The Cook You Want to Be is an interesting and inspirational guide with recipes by Andy Baraghani. Due out 24th May 2022 from Crown Publishing on their Loreena Jones imprint, it's a substantial 336 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
The author has such a chatty, engaging, and friendly style of writing that I found myself reading this cookbook/memoir/masterclass cover to cover, more like a novel than a cookbook. He has worthwhile things to say about cooking and food, about the nature of hospitality and culture, and about eating and how our lives and experiences inform our growth as cooks.
The recipes are arranged thematically and built up systematically - from partial recipes, sauces, ingredients, breadcrumbs, etc through eggs, snacks, salad, veg, grains, soup, fish, meat, and sweets. Throughout the text, between and in the recipes, Mr. Baraghani gives tips, observations (buy new ingredients, explore, try), and encourages readers to stretch their own boundaries.
The recipes are written with an introduction and tips for serving, followed by ingredients in a bullet list (measurements are given in imperial - US measures), and step by step cooking instructions. Nutritional information is not provided. Many of the recipes contain photos. The photography is clear and many photos are in color. Serving suggestions are attractive and appropriate. Most of the recipe ingredients will be familiar to North American cooks. Some few will require access to a larger metropolitan area or a well stocked international market.
Five stars. This would be a good choice for public library acquisition, and for the home cook's library.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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