Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook

by Sohla El-Waylly, Samin Nosrat (Foreword)

Change the way you think about cooking! In this epic guide to better eating, the chef, recipe developer, and video producer Sohla El-Waylly reimagines what a cookbook can be, teaching home cooks of all skill levels how cooking really works.

“The book I wish someone had handed me when I began my own journey as a cook.”—from the Foreword by Samin Nosrat, New York Times bestselling author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

"A book to return to again and again and again.” —Yotam Ottolenghi, New York Times bestselling author of Plenty and Ottolenghi Simple   

A practical, information-packed, and transformative guide to becoming a better cook and conquering the kitchen, Start Here is a must-have master class in leveling up your cooking.

Across a dozen technique-themed chapters—from “Temperature Management 101” and “Break it Down & Get Saucy” to “Go to Brown Town,” “All About Butter,” and “Getting to Know Dough”—Sohla El-Waylly explains the hows and whys of cooking, introducing the fundamental skills that you need to become a more intuitive, inventive cook.

A one-stop resource, regardless of what you’re hungry for, Start Here gives equal weight to savory and sweet dishes, with more than two hundred mouthwatering recipes, 


Packed with practical advice and scientific background, and an almost endless assortment of recipe variations, along with tips, guidance, and how-tos, Start Here is culinary school—without the student loans.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, How To, Culinary

656 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2023

Reviews

[Traci Thomas]

Loved this book. I can’t wait to cook from it. I especially appreciated the way she explained things I know to do in the kitchen but never understood the why behind. Photo series were extra helpful for complicated recipes. Chefs kiss!

[Miss✧Pickypants ᓚᘏᗢ]

What I loved about this cookbook:
The self deprecating writing, the author had me laughing out loud with all her personal stories about experimenting with cooking as a youngster; It is a great cookbook for less experienced cooks; The informative pictorials and all the pictures of finished dishes; and The explanations for the science behind the recipes, although at times did get fairly technical but if you aren't a food nerd you can just flip past the pages with technical info.

What I didn't love:
How big and heavy this behemoth of a book was (5.25 pounds, I weighed it!); and Didn't care for the black on blue text boxes as they were hard to read in certain light

Overall, the ebook may be the better way to go for this one unless you are planning to display it on a coffee table. Definitely worth a read for cooks of all levels. While the first part of this cookbook (savory) felt geared toward less experienced cooks, the second part (pastry) had more advanced recipes suited for cooks with some experience.

[Wendy Darling]

I LOVED her on The Big Brunch so this definitely was worth checking out.

Content is great, techniques and recipes clearly explained with tons of photos. Especially good for beginners since she explains the why behind methods as well as how.

Less enamored with the massively heavy, unwieldy size (current hand injury exacerbates that) as well as the odd matte-slick, textbook-like texture of the pages. Because of that, I’m not likely to purchase this one, even though I do appreciate the content. But I did get my library to purchase a copy, so I can borrow it again and others can, too!

[Dani]

I read through every page of this 600+ page book and I have learned so much already- and i havent even cooked anything from it yet.

The way Sohla breaks down what is happening in each recipe, as well as encourages changing the recipe and trying new things made this so accessible for my brain. Im so excited to try cooking from it soon!

[Jess Liu]

i actually did read this front to back last year and now i always have a container of the green goddess dressing in my fridge

[Erin]

Okay I know it's kinda wild to count a cookbook as reading BUT if you've picked this one up, you already know what it is. For those not in the know, Sohla's cookbook is like 5 pounds and filled with so much incredible information and stories, I spent hours pouring through it. I loved it! And I'm not even the main cook in my household, haha. I was late getting to know Sohla, as I was introduced to her after the wildness at BA but I'm so glad she reached my lil corner of the internet. I love how varied the recipes are and the title speaks for itself-- you really could start your culinary journey with this book, as she provides so much comprehensive information on different cooking instruments, ingredients and techniques. I also love how she provides trouble shooting information if something goes wrong (as it inevitably will the first time).

Sohla is the best, this massive book is beautiful and I'm so glad I have it on hand to strongly request meals from it to my partner, haha.

[Catherinealice]

I can’t say I read all of this, but I cannot stop
Looking and reading. Chaucer’s 20% off sale and I treated myself to this beast and beauty of a cookbook. I’ve braised chicken thighs and made my rice better. After Salt, Fat, Acid Heat and fangirling Samin (she writes the forward in this one) I had to have this book. Sohla and her husband Ham have a fun YouTube show you should also check out. Or watch her on The Big Brunch…she is great. I want to try charred lemon risotto or poached eggs over Labneh with chili oil. Dang.

[sarah]

ridiculously informative, the perfect book for cooking or baking beginners and definitely something I will buy for newlywed couples in the future, or any friends who have expressed an interest in either. really fun and enlightening, my only complaint is that the ebook is not edited very well with the layout so this is definitely a book that should be actually in your hands.

[Myrissa Webb]

MUST READ!

[Heather]

This is an incredible cookbook with so many, MANY recipes. El-Waylly breaks down many important cooking techniques and really explains to the reader how to do things, pictures included, and then she includes a variety of recipes that demonstrate the specific technique she's teaching. For me, the book is fantastic but really overwhelming. It's very long, and there are almost too many recipes. This is the type of cookbook that I would need to make a project out of - I don't feel like I can randomly pick a recipe that sounds good and just try it. But, the picture are gorgeous, the writing is great, and the sheer volume and variety of recipes is incredible. I admire this cookbook a ton, I just think at this particular moment in my life, I'm not in the place to start cooking from it.

[Jade]

i read cookbooks like i read novels. i devour every word, i take notes, i study, i mark my favorite pages.

this has to be one of the best i’ve ever read. there’s SO much information in addition to great recipes (will be using her butter cookie recipe every christmas for the rest of time)

while id mostly recommend this book to new or inexperienced home cooks, the well seasoned ones will plenty in this book to enjoy as well.

[Alison]

This cookbook is so informative, and so approachable. The “why” is explained clearly and concisely, and Sohla connects the dots between different techniques and outcomes. It is also a very fun cookbook.

[Patty]

Done for now. I may check it out from the library again to reread some things.

Excellent book for a beginning cook.

[Kim]

As a vegetarian, I generally don’t bother with cookbooks that have meat-based recipes/instructions. However, I’ve really enjoyed the various videos & online recipes I’ve seen from Sohla El-Waylly and my library had a copy of this, so I took a look. This is really a delightful and well laid out cookbook. I appreciate the size of text and the font choices - super readable and well laid out overall. Also, I love a good flow chart and there are a couple of really good uses of flow charts here. Not exactly a standard cookbook, but great for learning or polishing your cooking skills. It would be a really good gift for someone just starting out, but also helpful for more experienced cooks who want to refine their techniques. (For the vegetarians, there are definitely meat-based recipes and cooking techniques but they’re pretty easy to avoid.)

[Janet]

If this book truly is for beginner or those “on their own journey as a cook,” my guess is they’d be totally overwhelmed! This is a BIG book with a LOT of recipes with a lot of steps and directions and explanations. Not simple at all. As a pretty seasoned cook, I enjoyed the read, but found very few recipes I’d actually want to try. Too much.

[Carinna Tarvin]

Sohla, you don’t know it, but Mike and I are your friends. You can come hang out with us in Tacoma whenever you want. Thanks for explaining EVERYTHING about cooking and baking. I’m totally inspired. Love, Carinna

[Shayna Elyse]

550 page cookbook that was full of niche cooking info which i really appreciated, though i think a majority of the recipes were more work than i’d care to put in typically (or just had lots of meat/fish, so not veg friendly for me).

[Jessica Parker]

I’ve been working my way through this cookbook for the better part of a year. All the recipes I’ve made have been easy to follow and really delicious. Like Sohla gives a lot of variations to try on her recipes.

[Mansi]

sapid & sophic

[Lisa]

I did not manage to make any recipes out of this book before it was due. I appreciated the format which felt very appropriate for beginner cooks and with useful tips for experienced home cooks. Her spice profile is different than mine. I Iwas quite interested in several of the dishes. Maybe I'll get around to you checking it out again and try some recipes this time.

[Naina Z.]

I love Sohla + I love her videos from BA/NYT but this cookbook just wasn’t it for me. Some of the design choices (I know, nit picky, but it’s a cook book where the pictures/graphics matter arguably sometimes more than the recipes) were not my favourite like the cover which just seems awkward and not fun to look at. The book has far too many sweet/dough based recipes for my liking. It tries to cover too much and seemingly focuses more on ‘simple’ recipes and techniques. Some of the recipes were just simple variations of ones that she already went through. All in all, it’s a good book but certainly not my favourite cookbook. I regret buying it as a pre-order but I do want to support Sohla because her videos have taught me so much! I hope she releases more advanced books

[Carolyn Fitzpatrick]

Amazing but also very intimidating. I consider myself a pretty good home cook. But this book is aimed at someone which a whole more time, cooking space, and budget than me.

The first red flag was in the preliminary chapter on getting your equipment together, when she insists that a stand mixer is an absolutely essential piece of equipment. The rest of the book was recipes, with some instructions on technique as you would find in every textbook. Her advice boils down to: taste everything and be willing to experiment. Which is good advice if you can afford it, and are able to cook just to please your own palette.

[Kayla]

I love this book! I thought I knew how to fry an egg, but I followed the instructions anyway and made honestly the best fried egg I've ever had. I love that she explains the why, I love the recipe index categories, I love that the book lies flat when open! I can't wait to cook my way through this book and improve my cooking and pastry skills

[Bookworm]

I knew of Sohla El-Waylly a bit from the Bon Appétit but did not really register her and her work until the story about Test Kitchen and the pay inequity she experienced. She pops up here and there on other videos and has her own work elsewhere but all the same I was excited she had a cookbook out and was happy to check it out to throw just a little support.

The book is what it says: it's about helping the reader become a better cook. With lots of tips, tricks explanations and photos, if you're into cooking and/or are looking to get better at it, this quite possibly a book for you. It is also organized by cooking method, so if you're looking to improve on that specifically, this book will help you with that.

It was okay. I did not know what to expect, and thought it was fine for what it was. I did not like that the font sizes and formatting seemed to be weird in my e-book version. Sometimes the text read normally and sometimes the formatting looked really strange, like it wasn't adjusted for an e-book format and made it hard to read whatever the text was (for example, it looked like the text box was really stretched out in one example).

I am unsure if it was an issue with my e-reader, the edition, if this is simply a book that is better as a physical book, etc. but this did unfortunately take away from my experience a little bit. All the same, though, it was still a good read and I am rooting for her.

Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.

[Sangeetha]

Sohla has created a wonderful guide that explains the "theory of cooking" with a truly global, multicultural lens. I think anyone could get value out of this. Beginners can learn how to use knives and other tools properly. Intermediates who want to branch out of stale weeknight staples can try new flavor combinations. Advanced chefs who need challenges can make multi course dinners with seasonal flavor combinations, and advanced bakers can make puff pastry from scratch. The two best lessons Sohla has to offer might seem like they're about cooking, but they're really about life. So many recipes, such as the one for a perfect French omelette, have sections that say "What the heck happened?". Rather than try to convince you that you can be perfect and be perfect every single time, Sohla reminds you that you need to just accept failure and understand that your conditions, your tools, your resources are always changing and no two attempts are ever the same. The second big lesson on its face is about learning how to better taste food. She says we won't really be able to grow our palettes and our sense of what's tasty to us by just eating our own cooking or at the same few places. This reminds me of another big idea floating around, that algorithms are flattening our culture. The world at the border of our comfort zones is bubbling over with possibilities.

[Taylor]

Samin Nosrat wrote the foreword to this cookbook, and I couldn't imagine a better chef to offer an initial guide through what I see as the natural sequel to Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. If Samin Nosrat's seminal cookbook is the foundation, with the essential framework for developing flavors, then Start Here is the rest of the structure, a fully realized vision of the home cook's kitchen.

Sohla El-Waylly wants you to imagine cooking as an all-gas-no-brakes journey to exciting and delicious food, and she also wants you to travel beyond the confines of this book. Her many "get loose" asides offer a blueprint for taking the recipes therein and making your own version. The instructions for the recipes also include great tips for success and many are accompanied by pictures at each step of the process (especially great for baking). It's remarkably generous.

I love this cookbook. It's one that I now consider absolutely essential to my home cooking library. I'm also incredibly grateful to El-Waylly for helping me indeed become a better cook, but more importantly, a more spontaneous, free and curious one.

[Violinknitter]

I haven’t had a chance to cook from this yet, but here’s my initial impression:

The book is organized by cooking method, so it’s easy to go straight to whatever technique you’d like to improve on. There’s also a recipe index at the front of the book, so you can search by food type instead if you want.

The cons:

- This book takes up a lot of counterspace and is really heavy

The pros:

- Large font size so it’s easy to read from a distance (if you’re trying to keep messy hands away from your recipe!)
- Book lays flat even if you’re at the very front or very back of the book
- Beautiful photographs that clearly illustrate the steps of recipes or the technique being shown
- Really excellent foundational cooking information given in each section… exactly the kind of thing Sohla is known for!
- Lots of troubleshooting help!

This is absolutely the kind of big picture flexible cookbook I love to have in my kitchen! It’s going to be one of my go-to recommendations for people who are new to cooking, along with Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

[Cathleen Adams]

Since retirement, I have been exploring my love of cooking. I have picked up a number of cookbooks on different 'ethnic' cuisines, different food styles (vegetarian) and formats like Instant Pot. I was delighted as I ventured into this book that while written for the novice, the detail of El-Waylly's descriptions has deepened my understanding of the 'why' with techniques and already I have tried a few of her ideas and recipes. This was a borrow from my local library that I will extend while looking for my own copy. Interestingly it also prompted me to go and find an old favourite dressing which I used to make but had forgotten about. Her receipe called for buttermilk which I did not have (Ranch- mmmm). I actually put this on the scale as it's quite a tome @ 2.4 kg (over 5 lb) so I pick it up with both hands.
Tonight I am making rice a bit differently based on her information. If you are looking for a text rather than just a cook book, this serves both functions and I highly recommend it.

[Ruth]

I requested this book at the public library, which was for me the perfect way to read it. It's a big expensive book and has a lot of meat recipes that I wouldn't use. I enjoyed all the food science tidbits and the authorial voice in the writing.

The book is organized into chapters by skill. The categories of foods that are in each chapter are based on Sohla's ideas about which foods match which cooking skills. The chapter on developing a sense of taste in seasoning is mainly salads. The chapter on temperature is egg dishes. I liked the chapter about beans, it was super helpful. I learned new things about when to salt the beans. Some even benefit from salt in the soaking stage. Lots of explanation about why to do things, not just tips about how to do them.

All together this was worthwhile and fun to read. I appreciated that recipes that were not vegan but could be made vegan were flagged. I am hoping to make the future brownies. (The food photographer made them look even more futuristic, but they are called that because they are squidgy rice flour brownies!)

[LouP]

FYI. Won this book on a giveaway. Thank you.
Did not know anything about Sohla when applying to win.

My 22 year old son says he watches all her videos and was going to buy the book. =)

I have to admit that I have not gotten all the way through. It is a long big book. I loved all the intro stuff. What you should have in the kitchen, how to care for the stuff you have, how to do some of the techniques. I really appreciated those sections. The recipes are great and I love how it is laid out by cooking method and the included pictures. They really help a lot. My wife, son and I are all reading through and trying the recipes.

I do think some of the pages that are all text could have used a pic or two or some spacing. It was a lot of words on one page. But other than that, I thought the book was well laid out, included great detail and pictures so we could make sure we were on the right path, and enjoyed reading more about Sohla.