Book review: Nigel Slater’s ‘The Kitchen Diaries’
I received my copy by courier last week but I didn’t have a chance to start reading it until yesterday.
I don’t usually read book introductions but as I browsed The Kitchen Diaries‘ three-page introduction, something caught my attention and I just had to read everything. Let me quote: “The photography is done in ‘real time’. So when it says October 2nd or April 9th, then that is when the picture was shot. After I have cooked each meal and it has been photographed, we sit down and eat it while it’s still hot. Then I wash up. The pictures are taken at home, so if you recognize plates and pans from my books Real Food or Appetite, then it is because they are things that I have come to love and cherish. Whether it’s a vegetable peeler or a palette knife, it works for me and has become part of my life.”
Sounds familiar? Just like food blogging, eh? And The Kitchen Diaries was written as a journal covering a period of one year. If you’re a food blogger and connoisseur of cookbooks like I am, you appreciate honesty. And you appreciate the fact that the recipes in the cookbook were personally prepared by the author and that the photos were of the actual meals instead of carefully arranged ornaments courtesy of some high-priced food stylist. As far as I am concerned, the photo of the cooked meal is proof that the recipe works. And if the photo has been embellished, then, the author’s credibility becomes suspect.
Beyond the photos, there is one other reason why the recipes in The Kitchen Diaries represent real food for me. I’ve cooked similar versions of some of the recipes before and my family loved them.
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glad you reviewed this sassy. while i love books that go into food history and all that, sometimes i just want a good recipe that works — not everyone cares about all that other stuff! nigel slater’s book was not on my list to buy, but it may be worth a look after all.
i think food books should be categorized more clearly — cookbooks are for cooking; and there should be a name for the kind that goes in depth about the history and origin of dishes and ingredients. But then again, The Kitchen Diaries wouldn’t exactly be a cookbook because it is a blog in print form. Printed blog, maybe. LOL
a ako pwedeng mag order ng book ni NIgel Slater’s ” The Kitchen Diaries”, please advice.
jerry, i think it’s available on amazon.