2020 may well be the year of the home chef; with all of us intermittently bouncing between ever-changing government regulations on dinning out and being homebound – the kitchen has become an even more important focal point in many of our homes.
With this new ability to spend time at home has come with a global movement towards the rediscovery of food and experimentation with new cuisines and recipes. Suddenly many of us have the time to enjoy our meals and how they are made.
But a lucky few made this discovery long ago – swapping highflying careers in entertainment, fashion and finance for a life of palate pleasure seeking…and wrote the books to prove it. DDW takes a closer look at the very best celebrity chefs and their sinfully delicious cookbooks:
The Dirty Dishes: 100 Fast and Delicious Recipes – Isaac Carew
Swapping the catwalk for the kitchen, model Isaac Carew explores his roots as a classically trained chef in The Dirty Dishes. Showing his love of fine dinning through a collection of 100 sure-fire recipes, he walks you through how to make classics such as Poached Salmon Niçoise, crab linguine and butternut squash cannelloni as well as more complex dishes such as delectable tamarind treacle tarts.
The book is full of useful tips and pro tricks Carew learned by growing up in and around kitchen with his father and later on as an apprentice in Michelin starred restaurants across London. His fashion side is never too far, however and he delves into local recipes from fashion capitals around the world to give you a taste of the good life. As per the title, this is definitely a cookbook to get stuck into and dirty up some dishes.
Cravings – Chrissy Teigen
Although one could brush this effort off as the project of yet another super-model turned chef, Teigan brushes off critics and leans into the food with an astoundingly pleasurable cookbook. Featuring truly delectable recipes inspired from her childhood and mixed heritage (her mother is Thai) and pulling on inspiration from her life as a model/actor/people’s most loved celebrity she serves up a mouth watering set of dishes that you actually want to eat (at all times).
Start with her all-day breakfasts and feast your senses with her husband John Legend’s cameo recipe (fried chicken with spicy honey butter) before you indulge in her delicious salads and wide range of spicy dishes. Teigan shows her love for food at every corner, making this a fun and light read; a must-buy gift for all house warmings.
HelloFresh Recipes that Work: More Than 100 Step-by-step Recipes & Techniques – Patrick Drake
Ex-Goldman Sachs banker with a penchant for food turned tech mogul and (luckily for us) genius chef and author. His Hello Fresh recipe company took over around the world bringing his recipes into literally millions of kitchens but in HelloFresh Recipes that Work he shares some of his favourites along with simple to digest techniques and tips. Try his exceptional Super Mexican Shepherd’s Pie or his famous Prosciutto Linguine – no matter each is guaranteed to delight and impress.
The Tucci Cookbook – Stanley Tucci
Tucci may be best known for his roles in Hollywood but his star seems to shine brightest in the kitchen. The actor-cum-chef walks us through a nostalgic view of the dishes of his Italian heritage, exploring regional flavours and traditional methods alike. Each page reads like a wanderlust of sun-soaked Tuscan hills and Calabrian beaches – fair warning, you may not want to ever stop eating.
It’s All Good – Gwyneth Paltrow
The queen of healthy body and mind, Paltrow digs into her extensive recipe research, compiled alongside chef Julia Turshen to bring us a show-stopping book that eliminates anything processed alongside coffee, alcohol, dairy, eggs, sugar, shellfish, wheat, meat, and soy from its ingredients. An impressive 185 thoughtful recipes are the result and a delight to explore. Try everything from salads to East-Asian cuisine and mouth-watering brownies.
Whiskey In A Teacup – Reese Witherspoon
Named after her grandmother’s saying that compared Southern women’s “combination of beauty and strength that makes them like whiskey in a teacup”. This cookbook serves as both a heartwarming homage to her past as much as a solid go-to book for everything from daily meals to party dishes. Hard-wearing and full of love, this is a joyful take on the modern cookbook.
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