It’s surprising hard to find high quality books that have both soulful imagery and a practical no-nonsense approach to cooking. When i started cooking years ago I came across Jaime Oliver’s books. I don’t really like any other network chef other than Gordan Ramsey because they all seem to lack soul and heart in their cooking. These books below, among others, are very conversational about the important concepts of cooking.
For me, I hate following recipes and rarely do so, but the concepts I’ve learned from these books has allowed me to know how to cook different ingredients and pair them with other flavors. It freed me from the recipe book and made cooking more comfortable. Cooking doesn’t have to be a stressful affair where you second guess your every move. Reading these books will liberate you from the confines of step-by-step instructions and give you confidence to experiment. If your a recipe follower, by all means do your thing. But that’s not for me.
