforgettable dishes.

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New edition: South East Asian Foods

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Since its first publication in 1970, South East Asian Food has achieved a reputation as the authoritative book on the subject. This new edition features a completely updated and easy-to-follow design, with beautiful illustrations throughout.

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Worth a look: Fish: Recipes from the Sea

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More than 200 simple, authentic recipes for fish and seafood, newly collected from the Silver Spoon kitchen. From traditional seafood soups to simple grilled fish with herbs, the Italian approach to cooking with fish is both delicious and resourceful.

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Coming: Vegan a la Mode

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Ice cream, ice cream, everywhere, and not a drop of dairy to be found! Who knew that making vegan frozen treats was so easy, or so much fun? With Vegan a la Mode, you can recreate classic ice cream parlor treats as well as innovative new flavor combinations, with over 100 recipes to choose from. And don’t forget the toppings!

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New release: The Slow Cook Book

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From pot roasts to North African tagines, celebrate the art of slow cooking with The Slow Cook Book. The 200 recipes featured include all the more traditional slow cook dishes such as hearty stews and pot roasts but you may also be surprised to find cakes and bakes featured as well.

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New release: Rosa’s Farm

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The farm has always been a special haven for Rosa and her family, a place for good food and wine, and celebratory meals. In this book she shares more recipes for her favourite Italian dishes which, like those in the popular My Cousin Rosa are simple, traditional, lovingly prepared and utterly authentic.

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New release: Whatever Happened To Sunday Dinner?

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Lisa Caponigri created this book to give real families recipes they can easily cook and enjoy together. Caponigri has devised 52 delicious Italian menus–one for each Sunday of the year–that feature all the favorites, including classics like crostini, lasagne, polenta, stuffed peppers, veal piccata, risotto alla Milanese, and ricotta pie.

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New edition: Food For Free

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The classic foraging guide to over 200 types of food that can be gathered and picked in the wild, Food for Free returns in its 40th year as a sumptuous, beautifully illustrated and fully updated anniversary edition.

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New release: Treats from Little and Friday

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In this delightful cookbook, Popular New Zealand bakery owner, Kim Evans, a self-taught baker, shares the recipes for her most popular tarts, biscuits, savouries and cakes. Adapted for the home cook, Kim’s approachable recipes and helpful hints allow even the novice baker to master the delights of her delicious cafe treats.

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