Cooking has become, for some time now, just another spectacle, one that everyone seems to aspire to (as a cook or as a diner) and that is followed with a fervor similar to that shown with music or cinema. Even literature. Trying new flavors and restaurants is both a passion and a way, for some, to reflect a status. Only in this way can we understand why fiction increasingly includes more titles like The Bearthe hit series about a chef who tries to revive the small sandwich restaurant that his brother leaves him as an inheritance. We delve into the literature on this drive for flavor to recommend great books about chefs and cooking.
5 healthy recipes from Spanish chef Xavier Pellicer
Memoirs of chefs
Although it is a profession full of “smoke sellers,” chefs can be passionate and even exciting people. A perfect example is Anthony Bourdain, cook, traveler and author, whose turbulent life was reflected in his Confessions of a chefHalf recipe book and half life experiences we find ourselves in Momofukuby Asian American chef David Chang. Similarly, in Rasa: flavours and stories from my Indian kitchenAnjalina Chugani uses cooking and food to tell us about her life journey in search of her Indian roots.
Confessions of a chef
Anthony Bourdain
A writer and chef, Bourdain doesn’t mince words when it comes to explaining everything that happens behind the kitchen door. In this delightful and entertaining book, the author is faithful to his premise that “for me, food has always been an adventure,” and accompanies the reader through a life full of anecdotes: from his modest beginnings working as a dishwasher in a bar in Provincetown to the kitchen of the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center or the drug dealers of the East Village. In a relaxed tone, from colleague to colleague, he reveals the dark and hidden depths of a restaurant, a world that constitutes his natural habitat. His experiences, experiences and anecdotes, both with cooks and customers, are accurately recounted in this book, which is not without a certain air of provocation. Instructions for eating out Easy: Tuesday to Saturday. Busy places. Movement. Rotation. Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually the best days to order fish (in New York and almost every other major city). The supplies that come in on Tuesday are fresh, the basic preparations are freshly made, the chef comes in rested and in a good mood after the relative serenity of Sunday and Monday. On Fridays and Saturdays the supplies are also fresh, but they are very busy, so neither the chef nor the cooks can give your order the attention they – and you – want. On Tuesday night the chef wants to be happy. On Saturday, on the other hand, all he thinks about is closing up, turning the tables upside down and losing himself in a night of happy self-destruction.
Momofuku
David Chang y Peter Meehan
Here, celebrity chef David Chang presents his revolutionary cuisine and the stories that shaped it.
In Momofuku («Lucky Peach» in Japanese) you will discover the recipes, stories, anecdotes, passions and peculiar personality of Dave Chang, currently considered one of the best chefs on the planet.
The most iconic dishes from his New York restaurants, such as Ramen Momofuku, Pork Bao or Foie Gras Shavings, are the result of his obsession with the perfect ramen recipe and his devotion to pork, Korean food and the technique of the great classic recipes.
From now on you will know all the secrets of their iconic dishes and you will be able to cook them at home.
Enjoy the feast.
Rasa: Flavors and stories from my Indian kitchen
Angelina Chugani
A journey through the life of Anjalina Chugani, a chef of Indian origin, from her beginnings in her native London, through her teenage years and early adulthood in Bangalore (India, where she rediscovered her roots), to her home in Barcelona. The author has always expressed herself through the food she knew and loved. This gastronomic journey shows her life as an immigrant at most stages of her life. Her mouthwatering recipes not only highlight her Indian roots, but also show her Western influence and the incorporation of local, seasonal ingredients in each dish. Each chapter shows a vital part of her life through food, culture, her learnings and her travels. The more than 100 recipes, perfectly thought out and thoroughly explained, are easy to follow for any passionate cook, whether beginner or expert, and will transport the reader to the gastronomies of many parts of the world, but above all to her beloved India. The attention to detail and beauty of the design of the dishes Anjalina Chugani has created can be appreciated in the fantastic photographs by Becky Lawton, who accompanied the author on one of her trips to India to capture the special atmosphere that this book treasures.
Literature on cooking
Many authors have been interested in the pleasure of food and the art of cooking to build succulent works. Journalist Bill Buford immersed himself in that world in Heat and flavor transmissionthe story of how he entered the culinary universe as a kitchen assistant, first in the United States and later in Europe. From another point of view, The perfectionist in the kitchen We discover the most gastronomic Julian Barnes, in a fun and light book about the British chef’s experiences in the kitchen, a hobby that came to him in the middle of his life.
The transmission of flavor
Bill Buford y Bill Buford
The perfectionist in the kitchen
Julian Barnes
The pleasure of eating
Finally, other books approach cooking from the purest pleasure and the celebration of what it means to be happy when faced with a good plate of food prepared with care. This is the case of The bread I eatby Paloma Díaz-Mas, a book in which food is the starting point towards memory and art. And also The country where the lemon tree bloomsa delightful book in which Helena Attlee takes us on a geographical and historical journey through Italy and her passion for citrus fruits.
The bread I eat
Paloma Diaz-Mas
A stew is the starting point of a beautiful book about food, everyday life, memories and literature.
“I’m going to eat.” This is the brief sentence that begins this book about food. About food and life, food and memories, food and literature. This is not a story about haute cuisine, nor does it contain elaborate and far-fetched recipes, nor does it talk about media chefs. This book revolves around a modest stew that the protagonist is about to eat at home.
And, starting from this humble and traditional dish, the successive chapters tell us about the neighborhood store that sells prepared food, the ingredients of the stew – meats, legumes, vegetables… –, the water and wine and bread that accompany it, the tablecloth and the cutlery, the oil and salt containers, the cooking process and the women who preserved and transmitted culinary knowledge from generation to generation… And through all these elements the author delves into everyday life, into childhood memories and beyond childhood, into the literary pages in which food is the protagonist…
The result is a text that amazes without raising its voice, that excites without resorting to loud fireworks, that captures life without getting wrapped up in ostentatious pirouettes. A beautiful book in its apparent simplicity, as tasty as the plate of food around which it is written.
The country where the lemon tree blooms
Helena Attlee
Helena Attlee, a distinguished garden expert, fell under the spell of citrus ten years ago and has since been gathering material and shaping this delightful book. With immense wisdom, delicacy and a sense of humour, the author tells us about the origins of citrus, gastronomy and the country, reveals the secrets of the art of horticulture and offers us recipes as simple as they are succulent. The aromas, colours, textures, light and landscapes she evokes are the threads of a golden story where civilisation and nature are reconciled. And so The Land Where the Lemon Tree Blooms invites the reader to embark on a unique and fascinating journey to the Italy of yesterday and today.
