Book: Ideas in Food

I found a great book at a local bookstore last week. It’s Ideas in Food—Great Recipes and Why They Work by Aki Kamozawa and Alex Talbot. They actually have a popular blog http://www.ideasinfood.com/. I’ve been to this blog and it’s really interesting. It has a lot of photos, interesting events and menus. The posts are not the usual food blog recipes but touch on various aspects and techniques of creative cooking. This book has about 100 recipes and the authors share a lot of tips and innovative thoughts on cooking. Both the blog and the book are inspiring. I think restaurant owners and food stylists can learn a lot from the blog while anyone who’s interested in creative cooking would enjoy reading the blog and the book. While the blog has many colorful photos, the book lacks vibrant visuals. Instead, there are simple explanations and simple drawings to help the readers understand.

Aki Kamozawa and Alex Talbot are fun people and they’re not scared to try new things. What I had a lot fun reading was when they tried to prepare a roasted pepper. They prepared a roasted pepper by burning the outside with butane torch. They weren’t satisfied with the result because it was still pretty raw so they microwaved it to serve as pickled pepper salad.

If you are interested in food styling, finding new ways to prepare delicious dishes or are a creative person in general, their blog and book are the must-check outs.