With an insatiable appetite for food comes an oversupply of cookery books that we can’t help but buy. While replete with images styled to make you feel hungry and inspire you to get chopping, plenty them remain unused apart from being a decorative tome for a shelf.
Mina Park, founder of private dining and pop-up event organiser Sook, has over three shelves lined with cookbooks. We asked her to share her favourites that are not only beautiful, but most importantly, useful. Curious about what the home of a Korean self-made chef looks like? Take a closer look at her space.
Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop
I am obsessed with spicy, Sichuan food. Dunlop’s story is fascinating – she was the first Westerner to study at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. I used to go to her restaurant Bar Shu in London all the time when I lived there. This cookbook is about home cooking, Sichuan-style. Each recipe is easy to follow and never fails. I cook a recipe inspired by her every week at least.
A Modern Way to Cook by Anna Jones
A new vegetarian cookbook that follows her debut cookbook last year, A Modern Way to Eat. The recipes are uncomplicated, plant-based, fresh and suitable for every day. Jones has really nailed the way most people I know want to cook and eat these days.
Bar Tartine by Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns
On the other end of the spectrum from Anna Jones’ style, half of Bar Tartine covers dehydrated powders from seasonal herbs and vegetables, infused vinegars and oils, wheys and kefir, and pickles and syrups. It’s a wonderful resource for modern techniques and inventive, market-inspired recipes. I find this book particularly inspiring when it comes to thinking about how to layer flavours in a dish.
Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton
Prune was one of my favourite restaurants when I lived in New York. The chef finally came out with a cookbook last year and it reads like her kitchen diary with hand-scrawled notes, stains, and Post-Its. I like cookbooks that I can read through before bed, and this has a homey, personal feel just like the restaurant itself.
Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters
Alice Waters is my idol. She was promoting farm-to-table, locavore and seasonal cooking decades before these became buzzwords. I have all of her cookbooks, but this is one of my favourites. The plum upside-down cake is a hands-down crowd-pleaser; if you come over to my house for lunch, there’s a 50% chance I’ll make it for you.
Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi
This is a cult classic by now, but I never get tired of the recipes. Every single one is so precise and anyone can create beautiful dishes from them. I used to eat at Ottolenghi a ridiculous number of times a week in London and with this book, you can actually recreate the goodness at home. Not every restaurant cookbook allows you to do that.
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