Two Dozen Eggs: Pocket Stories for Cooks

by Hugh Corcoran, Peter Doyle (Illustrator), Rachel Roddy (Introduction)

Two Dozen Eggs by Hugh Corcoran is a pocketbook collection of short stories and recipes.

Hugh Corcoran is a cook from Belfast who has spent the most part of the last decade living and working in the Basque Country and France.

This book contains a collection of short stories written over the period of a few months but based on the memories and experiences of those places and his childhood in Ireland.

The recipes are intentionally vague with the view to encouraging the reader and cook to think for themselves and follow their intuition, which is where all good cooking comes from.

Two Dozen Eggs features an introduction by Rachel Roddy and is illustrated by Peter Doyle.

211 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Maisie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really didn’t expect to love these stories as much as I did. I felt as if they were written with me in mind - so quiet, almost romantic and I loved the simplicity and lack of instruction to the recipes. Hugh Corcoran clearly adores Ireland, France, their people and their food.

[Solomon Plotch · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

Really nice collection of short stories with some great food guidance. The guy really spoke my language a lot here!

[Jenina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only good olive oil and vegetables. Plainly beautiful glimpses of each other’s tables.

[Edvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a sweet warm hug read, to me. I loved all the little glimpses into lives that felt really very real, to me. It's clear that Hugh is not only well traveled, but keenly observant and, I would imagine, a great listener.

I have yet to try any of the recipes, except the omelette recipe which I didn't really eat as an omelette, but throw chunks of into fried rice.

It was a 5/5 for comfort at sweetness until the last 3-4 stories which I felt dragged it on a little longer than it needed to be and made it from a short cute little book, to a medium cute medium book—a format which I think works less in its advantage than the former would've.

However, for a debut, excellent work. No hunger—pun intended—for a sequel of this format, but I would check out another format of project from Hugh.

A very 4/5, 4/5.

[Daniela D. M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ended 2024 reading this book and it was a great combination of short stories. I love that the stories take place in the U.K., Spain, and France. The recipes are ones of revolution, love, acceptance, and humor. My favorite stories are of the girl who eats cake and is sleeping with an older man, of the couple in Basque country, the women who borrows eggs from her eclectic neighbor, and the old man who dies with friends who care for him.

[Gnarly Charly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ive been talking with my friends a lot about the concept of “The village”. For me, this book is about that. It shows the bond between friends and strangers. How people take care of each other and love one another on a broad level. I love the illustrations that go with the chapters and the recipes that function as a kind of summary or filter of the story that you’ve just read.

[Robinvanl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not perfectly written and some sentences are annoying, but also, so charming. The drawings are amazing

[akoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing!!! humble!!! could read it forever!!!!

[D.R.O · Rating 3 out of 5]

picked this up at o’connelly’s in dublin for my trip home ~ part memoir, part recipe + cooking guidance which is humble and nice imo

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cool concept, plus I read this in a book shop in Scotland so it gets bonus points for that