Allegra McEvedy

I had to learn to like this cookbook. It was chosen by the leader of our cookbook book club which meant we used it for two meetings. I found the presentation hugely unappealing, the author's voice coy, the country backgrounds facile. Plus, the Portuguese section was based on Madeira. That's not unlike basing the Portuguese section on Brazil. The Spanish section on Mexico. Small quibble, but still. However, whining aside, the proof is of course in the using. Granted, I sometimes found her instructions coy or imprecise, but as a whole in ended up genuinely enjoying the cookbook. Since there are about 5 in our group and each meeting we brought at least 2 dishes, I have sampled many of the recipes' results. And enjoyed nearly all of them. It's greatest appeal is it's range of countries included and the uniqueness of her choices.… (altro)

While the recipes predominate, this is a combination cookbook, geography book and a book about knives. Covering towns from nineteen countries or areas: Turkey, New York, Burma, USA, Brazil, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, Japan, The Philippines, Cuba and the Caribbean, Malawi, Mexico, Norwegian Arctic Circle, South Africa, Lebanon, China, France and Spain, it offers a wide range of recipes from snacks through main courses to a few sweet dishes and more.

Each country is introduced with a page or two of description and a brief Fact File providing geographical and social information along with eating and drinking habits of the region. This is followed by comments on the relevant knife from this collector of knives. Then come the recipes each of which is accompanied by some helpful introductory comments, clearly presented ingredients and instructions, and usually a photograph of the finished dish. The recipes are unsurprisingly very diverse, with many interesting and some unusual offerings.

This is quite a substantial book, but its relatively sombre cover - no dust jacket - is not reflected by its contents. I find the presentation too much 'in your face', especially the introductory pages for each of the nineteen sections: coloured background for the type, angled boxes for the facts, and garish photo-montages. The recipe pages are a little calmer, but the photography throughout I find very unappealing. The pictures are harsh and brash with very flat lighting and often high contrast with bleached out highlights. More significantly in most cases it makes the food look unappetising, some dishes look more like sludge or worse. This is a great shame for one imagines a lot of though has gone into putting this book together, yet the result is not a book that one enjoys browsing just for the pleasure of its contents.… (altro)