| |
|
How to Select and Buy a Cookbook
Cookbooks are our passion Cookbooks comfort us when the recipes speak of home, stimulating our taste buds with a variation on tried and true dishes that are engrained in our habits. Cookbooks fly us on a magic carpet to a foreign country or an unfamiliar region of our own native soil, waking our palates to a new dish that may become a classic on our own tables.
Cookbooks have evolved through the years. Authors today are sharing their passions for life in general, and food in particular. They may impart history and culture through personal stories, speaking to our curiosity about the wide world of food. Often the photography is unusual - dedicated to scenes of a locale, using new twists to photograph food. These are the cookbooks that we find most satisfying as the authors give so much of themselves.
|
The authors' passions are revealed in the recipes they share, whether the passion is for families dining together, to discovering more about the world, or to examining their own small spot on the globe more intensely.
Cookbooks are so popular that there are 25,000 cookbooks published in a year. How do we sift through the dizzying array of cookbooks in a book store to find that perfect book?
I spoke with Kirsty Melville, President and Publisher of the book division of Andrews McMeel Publishing (whose books are among my most cherished), to see how she deals with an avalanche of clipped-together pages that we call manuscripts to select those that will one day become books of such quality that they will be on our shelves for years to come.
Melville answered that she looks for a distinctive voice, a compelling story, a unique approach to design. "The book must have heart and authenticity," she stated unequivocally. "There should be a deep expression of place - geography shapes us. Then I look to see how the book is organized." Continuing, she added, "The look and feel of a book is your guide to sensing the author's intention. Once you have entered, it is how the author shapes the material that matters."
|
| |
|
How to select and Buy a cookbook
The most basic rule of thumb is to not be in a hurry. You need time to enter the heart and soul of a cookbook, to examine each of its elements.
- The Cookbook Publisher
Look at the publisher's name on the spine of the book. The publisher is responsible for all the elements of a cookbook. The journey from manuscript to book is a lengthy process, a journey those loose pieces of paper make under the guidance of a team of professionals. Become familiar with the work of the various publishers. The imprint will tell you if you are in the hands of people who care about their product - you can safely buy such a cookbook, knowing that quality is within.
- The Title and Cover of a Cookbook
Look at the cover. Pause a moment to really look. The cover is the portal to a cookbook and should hint at a "distinctive voice, and compelling story" of the author. Read the subtitle which defines the book further. "Every cookbook tells a story," states Melville. "This is the entryway to the content. "
Three Cookbooks, Three Sensibilities
|
The cover photograph of My Nepenthe is of the spectacular vista of Big Sur where the Nepenthe restaurant is a landmark. This gives us a clue to the historical contents about place, and the word "my" hints at the adventure of growing up in and around Nepenthe (movie stars, artists, hippies - bohemian tales!), and shouts that the recipes will be ones that have satisfied generations of diners.
The cover of Venezia combines food, a romantic spray of roses and candles. While Venice is romance itself, we see the first glimpse of the poetic sensibility that Tessa Kiros brings to all her food writing. Melville says that when she recognized this sensibility, she wanted to publish the book.
My New Orleans shows its happy author on the cover and the word "My" again indicates that a personal story lies within. Besh is renowned as a chef and we hurry to look deeper into the book to see the classic recipes. This may be the definitive New Orleans cookbook, but it is also one that warms the heart with personal stories.
These three cookbooks stand as paradigms for the finest cookbooks today. These are cookbooks with a difference - books to enjoy while reading stories, books to bring to the kitchen, books that treat the eye with spectacular photos. The world has changed since our grandmothers' day when "receipts" were transmitted orally and written in store-bought ledgers.
|
- The Author
A celebrity name may catch the eye, a cook with a TV show may be familiar, and many are to be trusted by the reader. But a less famous name can offer surprises, even to the experienced eye of a cookbook editor. Melville states that when she reads a manuscript, the author "doesn't have to be known, but he or she must have a compelling story or a distinctive voice. There must be elements make the book distinctive for the reader. That is the entryway to the content," said Melville." As you ponder to select a book, think of what that voice means to you.
The Content of a Cookbook
- The Recipes
"This is fundamental. The author must care about how a recipe works," says Melville. The reader has to trust the author and the recipe, which must be tested and tested and tested, must be easy to follow and be written in a consistent way throughout the book. A great chef writing a cookbook must convert his recipes from large quantity to home size, and consider the lack of staff in a home kitchen.
Until we test a recipe at home, we cannot be sure of its accuracy, but we can look for consistency, for an easy-to-follow layout that is clear and simple to the eye. The final proof comes after we buy the book which means we must select with faith, not only in the author, but in the publishing house that has produced the work. Sloppy editing makes sloppy recipes. Read one recipe thoroughly. Do you understand it? Look at the list of ingredients: a long list may include many herbs and spices found in every pantry, or may have ingredients that are hard to find. If so, is there a resource page? We are getting closer to selecting the book to buy.
- Organization
The most beautiful cookbook is useless if you can't use it. Look at the index to see if it is clear. Look at chapter headings to see precise organization. Look at the head notes and sidebars. They should entertain or instruct, not be used as messy filler.
|
- Photography
"We're a visual society," says Melville. "We love the picture to guide and inspire us, show us what a dish should look like."
Photographs teach. A good photograph needs no words. These photos have been reduced from the original size in the book, however, when we look at them, we know what to do without text, though a good book will have clear accompanying text. The tools we need is brought to our attention, as is the method of using the tools. We know how full the piping bag should be and we see how to hold it.
|
|
|
|
These are instructions for an updated version of a child's favorite - "Retro Ringers with Silver Leaf."
from the art and soul of baking
Photographs tell a story of food and family. Looking at his photo, we see the light in a child's eyes as they hang a gingerbread cookie on the tree.
This is from Tessa Kiros book, apples for jam, and she has text to accompany the photo. Read the text here. |
With these guidelines, you will select and buy cookbooks that will be on your shelves for years to come.
|
Many thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing and Kirsty Melville for sharing knowledge and photographs with us. You can see all of their books at their web site: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ABOUT KIRSTY MELVILLE: Kirsty Melville, a native of Australia, was the founding publisher of Simon & Schuster Australia. In 1994, she moved to the U.S. as Vice President and Publisher for Ten Speed Press, and led it in its transformation from a niche publisher into an internationally recognized, award-winning publisher of titles including The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, a winner of the James Beard Cookbook of the Year. She departed Ten Speed to work as Publisher for San Francisco’s University Games, and joined Andrews McMeel Publishing in 2005. She is President and Publisher of the book division of Andrews McMeel Publishing.
Under Melville’s leadership, three AMP titles have been New York Times best-sellers in 2009: Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong by Jen Yates; Stupid American History by Leland Gregory; and Obama: Election 2008 by The Poynter Institute. AMP’s burgeoning cookbook program, launched by Melville in 2007, has met with great success, including an International Association of Culinary Professionals award and a James Beard Foundation Award nomination in 2009 for The Art and Soul of Baking by Sur La Table with Cindy Mushet.
Melville lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Jonathan Chester, an award-winning author and adventure photographer, and 11-year-old twins, Katharine and Cormac.
|
| |
|
| |
|
©
