We're self-described cookbook addicts. We constantly watch which new books are coming out, and which books are popular. We test drive them from the library, and buy our fair share, too.
When we go to friends' houses, we're always interested in which cookbooks they have (and especially which ones they use). And when we're in restaurants, it's always intriguing to see which ones they display. We happened to be at The Black Sheep in Richmond, Virginia, a few weekends ago (best brunch in a very long time!), which had a great library of Southern cookbooks.
So when we had the opportunity to eat at Momofuku Ko in New York City earlier this winter, we were interested to see that the bathroom is a veritable treasure trove of food and cooking books. We were fascinated by the diversity of the books, so we snapped a few photos on our iPhones.
Below, you can see a bit about each of the 48 books on the shelves at Ko, and learn a little bit about each one, too. (There are a few books we can't identify 100 percent, but perhaps you can!)
So what exactly is on the shelf?
Shelf 1:
1. Autoritratto della Cucina Italiana d’Avanguardia. This translates as "Self-Portrait of Avant-Garde Italian Cuisine."
2. The Big Fat Duck Cookbook from famed British chef Heston Blumenthal. (This is a pricy book costing around $160!)
3. El Bulli 1983-1993. El Bulli is "the greatest restaurant in the world." If you haven't read The Amateur Gourmet's post about his visit to the restaurant, it's worth your time. This book seems to be out of print, but the 94-97 book is available on Amazon for $239.
4. Trois étoiles de mer ("Three Stars of the Sea") by Olivier Roellinger. Available on Amazon.fr. Roellinger is a French chef who notably closed his three-star restaurant in 2008. [Thanks to commenter James in Oamaru for correcting our French!]
5. Au Nom du Pere ("In the Name of Father") by Anne-Sophie Pic. When Pic won three Michelin stars in 2008, she was the first female chef to do so since 1933. More about her here.
6. Préparez terrines, foies gras et sauces ("Prepare Terrines, Fois Gras and Sauces").
7. The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller. We actually have a copy of this book at home. It's beautiful, but we've only ever cooked one dish from it.
8. El Bulli 98-02. Like #3 on this list, this book also doesn't seem to be available.
9. Culinary Highflyers: The Hangar-7 Cookbook 2008. This book offers 12 tips/secrets from acclaimed chefs. We're not familiar with any of the chefs on the list.
10. Another Keller book: Bouchon.
11. Mushrooms for Health: Medicinal Secrets of Northeastern Fungi.
12. Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt To Plate (The Wild Food Adventure Series, Book 1).
Shelf 2:
1. Jean-Georges: Cooking At Home with a Four-Star Chef. [UPDATE: As Eric points out in the comments, Jean-Gorges' book was co-authored by Mark Bittman. Thanks Eric!]
2. We can't identify this book with the red spine. Diccionario botánico para cocineros ("Botanical dictionary for cooks") by Andoni Luis Aduriz. It's in Spanish. [Thanks to Josh for identifying this book in the comments!]
3. Kursaal Martin Berasategui, a book by a chef in San Sebastian, Spain.
4, 5, and 6. We can't identify these three Japanese books. (At least, we think they're Japanese.)
7. Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 25th Anniversary Edition.
8. QuiqueDaCosta.com. Self-described as "a revolutionary multilingual and multimedia publishing project," the book "showcases the avante garde cuisine of Quique Dacosta, owner and chef of Quique Dacosta Restaurante in Denia (Alicante, Spain)."
9. Sapori In Movimento from the restaurant in Piedmont, Italy.
10. El Celler De Can Roca, Una Sinfonia Fantastica (second half translates to "A Fantastic Symphony"). This is a cookbook from two Spanish chefs.
11 and 12. We can't identify these two books, either, but we believe they're in Japanese.
13. Ninja: The Shadow Warrior. It's not a cookbook, but a book about Ninjas!
14. Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs
15. Le Libre. We're not sure what this book is about.
16. Professional Charcuterie: Sausage Making, Curing, Terrines, and Pâtés by John Kinsella.
Shelf 3:
1. This is a book by Martin Berasategui chef at the restaurant of the same name in San Sebastian Spain.
2. Great Chefs of France. The subtitle is "The Masters of Haute Cuisine and Their Secrets."
3. Roger Verge's Entertaining in the French Style. Verge is the proprietor of a Cannes restaurant focusing on modernist cuisine.
4, 5, 6 & 7. We're not sure about these four books, other than that they're about seafood.
8. The River Cottage Cookbook. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's book is part cookbook, part guide for using whole ingredients.
9 and 10. We can't identify these books with Japanese on the spines (or at least we think it's Japanese).
11. Natura, by Albert Adria, the pastry chef at El Bulli.
12. Bocardos, which translates as "Snacks," by Spanish Chef Juan Mari Arzak. Arzak is referred to as the father of current Basque cuisine.
13. Au Pied de Cochon: The Album. This is the cookbook from the Montreal restaurant of the same name.
14. The River Cottage Meat Book. We've heard others rave about this book.
15. Vietnamese Kitchen. We can't identify this one. Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors, by Andrea Nguyen. [Thank you, Rebecca Wheeler, for ID'ing this book in the comments!]
16. This one has its spine facing the wall, so we're not sure what it is.
17. Essential Cuisine by Michel Bras. This is a rare (and expensive) book from another French chef.
18. Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide, also by Thomas Keller.
19. Olivier Roellinger's Contemporary French Cuisine: 50 Recipes Inspired by the Sea. Roellinger also wrote "Three Stars for Me," up on Shelf 1.
20. Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine. The buzzy book about the buzzy restaurant in Copenhagen.
So that's the list! Any of these titles on your shelves at home? Any you'd love to get your hands on?
