Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain with Laurie Woolever
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I don’t often gush about cookbooks; usually they follow a pretty basic format (starters, salads, mains, desserts) but serve their purpose very faithfully. This winter I came across a cookbook that had the functional aspect of a cookbook but did it with a level of flair and enthusiasm. Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain is everything I dream of when it comes to a modern take on classical cooking. As in most of his writing it really come from his vast experiences cooking in all different levels of restaurants, but the edge in which he does it allows the reader to feel the slight chef bitterness come out in each sentence which offers some level of reality. The book however covers all the essential basics (breakfast, soup, pasta, proteins, dessert etc.) but also has unique chapters such as Party service and Thanksgiving. Both those chapters consist of very concise instruction and thoughts on things that might be overlooked by the casual home cook such as “Can my guests comfortably eat this and not also wear it?” and “Do we have pigs in a blanket on standby?” Although I may be a huge Bourdain fan, this book would be constantly coming off my bookshelf even if it were written by a different chef. The whole book in general (basic recipes to whole dinner services) is just solid, simple good food done with a bit of emotional piss and vinegar. I find myself often going to this book to get inspiration not always for whole recipes but it gets my brain into chef mode.
4.75 Out of 5