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Review: Not Afraid of Flavor
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Afraid of Flavor By Ben & Karen Barker ISBN: 0807825859 Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication date: Nov. 2000 Format: Hardcover List price: $29.95 (Canada, UK) |
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| Type: Chef's Cookbook; Southern Cooking | |||||
| Sample recipe: The Chef's Favorite Lemon Tart, Grilled Lamb Chops with a Ragout of Baby Artichokes, Olives, and Oven-Dried Tomatoes | |||||
| Ambitions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| intended audience: | novice | advanced beginner | good home cook | gourmet | professional |
| apparent goal: | stocking stuffer | sampler | comprehensive | Biblical stature | coffee-table |
| competition: | outclassed | also-ran | midrange | strong challenger | leads the pack |
| Content | |||||
| # of recipes: | <50 | <100 | <200 | <300 | >300 |
| practical recipes: | <20% | <40% | <60% | <80% | >80% |
| # of ingredients: | <3 | <6 | <9 | <12 | >12 |
| ingredient hunt: | 7-11 | pantry | supermarket | online | airfare required |
| recipe complexity: | baby steps | simple | medium | intense | professional |
| instructions: | inadequate | bare bones | full figured | educational | verbose |
| time conscious: | outright lies | speed of light | fairly quick | takes time | takes all day |
| photos/drawings: | skimpy | adequate | generous | instructive | glorious |
| recipe results: | dorm food | casual food | family meals | fancy food | fit for royalty |
| flavor quotient: | disappointing | fair | good | delicious | exceptional |
| Format | |||||
| layout: | ick | cluttered | clean | kind to cooks | work of art |
| legibility: | microscopic | challenging | adequate | clear | brilliant |
| production quality: | cheesy | questionable | years of service | gift-quality | stunning |
| value: | ouch! | a little pricey | on the money | excellent | worth splurging |
| Ease of Use | |||||
| page numbers: | invisible | hard to find | spotty | adequate | obvious |
| table of contents: | missing | frustrating | passable | useful | helpful |
| index quality: | none | tragic | adequate | good | excellent |
| page flipping: | infuriating | tedious | acceptable | rare | never |
| Author | |||||
| writer: | hack | cook turned writer | writer turned cook | comedian | auteur |
| cook: | self-taught | non-restaurant | chef | teacher | celebrity |
| Summary | |||||
| overall rating: | fair | good | above average | excellent | Ochef Top 100 |
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Comments: A quintessential chefs' cookbook (even though our mission statement forbids the use of the word "quintessential"), written by Ken Barker, named the Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2000, and Karen Barker, named Best Pastry Chef by Bon Appétit magazine in 1999. The husband & wife team have been cooking at the Magnolia Grill in Durham, N.C., since 1986.
The recipes in this book are really spectacular and delicious — we want to make them all! But in addition to being not afraid of flavor, you have to be not afraid of using lots and lots of ingredients, taking those many ingredients through many, many steps, and just plain hard work. If you're up to the challenge, you — and your family/guests/fellow diners/etc. — will be well rewarded. |
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