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Salt & Silver: Travel, Surf, Cook

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Salt & Silver is the first book to blend traveling, surfing, and the food cultures of Central and South America together through the travel stories of two young, adventuresome guys.

Salt & Silver traces the journey of Johannes Riffelmacher and Thomas Kosikowski as they travel through Central and South America—reporting on all the best surfing locations, chronicling the stories of local surfers and restaurant owners, and compiling recipes representative of each area. The narrative begins in Cuba with beautiful images of the city and the beaches, as well as stories related to the Cuban surfing community and a discussion of popular Cuban dishes. Next is a tour of Mexico—first with street tacos, a trip through Mexican markets, and day spent in the urban graffitiscene of Guadalajara; then with Tostadas de Pulpo (Octopus Crackers), Shrimp and Portobello Burgers, and glimpse into small town life in the remote surfing town of San Pancho. The Mexican leg of the journey draws to a conclusion with 7-meter-waves, BBQ, and Tajine in Rio Nexpa, as well as “a perfect righthander barreling of a point” in the scenic La Ticla. After Mexico comes a long list of sites and sounds as the two men make their way through Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and finally Chile, exploring the beaches and waves, as well as the kitchens of each location.
 
Interspersed throughout the pages of the trip are more than 90 regional recipes, over 250 stunning photographs, and a wide array of tips and stories ranging from social commentary on the Cuban surf scene to pointers on how to rent a “Hamaquera” in La Ticla for $3 a night.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 2016

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Megan.
242 reviews325 followers
March 5, 2016
Do you love travel?
Do you love the mystery and beauty of the ocean?
And most importantly, do you love food?

If you answered yes to ANY of these, Salt & Silver is a cook book made for you!

The best thing about this book is it's far from your usual cookbook. It tells of two friends traveling, surfing, and taking advantage of some fantastic South American food. And in terms of recipes, I want to make EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. And to top it all off, this is the most beautiful book I think I've ever seen. The photography is just super. More than just tacos and surfing, this is a story of a journey where love and nurture overlap.


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Profile Image for Sandra.
213 reviews105 followers
February 23, 2017
Two friends.
Surfer dudes.
One a photographer, the other a writer.
Both from Germany.

They embark on a year long, backpack surfing trip through Central and South America, catching the best waves, trying out local food for recipes and documenting their adventures for the book I am now holding in my hands.



So this is not the usual cookbook. Nor the usual traveler's guide. And neither the usual coffee table photobook. It is all of those into one!



Starting in Cuba, they travel to Mexico, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, to cross Panama into South-America following its spine through to Ecuador, Peru, and ending in Chile. At each stop they stay in hostels or apartments and try to live like the locals. Finding their way around, exploring the neighbourhoods, making friends, eating local cuisine, they are soon taken into the communities wherever they go.



The objective is to learn local cuisine by cooking the traditional recipes on their own, meaning these dishes could be recreated anywhere in the world. The food photography is (mostly) done during those cooking experiments, making use of whatever tools were at hand. The key is simplicity.



They also try out the hottest surf spots of several towns, and each country chapter ends with a surf guide. Neat summaries, including of other surfers, with drawn maps and accompanied by action photos of those waves.



As a whole this book is unique on its own. The photography is done well, the images are interesting and fit the gritty, adventurous and documentary style of the travelogue's. The concept is fresh and daring, whether you are a surfer, a kitchen prince/princess, or neither, this book will be enjoyed by anyone interested in travelogues. I can see this turned into a series where they visit other parts of the world. Highly recommended!


Review copy supplied by publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a rating and/or review.
Profile Image for Nancy.
433 reviews
May 4, 2016
This is a book about a Central and South American surfing safari taken by a photographer and a writer. It is a travel book and a cookbook and would be a great read for anyone who enjoys surfing, traveling, or good food. I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend that almost anyone give it a try.

All of the recipes are interesting. I particularly like that they included street food in their collection of recipes which was something that made it different from most cookbooks. Traditional recipes made in a normal setting rather than a sterile white test kitchen also set it apart.

I enjoyed their stories about the surf spots they visited and the communities where they spent their time. It was more like a friend telling you about their experiences than a travelogue.

I was gifted with a copy of this book by NetGalley in return for an honest review,
Profile Image for Wayne McCoy.
4,296 reviews32 followers
February 18, 2017
When I saw 'Salt & Silver: Travel, Surf, Cook' by Johannes Riffelmacher and Thomas Kowalski, it seemed like something familiar and yet completely new: a travel book, a cook book, and a book about surfing. I requested it and I'm glad I did.

The cover says "Travel. Surf. Cook" and that's exactly what you get in this book. The two authors are from Germany and know a thing or two about surfing and cooking. They spent a good chunk of time traveling in Cuba and Central and South America and this book is about the journey. They got to know the locals and seemed to avoid the tourist places if possible. They did the trip fairly cheaply and ate and lived adventurously. They were chased by cops in Mexico as they got caught doing graffiti with a local team of artists, jumped off a dangerous cliff into a pool of water, and learned the wrong way to buy a car. They got tattoos along the way to remember the journey, but the people are experiences are what I'm sure they will always remember.

Included in the book are recipes as well as gps coordinates and short write ups for surf spots in the places they visit. The photography is gorgeous and I thoroughly enjoyed this mashup of food, travel and surfing. I'm so glad I took the time to read it.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
53 reviews1 follower
January 24, 2018
Really enjoyed this book. It is great for those of us with an extreme case of wanderlust! I’m a bit under the weather today and really enjoyed the escape I found in these pages.
Profile Image for pati.
2,410 reviews
March 18, 2016
Interesting concept in this book; surfing all day and then cooking over a campfire at night is really a niche way of life but these guys made it work. This book is the end result...good job!
Profile Image for Charles.
13 reviews
January 1, 2025
This book is not what it appears to be on the outside. Is it a travel log? Yes, one could certainly say that. Is it a coffee table book? Yeah it kinda is. Is it a cookbook? It has some great recipes without a doubt. With that being said, I would not call it any one of those 3 things on their own, and instead a unique combination of all them together.

Its a great book detailing the travel and adventure of 2 friends and the people they met and stayed with along the way. The outline the spots they stayed in, the places the surfed at, and the food they ate.

I was at the very least interested in every recipe posted in the book, and there is a good few that I have pulled and plan to make myself. The pictures that fill the pages are beautiful and cohesive. The narrative, while succinct for the most part, is very poignant and tells a gorgeous story of adventure.

If you are looking for a book with great recipes, beautiful visuals, or something to motivate you to go outside your comfort zone, whether in food or life, this is a great book for you.
Profile Image for Tanya.
915 reviews6 followers
September 20, 2020
Salt and Silver is a beautiful cookbook. It reads like an adventure novel of two friends who travel through Central and South America. This isn't chock full of recipes, but each one seems carefully chosen. The authors share the stories of their friendships they made and after each adventure they give their favorite surfing locations just in case you actually care. The yellow fish curry was excellent.
1,921 reviews
September 10, 2022
A great travel book written by carefree souls who chronicle their travels in search of good surfing and the local food they encounter in their travels. The stories are impressive and if you are a surfer, the books highlight many of the best places to surf south of the united States on the pacific coast. The recipes highlight recipes and ingredients from many cultures and countries, Mexico to Chile. Worth reading.
247 reviews
October 3, 2020
These guys sound fun. They just randomly decide it's time for a new tattoo and get one.
I gave it 4* since I didn't look at any recipes. Like the format of this book: the travel notes obviously, the GPS coordinates of their surf spots (again not something I paid attention to), the QR codes to watch videos.
Too bad they stayed in one of 45's hotels.
Profile Image for J.
1,561 reviews37 followers
July 27, 2020
Man, this is a great combination of travelogue, surfing stories, and cooking recipes. Can't recommend enough. Great writing and photos.
11 reviews
February 22, 2016

On the bookshelf lately...
2/22/2016 0 Comments
Smile: Sell More with Amazing Customer Service. The Essential 60-Minute Crash Course by Kirt Manecke
4/5

Picture
This book share the top ten of customer service and sales techniques, additional tips to help you give great service, increase sales, handle difficult sales situations, and build customer loyalty. The author have over 30 years of sales customer service experience.
"This book is based on the simple premise that good service is good business - that if you treat your customers right, you'll be rewarded in return. Doing what customers love is a proven, guaranteed way to increase customer loyalty and sell more, without gimmicks or expensive marketing."
I appreciated the tips and real life situation he used for his examples, but it could be done more in depth as had known how to deal with most of the situation already. I would use the book as a go-to reference guide or to refresh my memory once in a while. ​

I got this book from Story Cartel for review, all opinions are my own.

Salt & Silver
​5/5

Picture
Salt & Silver is a book about the journey of two young men from Germany into findings Latin America's best waves and best recipes. It is a compilation of all the best stories and adventures they had through their trip.

The photography is gorgeous, there's lots of recipes of street food and surf guides. They got to enjoy places with wild animals where none of them were afraid of people. They go deeper than the usual tourist go to see. They visit often with locals and get to live authentic experience a rather than go on a mass-produced package.

"There are some damn good surf spots on San Cristobal. The most difficult and best wave is La Loberia. Loberia basically means "sea lion colony" and, like the name says, you share the waves with a herd of sea lions." Who awesome is that!!? They got to live ton of cool and some dangerous - less cool - adventures. They got some tattoos too during the trip from locals. I love the whole philosophy of the trip. The only thing that I did not like is that, as a vegetarian, I found some recipe too extreme. Recipes are locals and they eat different parts of animals as what we are use too in North America. But I just wished there would be more veggie recipe. Although they have interesting street food for non-veggie.

I got this book from Net Gallery for review, all opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Emy.
328 reviews2 followers
January 19, 2016
THIS.WAS.AMAZING.
I love travelling, but South America, cooking and surfing are three things I'm not crazy about, and yet I thought the book was SO interesting. It's no heavy to read at all (unlike a lot of other guides) and I would recommend this to anyone interested in traveling, no matter what they actually prefer, this will still be a very interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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