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Cookbook Book
Over 100 of the most beautiful, influential and informative cookbooks of the past 300 years.
Compiled by a panel of experts in the fields of art, design, food and photography, Cookbook Book is an opus celebrating cookbooks of all shapes, sizes, languages and culinary traditions. From tried-and-true classics such as Larousse Gastronomique and Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child to surprising quirky choices such as The Mafia Cookbook and The Hawaiian Cookbook, each of these cookbooks has shaped, influenced or revolutionized home-cooking in its own way. Includes translations and full recipes. The book features stand out, gorgeous photography and is essential for any collector of vintage cookbooks or for those that love food history.
Compiled by a panel of experts in the fields of art, design, food and photography, Cookbook Book is an opus celebrating cookbooks of all shapes, sizes, languages and culinary traditions. From tried-and-true classics such as Larousse Gastronomique and Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child to surprising quirky choices such as The Mafia Cookbook and The Hawaiian Cookbook, each of these cookbooks has shaped, influenced or revolutionized home-cooking in its own way. Includes translations and full recipes. The book features stand out, gorgeous photography and is essential for any collector of vintage cookbooks or for those that love food history.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 3, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 4, 2016
This beautifully illustrated book is essentially eye candy : every page shows a page from a cookbook, always arranged in such a way that at least one full recipe can be read. The majority of books are in the English language, but French, Spanish, Italian and some Asian languages are also represented (these recipes are translated in the back of the book). These cookbooks cover a time range from the 19th century (Auguste Escoffier) to the present time (Ottolenghi) and a variety of cooking styles. It's a lovely book to browse and to read a recipe or two here and there. My main criticism is that the book contains so many well-known cookbooks and classics, with some notable exceptions such as a page from an unpublished recipe collection. I think the book would have been more interesting if it had focused on forgotten cookbooks or food fads.
September 9, 2019
5 stars for photos and recipe translations, 2 for writing (typos, odd grammar, mis-spellings).
Neat idea.
Fun to see cookbooks in my collection as well as several unusual or little-known books. I agree with the earlier reviewer who suggested a larger assortment of less widely acclaimed books may have made a more interesting choice.
Neat idea.
Fun to see cookbooks in my collection as well as several unusual or little-known books. I agree with the earlier reviewer who suggested a larger assortment of less widely acclaimed books may have made a more interesting choice.
March 7, 2018
fckin sick
January 14, 2023
Essentially it’s a classic cookbooks list. You can skim through this in less than an hour easily.
August 26, 2015
Phaidon, which is well known for its gorgeous photography books, has now given the same treatment to cookbooks – from classic to contemporary. Included are many cookbooks that I recognize, a few that I own and more than several that I had never heard of before.
There are the classics (The Joy of Cooking and Larousse Gastronomique), the foreign language (1080 Recetas de Cocina and Kogebog for Hvermand), the odd (DC Super Heroes Super Healthy Cookbook and White Trash Cooking) and the modern (The French Laundry Book, Momofuku and Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals), with recipes ranging from 1885 to the present.
This is basically a chronicling of cookbooks through history. While not completely comprehensive, it gives the reader a nice, visual journey through many of the world’s most popular, and enduring, cookbooks. There are 125 cookbooks featured (with at least once recipe from each book).
As this is a Phaidon book, it goes without saying that the photography is a strong point. Each cookbook featured is given a two-page spread and the way the book is laid out, it looks as if you’re flipping into the cookbook itself. The cookbooks themselves are the star of the photography, NOT the food. So if you were hoping for a book filled with food-porn photos, you’d be sorely disappointed.
Besides the introductions and the chapter headings, there is pretty much no text in the book (not including the text seen in the cookbook photos). There are two separate indices in the book – a traditional index (listing recipes, cookbooks and authors) and an A-Z Book List (listing all the cookbooks included in the book).
Although this isn’t primarily a cookbook, there are a huge variety of recipes included since there are so many different cookbooks featured. You can find recipes for everything from Bouillabaisse to Haschich Fudge, from Baked Alaska to Curried Bird Seed and from Mac n Cheese Pancakes to Carbonara Sauce – it’s all in here.
Personally, I’m probably never going to cook out of this book (although I might attempt some of the more historical recipes, just for laughs), but it’s definitely fun looking at all the different recipes and how cookbooks have evolved through the years. This is a great ‘cookbook history’ book. This is a lovely book to have in your collection if you are into collecting cookbooks or food history in general (like I am). However, at this higher price point, it’s probably not something that the average homecook needs to have on their bookshelves.
There are the classics (The Joy of Cooking and Larousse Gastronomique), the foreign language (1080 Recetas de Cocina and Kogebog for Hvermand), the odd (DC Super Heroes Super Healthy Cookbook and White Trash Cooking) and the modern (The French Laundry Book, Momofuku and Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals), with recipes ranging from 1885 to the present.
This is basically a chronicling of cookbooks through history. While not completely comprehensive, it gives the reader a nice, visual journey through many of the world’s most popular, and enduring, cookbooks. There are 125 cookbooks featured (with at least once recipe from each book).
As this is a Phaidon book, it goes without saying that the photography is a strong point. Each cookbook featured is given a two-page spread and the way the book is laid out, it looks as if you’re flipping into the cookbook itself. The cookbooks themselves are the star of the photography, NOT the food. So if you were hoping for a book filled with food-porn photos, you’d be sorely disappointed.
Besides the introductions and the chapter headings, there is pretty much no text in the book (not including the text seen in the cookbook photos). There are two separate indices in the book – a traditional index (listing recipes, cookbooks and authors) and an A-Z Book List (listing all the cookbooks included in the book).
Although this isn’t primarily a cookbook, there are a huge variety of recipes included since there are so many different cookbooks featured. You can find recipes for everything from Bouillabaisse to Haschich Fudge, from Baked Alaska to Curried Bird Seed and from Mac n Cheese Pancakes to Carbonara Sauce – it’s all in here.
Personally, I’m probably never going to cook out of this book (although I might attempt some of the more historical recipes, just for laughs), but it’s definitely fun looking at all the different recipes and how cookbooks have evolved through the years. This is a great ‘cookbook history’ book. This is a lovely book to have in your collection if you are into collecting cookbooks or food history in general (like I am). However, at this higher price point, it’s probably not something that the average homecook needs to have on their bookshelves.
December 29, 2015
Fans of cookbooks and art can both appreciate this offering. I now have a list of cookbooks to check out, too!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews