COOKBOOKS

LE GUIDE CULINAIRE (1903, English translation 1921) by August Escoffier
The definitive cookbook of French food. I like to say that Italian cooking is the food of many grandmothers, but with French cooking, there’s a book. Pellegrino Artusi may be a counter-argument to this thought, but Artusi described regional cooking more than he dictated an encyclopedia of recipes, as Escoffier did with French cooking. Escoffier wrote for the brigade; Artusi wrote for the curious cook and reader.

HONEY FROM A WEED (1986) by Patience Gray
One of my favorites, more memoir than cookbook, it contains plenty of recipes. It is essentially a chronicle of the travels of Ms. Gray and her sculptor partner, whom she refers to only as “the Sculptor.” The live throughout the Mediterranean. In each location Ms. Gray learns from local home cooks, and she inhales their cooking. She tells the stories of the simplest of dishes, to a staggeringly elaborate “Dinner of the Seven Fishes” that Italian-American cooks reinterpret every Christmas Eve.

THE AUBERGE OF THE FLOWERING HEARTH (1973) by Roy Andries de Groot
A dreamy read, recalling a place lost to time, de Groot tells the origin-story of the magnificent thousand-year-old liqueur, Chartreuse, whose unlikely survival over time is–dare I say–a miracle, especially given the adversity faced by the Carthusian monks who created it and today still make it. There’s also a lovely, firm, cow’s milk cheese called Le Chartreux that can be found in the U.S. today.

THE TASTE OF FRANCE (1988) by Robert Freson
A book of evocative photos (Freson was a professional photographer of repute) whose recipes are sometimes little more than a description–perhaps the best kind of recipe– and are often deeply inspirational. Freson shows us French culture at it is richest and most poetic, with photos of a world that may no longer exist: La France profonde.

THE FOOD OF FRANCE (1958) and THE COOKING OF ITALY (1971) by Waverly Root
A encyclopedics work of regional food unequaled in its spirit, content, and detail.

SIMPLE FRENCH FOOD (1974) by Richard Olney
A work of importance and worth that is foundational to some cooks. It’s written by an American expat painter and writer who made Southern France home for the better part of his life. He tells the story of his cooking and education into the food of his adopted home.

MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING, vol 1 & 2 (1961 & 1970) by Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertolle
An illustrated, thoroughly detailed cookbook that helped educate many young American cooks, along with Ms. Child’s long-running PBS television show, The French Chef.

THE CLASSIC ITALIAN COOK BOOK: THE ART OF ITALIAN COOKING AND THE ITALIAN ART OF EATING (1973) and THE ESSENTIALS OF ITALIAN COOKING (1992) by Marcella Hazan
Some of the best and most complete books on Italian food. Her Tomato Sauce with Onions and Butter, and Bolognese Sauce are considered classics of the American table.

PORK AND SONS (2007) and TERRINE (2008) by Stéphane Reynaud
Reynaud is an excellent writer living in Paris, covering French classics of a bygone age with present day aplomb. Inspirational photos fill the books.

FRENCH PROVINCIAL COOKING (1960) and FRENCH COUNTRY COOKING (1960) by Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David wrote books on French, British, and Mediterranean cooking, many of them now classics. The books were well researched and carefully written, even authoritative. Many have wonderful, hand-drawn illustrations that boost their appeal and beauty. Penguin issued a set called The Elizabeth David Cookery Book Set that includes the aforementioned two volumes, plus Italian Food, Mediterranean Food, and Summer Cooking.

THE TASTE OF COUNTRY COOKING (1976) and IN PURSUIT OF FLAVOR (1988) by Edna Lewis
The doyenne of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis stands alone among Southern cooks. She cooked for years in Manhattan, and wrote prolifically about food, kitchens, and Black Southern life.

THE SCIENCE OF COOKING AND THE ART OF EATING WELL(1891) and ECCO IL TUO LIBRO DI CUCINA (1904) by Pellegrino Artusi
A wonderful guide to the early regional cooking of Italy. Artusi may be the first writer to describe a national Italian cuisine.

sausage making

THE PROFESSIONAL CHARCUTERIE SERIES, vol. 1 & 2, by Marcel Cottenceau, Jean-François Deport, and Jean-Pierre Odeau

An indispensable two-volume set by three of the premier charcutiers and instructors in France. Intended for the professional, the series covers every aspect of the métier, with the exception of dry-curing. Volume 1 covers hams, sausages and sausage meats, blood sausages and white sausages, rillettes, rillons, confits and smoked pork. Volume 2 includes pates, terrines and ballotines made with poultry, veal, pork, and liver, as well as andouilles, andouillettes, and foie gras. Detailed and beautifully illustrated.

CHARCUTIER. SALUMIERE. WURSTMEISTER, and THE ART AND PHILOSOPHY OF PRODUCING QUALITY PORK PRODUCTS
by François Vecchio

The definitive American book on sausage making, salumi, and charcuterie, written from François' perspective of 60 years' experience in our craft, well-illustrated and clearly explained. François is our direct connection to the European tradition in sausage making and charcuterie. He has also created as a companion piece to the book, an instructional DVD on utilization of the hog. Combined and individually, these are essential reference materials for every sausage kitchen and charcutier's library. Both are available through his website or through Amazon.

THE ART OF CHARCUTERIE by Jane Grigson (1966)

A beautiful, hand-illustrated book of the highest quality, by a great English culinary writer. It begins with a guide to the charcutier's kitchen and equipment, and covers the basics and elaborations of French and English sausages, pâtés, terrines, ballotines, rillettes, sauces, hams, roasting of pork, puddings, innards, and concludes with a discussion of the fat of the pig. Many detailed recipes are provided. Old school in the best way, this superb book was "snout-to-tail" long before the term existed. 

memoirs

THE APPRENTICE: MY LIFE IN THE KITCHEN (2015) by Jacques Pépin
A sweet story of the life as an apprentice in French kitchens. Pépin remains one of our most-loved cooks.

MEDIUM RAW: A BLOODY VALENTINE TO THE WORLD OF FOOD AND THE PEOPLE WHO COOK (2010) by Anthony Bourdain
Stories of kitchen life and work. Read especially the story of Justo Thomas, the fish butcher at Le Bernardin, in NYC, in “My Aim Is True.” If I we know anything about Bourdain, he probably took the title from the Elvis Costello’s first album. Of course, Bourdain wrote Kitchen Confidential, that exposed the underbelly of kitchen life in the late 20th C., and gave many hope and redemption.

DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS (1933) by George Orwell
A classic of literature, with detailed and evocative tales of life in Paris kitchens in the early 20th C.

M.F.K Fisher
It is impossible to say enough about M.F.K. Fisher, who wrote many books that are standard reading and of indescribable inspiration for contemporary culinary writers and many cooks. Read anything and everything you can from her many writings: Serve It Forth, Consider the Oyster, How to Cook a Wolf, The Art of Eating, The Physiology of Taste, and the enchanting personal history of childhood of her life in Aix-in-Provence, Boss Dog. A remarkable woman.

THE JUNGLE (1906) by Upton Sinclair
A standard of American high school english classes, this book is perhaps single handedly responsible for the creation of the USDA and its oversight of the meat industry. A brutal and oddly hopeful description of work and life in Chicago’s slaughterhouses a hundred years ago.

periodicals

PETITS PROPOS CULINAIRES is an academic journal of food history, that comes out of the Oxford Food Symposium crowd. It can be esoteric, but it’s a great source for those who are deeply curious about food.

THE ART OF EATING has gone through several iterations over the years, and is now back under the pen of its founder and creator, Ed Behr. He’s now on Substack, which many writers have migrated to, as more formal publications have dwindled.

GRAVY is the publication of SOUTHERN FOODWAYS ALLIANCE, a popular group doing good work. It suffered from a neglect of Black cooks and writers until recently, when it was shaken from its torpor.

GASTRONOMICA is published by UC press. Its articles are well researched and engaging, and cover many parts of the food world.

COOK’S ILLUSTRATED is from AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN, who I don’t especially like, but their magazine is good and more accessible than some of the more niche publications listed above.

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SOME GREAT SHOPS FOR COOKBOOKS:

Omnivore Books on Food (SF)
A wonderful, small shop in San Francisco’s Noe Valley packed with new, antiquarian, and collectible cookbooks of the highest quality, sold by a knowledgeable proprietor, Celia Sack.

Now Serving (LA)
An engaging, off-center shop that sells kitchen tools, clothing, and artifacts, in addition to excellent, sometimes unexpected, books.

Archestratus (Brooklyn)
Eccentric, excellent shop in Greenpoint with a charming Sicilian caffè in the back.

Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks (NY)
Rare, antiquarian, and out-of-print cookbooks. One can make a private appointment for a visit outside of regulars hours.

Kitchen Arts and Letters (NY)
Excellent shop selling new and out-of-print cookbooks.

Books For Cooks (London)
Well-known Notting Hill shop with many, many cookbooks. Wonderful, quirky place with a test kitchen.

Librairie Gourmande (Paris)
Vast selection of cookbooks for professionals, teachers, and serious students of food and wine.