Chefs

Matt Kirkley’s Favorite Cookbooks Aren’t What You’d Think

Matt Kirkley of L2O doesn’t blog all that often, but that’s the good thing— he only does so when he really has something to say, and it’s always worth reading. Last week he posted about some of his favorite cookbooks— oh, don’t tell me, you say, The French Laundry Cookbook and The Zuñi Cafe Cookbook and all the other obvious influences of the moment. Wrongo; everything on his list is French, has a faded cover and twee type from the 1970s. There’s Robuchon, of course, and Bernard Pacaud (“I still believe him to be the best chef walking the face of the earth today”), and— oh, just go read it, and then for another mention of Pacaud check out this sort-of-defense-of-Michelin, which makes the reasonable point that Michelin is better, in itself and compared to many other lists, the more open it is to discovery and the less it plays the all-too-common media game Kirkley describes as “Top 10 Cities to Live Under a Bridge, Top 10 Gluten Free Lipsticks, Top 10 Gas Station Bathrooms in Missouri…” [MatthewRyanStanfieldKirkley]

Matt Kirkley’s Favorite Cookbooks Aren’t What You’d Think