On Cookbooks: Can’t Cook From It, Why Buy It?

 I recently read this article titled “The Kitchen Commando” by Daniel Duane in Food and Wine Magazine‘s December 2015 issue. The article was in print and, apparently, the blog took on the more obvious title “What It’s Like to Cook with Dominique Crenn.” Had the print article had the same name, perhaps the trajectory of the whole article would not have left such a bad taste in my mouth.

Basically, (I am paraphrasing here and all implied sarcasm is mine) Duane has lusted over a copy of Dominique Crenn‘s cookbook  “Atelier Crenn: Metamorphosis of Taste“. but here is a bit of a problem. As cook who taught him self through carefully recreating dishes from cookbooks, he cannot recreate many of Crenn’s creations.  Whether it be utterly esoteric ingredients or impossibly difficult techniques, he is sadly not able to metamorphize his taste. So, the intrepid food writer puts the challenge out to Crenn herself asking her to come to his home and show him how. Crenn, up for the task, asks Duane to select a few dishes.

In anticipation, Duane ponders where she will get the ingredients and how long this feat will take. On the big day, Crenn arrives late, with one helper and casually nonplussed about Duane’s urgency to get started. As she goes about creating, she also casually substitutes ingredients and techniques, thus, saving herself time, effort and, likely, cost. What comes to the table, however, is nothing less than an amazing masterpiece. Duane concludes that it is he who has erred. Of course the cookbook was extraordinarily difficult. Why would and ordinary, self-taught, mere mortal home cook really expect to recreate a recipe from a 2 Michelin Star Chef?

I was not satisfied with his resignation. Why would I buy a cookbook of things I could not cook? Why wouldn’t a cookbook advise me of substitutions?

Now, before you point out my ignorance on Crenn’s book, I am aware of the reviews and accolades. I know her volume has been called poetry. I know “atelier” is a fancy way of saying ‘artist’s workshop’.  I also know, as Eater pointed out, her book introduction invites “. . . every cook in the world, from professional chefs to home cooks, to regard the kitchen as an atelier, and to get to work. Food is Art.”  Admittedly, I have not actually looked inside of Crenn’s book. And, honestly, my gripe isn’t even about her book, in particular. Actually, I appreciate Crenn’s honesty that her book is more aspiration and inspiration than instruction.  (Side note: For the life of me, I also can’t figure out why this book is offered as an e-book since it seems the generous sprinkling of color photography is meant to enhance the inspirational/aspirational aspects.)

My gripe is about the concept of the cookbook that isn’t meant for learning to cook certain dishes.  Crenn is not the only culprit.  At least she’s up front in letting me know I am not likely to cook these as they are written. There are piles of cookbooks out there which  really poorly written narratives disguised as cookbooks. I am a sucker for them. I actually OWN piles of these cookbooks.

Which leads me to wonder, who else buys these cookbooks and never cooks from them? I’ve read that Americans are cooking less – the NIH says so here.  Meanwhile, I’ve read that cookbook sales are one of the only bright spots in print publishing – the Brits say so here, so it must be true. Is there a longing to cook at home? If so, is the cookbook industry simply failing to fulfill that longing? If not, when why are we devouring these cookbooks?

Me? Why am I buying them, you ask?

Well, hmmmm. . .

While I eat out plenty, I actually do cook at home. . . a lot. I rarely cook directly from a recipe. Admittedly, as Crenn seems to be suggesting in her ‘atelier’ language, I browse a recipe or multiple recipes, online and in print for inspiration. I take from them what I like. I combine that information with ingredients I have on hand. Then, I make my own unique dish loosely based on the sum of the parts.  But that is me, what about those without a fearless approach to cooking and a background in culinary arts?

When I recently submitted a few photos (see here and here) of recipes I cooked from Lucky Peach’s “101 Easy Asian Recipes“, I actually resisted my natural urges to stray from the recipes at hand and create the recipe printed.  That was an act of self-discipline, but the recipe was actually easy – as implied.

But there were subtle bits and pieces of information missing or conflated into short prep words that, perhaps, the less-than-fearless and inexperienced (not even talking trained here) cook might not understand.  A three-step recipe that includes no less than five pre-prepped ingredients (like diced onions or cubed potatoes) does not take the implied 10 minutes to make, but rather, the 10 minutes plus the 30 minutes of prepping ingredients. By the way, another side note, prepping ingredients and doing your ‘mise en place’ is the single most important tool in improving your cooking, yet so many cookbooks just gloss over this step and lump it all into the ingredients list.

So, where am I going with this little exploration. I don’t know. This is really just my musing and questioning why cookbooks are going the way of art? They are attempting to reach into echelons of literature and providing partially incomplete instructions on actually cooking a dish while people, who don’t even cook, continue to consume these volumes.

Weird, right?