All I want for Christmas is food porn

My collection started a while ago. It started with one book. It was large and robust and too big to fit on the shelf. I found it in a library.

I took it home and I read it cover to cover – in bed. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was seductive and sensual and visually appealing. The pictures were beguiling – entrancing – and mouth watering.

I kept that book for weeks. I couldn’t let it go back. The library called, said it would suspend my account. To hell with them – I’m keeping the book!!

But I acquiesced – I gave in. I paid the fines and sent it back. I was sad and bereft – they took my cook book away. They took away my food porn. So I bought the book.

Food porn consists of cook books (specifically) whose presentation of the pictures is as appealing as the writing or the recipes themselves. Most of my cook books fall into this category.

The book which started my collection - The French Laundry Cook Book. This book is about Thomas Keller and his famed restaurant in the Napa Valley. His food has been described as the perfect representation of French cooking. He is bold and funny, and his technique is unequalled.

The French Laundry is the perfect food porn book – sexy pictures of perfectly plated food paired with recipes so deep and complex it would take an army of chefs to create even one dish. That’s what food porn is – food that you drool over, because for the majority of us hard-core foodies, we’re not going to be able to eat there. Why?

Well, the restaurant is in California and they take reservations 3 months out. Looking for the Valentines night special occasion? Forget it; it’s been booked since November. That’s why I turn to food porn – you get all the stimulation but you have to do the work yourself – it’s a cook book after all.

Books like The French Laundry are carefully crafted to bring a balance of writing and presentation. Looking at the cookbooks you’ll find it is possible to recreate this intricate and beguiling food - it just takes a whole lot of time, even for a seasoned professional.

On the other side of the food porn world are books filled with luxurious language, prompting you to squeeze every morsel out of the seductive side of food. No one does it any better than Nigella Lawson.

Her writing style is mouth-watering – her words sound pornographic – meltingly, squooshy, dollop, unctuous, luscious – these words punctuate her writing. Her latest cook book release Feast: Food that Celebrates Life is no exception.

What I love about her cook books is that, unlike the meticulous nature of the French Laundry book, her food is not elevated, tweaked or cajoled into submission. Her food is simple and easy to prepare but certainly no lighter in fat or flavour. The pictures within are not twisted and ring moulded into place – it is food we can all cook. She lovingly refers to most dishes as comfort food.

These books of food porn work in two different ways. I enjoy the painstakingly tedious nature of The French Laundry – jewels of colour, elevated from the plate, constructed with the intricacy of a Swiss watch maker. This is the food that chefs drool over. It is so very complex that it challenges us to say “I can do that too”. On the other side I enjoy the writing of the Lawson series: “…the layers of sponge, with their crisp-carapaced squashy-bellied meringue topping are sandwiched with tart lemon curd and softly whipped cream, so much better than a lemon meringue pie could ever be.” With writing like that, who wouldn’t want to have it for night time reading?

Food is life. It is bold and exciting and feeds and nourishes us. The more passion we have for new and exciting food, in whatever form you choose – the more pleasure you’ll find in your cooking.

Copyright 2008 Unlawful dissemination of this or any other work wothout expressed written consent will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Waiter Rant

Waiter Rant is one of the most anticipated “blogger’s books” to come out in a long time.

If you are in, or have been in the service industry for any length of time this book, which was once a real time blog was manditory reading. Not only was it witty and interesting but it was sad and real.  The writing style is just as front of house would see it. Now outed, this waiter has a lot to say and it seems like it might do really well in the food service sector.  This is the place to go when you are interested in buying the book