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It’s hard for me to earnestly recommend a cookbook this expensive (It’s out of print!), but Pawson’s first book, a rec of a rec via the New Yorker’s Helen Rosner, is singularly outstanding. Yes, yes...A cookbook from an Englishman? The thing is, it’s decidedly un-British, continental in all the best ways, modern in its disposition, and prescient in it’s cookbook design. As a very goofy dude, operating a very unsexy business, Pawson’s work is a godsend. He approaches food in a holistic way - less so a manifesto, more so a journey through his mind. First, the kitchen from its bones - counterspace, appliances, hobs, things of that nature. He is an architect after all. The ideal oven size? At least 900mm by the way. Alongside the 200+ recipes in the book you’ll find some real elite food writing provided by Annie Bell. Brilliant and beautiful prose that you shouldn’t gloss over. Pawson recently released his second cookbook earlier this year titled Home Farm Cooking. I haven’t read it, but I reckon you should buy that instead. Don’t shell out hundreds of dollars on a cookbook unless you’re a collector or got money to burn. Live well.
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I have a lot of cookbooks but I never cook out of them, people give them to me because they think I will like them. I have never even attempted a recipe out of this book but I love it a lot. Brooks is the chef behind NY fav veggie spot Superiority Burger, and he cut his teeth for years as one of the cities great pastry chefs. I love this book because it’s extremely readable. In between insane Michelin-level recipes, he’ll have stories about his band Born Against (a band I enjoyed in high school!) touring across the world, or just Brooks letting one of his employees share a recipe for biscuits instead of making it all about him. It’s not taking a cookbook deal as the opportunity to change his life and become the next Ottolenghi, he basically made a hardcover zine about his story and how he got to where he is. If you have someone in your life who grew up around punk music and is now old, get them this book. They’ll form a bond with it, even if they don’t know what a Kouign-Amann is. Also, the photography and graphic design are refreshingly honest.
Mar 9, 2021
There's a bunch of beautiful cookbooks out rn that have recognization (anything from Serious Eats writers + Nosrat) BUT i have to throw this work from David in. It radically changed the way I thought about food.
Jul 2, 2024
Lots of recipes for poultry and meat in here, also a brilliant recipe for Portuguese Kale Soup. I love the Ralph Steadman cover as well.
Feb 15, 2024
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Part How To with John Wilson, Part Channel 5, part Longmont Potion Castle…I got introduced to the work of Frank Heath last year by my much smarter friend Noa Ryan so I’ll just let her speak on it:“There’s a sad, funny comfort in Frank Heath’s multimedia work, which is generally about humanity, bureaucracy, and the end of the world (and the “end of the world”). It’s equal parts playful and careful, joining research, make-believe and aesthetic acuity in what end up feeling like gestures of tenderness towards the tragicomedy of human affairs and longings. If you are looking for cynicism you won’t find it here, but you might end up liking the alternative :)”PS: If you have a link for Crypts of Civilization or Last Will and Testament hit my line.
Aug 17, 2021
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I’m a ripstop addict. I love workwear. I love technical fabrics. I would buy a ripstop suit if I could. (Anyone have a link?). I also live in New York and use a tote bag. Summer showers and cotton totes don’t mix, and they don’t do too well in winter either. The answer? Seventeen. Thirty. Three. (Not to be confused with all time British technical-ware brand 6876). Chicago outfit, real good product. If you need to move something in the city or take it out of town, they got you. All weather conditions. I’d like them to make me an apron, so if you guys see this...let’s talk. Keep this in mind: I won’t name any names, but watch out for imitators. Buy original.
Aug 17, 2021
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The legacy of Jonathan Gold lives on at LA Taco. There is no better place to understand Los Angeles than this bastion of independent food journalism helmed by Javier Cabral. Soul bound with city, this is the source code. If you’ve recently moved there, read LA Taco. There is no other alternative. A champion for the city’s street vendors and the food they make - there’s real heart in the writing, real fire. Come for the food guides, stay for the local policy coverage. Love Los Angeles? Buy a membership and support street-level, groundbreaking journalism. Honor the taco.
Aug 17, 2021