"Notes from a Kitchen"

[chefhenry]

While I will probably end up purchasing it regardless when they figure out int'l shipping I was wondering if anyone has received a copy yet? Haven't seen a critical review yet, but of course those don't get published, or featured as often. Is it everything that it's cracked up to be? Certainly not the most expensive "cookbook" of the year but still...

[teonzo]

Thanks for pointing out about the existence of this book! I think I'll order a copy in January or February.

Teo

Edited December 10, 2011 by teonzo (log)

[vengroff]

I received a copy as a Christmas present. When I first flipped through it after unwrapping I was afraid it might be a little too arty for me, but my first impression was completely wrong.

This morning I sat down and started reading it and I think it is a phenomenal book. It's not a cookbook in any standard sense of the word. Instead it's a lavishly illustrated journey into the minds of a pair of great chefs and some of their best friends, colleagues, and suppliers. In prose and pictures it covers what H. Sean Brock and Johnny Iuzzini want their food to be, why they want it to be that way, what they want it to mean to people, and the obsessive lengths they go to in order to make it happen.

I'm halfway through volume 1 at this point, and I love it.

[Jesica]

Yes its really looking good book. I will also try to order it.

[chefhenry]

I've had the book for a while now, and have even had a few hours to spare to spend with it. I really have to say that I am really happy with my decision to get it. Not a cookbook at all per se but a book about cooks/chefs, and their obsessions and creativity. The artwork is amazing and as you read the passages you can't help but be inspired and get creative in your own kitchen. Love it as a pick me up when the day has been less than stellar. My only quibble is with my own impatience to get it, so I ended up paying much more than I would have, had I waited for a Canadian bookseller to carry it, but noooo not me... Ended up with the "Special Edition" though, very nice boxed set.