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1.
AOTW: Why write a cookbook? Are you a firm believer that all people can actually become better cooks from reading instructions?
Smita Chandra: Writing cookbooks is a source of great pleasure to me. I love the process of researching recipes, testing them and writing them out. I do believe that cookbooks can help people become familiar with a cuisine they are new to as well as giving them ideas on how to prepare favorite dishes, perhaps eaten in a restaurant.
Stan Frankenthaler: I realized that while people are excited by the flavors and fragrances of many Asian cuisines, they rarely bring these ingredients into their home kitchens. I wanted to encourage home cooks to stock the other side of their pantry shelves and to learn to use these ingredients to build upon the foods they already bring home from the grocery store. I do believe that the avid home cook learns tremendously from cookbooks and gathers encouragement from them. As a home cook develops their skill they will continue to pursue new recipes and new, more challenging techniques.
Victoria Granof: I'm a firm believer that all people can develop their appreciation for cooking, eating and tasting from reading cookbooks. My book puts the pastries of Sicily into the context of history and tradition, so it's really more than a cookbook. As for becoming a better cook from reading instructions . . . unless it's essential for the chemical composition of the dish, I think instructions are a great point of reference but they're only the beginning of the exploration. The most important thing is the love and spirit with which you approach cooking.
Kathy Gunst: Cookbooks are creative manuals. Of course they can teach, and when followed properly can transform a non-cook into a cook.
Elinor Klivans: I get great satisfaction and joy from baking and want to share this with others. Many people are afraid to even try to bake, I feel with good clear directions anyone can bake and have a great time in the kitchen. Plus, you have the big reward of eating such good things. As I say in the last lines of Fearless Baking: "Baking is great fun. Pass it on." That is the legacy that I want to pass on.
David Lebovitz: I wrote my cookbook, Room For Dessert, because I had spent so much time in the kitchen that I had collected and developed some great recipes that I wanted to share. I think people can certainly learn from cookbooks, but like anything, practice is a 'good thing.' I tell people to work on something over and over until they get it down, learn some basics, and go from there.
Sheila Lukins: When I owned The Silver Palate shop with Julee Rosso we had so many requests from customers to write a cookbook including the recipes of all the food in our shop. I really fought the idea thinking we'd lose all of our business once the customers knew how to make all of our dishes. Quite the contrary, they were thrilled, and so were we. It also helped me set all of the recipes by writing them down, thereby making them easier to teach new cooks in our kitchen how to prepare our food.
I, myself, am self taught. Everything I learned, I learned from early editions of Gourmet magazine and a wedding gift of Time Life Cookbooks. I followed the recipes and taught myself to cook. Craig Claiborne in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday was great for trying new recipes. So read good cookbooks and learn.
Steven Raichlen: Why write a cookbook? For many reasons. First, because I'm passionately interested in cooking (especially grilling) as an end to itself and as a reflection of culture. Writing cookbooks allows me to indulge my interests in travel, geography, history, and anthropology, while eating well all the while. I think cookbooks serve three purposes: they give people new ideas about food, they teach us how to cook and eat better, and they reinforce our humanity and place in society. And I do believe reading cookbooks can make you a better cook.
Joanne Weir: A good cookbook isn't just a set of recipes. Don't get me wrong. The recipes are important, they need to be approachable, easy to follow and easy to cook, but for me there are other vital components of a cookbook. I like a cookbook that has personality, usually that of the author, who puts a little bit of himself or herself into the book and it shines on every page.
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