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Belgian Brewers Are Copying Us!Obsessives: Cookbook Peddler
By Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin
Nach Waxman is owner of one of the largest food bookstores in the country, Kitchen Arts & Letters, in Manhattan. From his perch behind the counter, he sees customers—famous chefs, not-famous line cooks, and civilians alike—streaming in to peruse his bountiful, unusual collection. Waxman shows us the basement, where he’s got some truly rare books. And he shares an unlikely bookstore success story: beating Barnes & Noble.
Nach, first off, I fully agree with your expansion on my comment regarding technique.
Second, I come from an industry that is plagued by big box stores, but, I suppose, these days, who doesn't? The sad thing is that the public is constantly being trained to value the best price over anything else in making their decision where to shop. Newspapers and magazines are almost constantly featuring...+READ
Nach, first off, I fully agree with your expansion on my comment regarding technique.
Second, I come from an industry that is plagued by big box stores, but, I suppose, these days, who doesn't? The sad thing is that the public is constantly being trained to value the best price over anything else in making their decision where to shop. Newspapers and magazines are almost constantly featuring articles about how to be a "smart" shopper and get the best price. I've actually read articles that advised people to go see things locally, and then buy online. This, as far as I am concerned, is irresponsible and short-sighted journalism, as it so often involves people sending their money out of their own communities.
Then, often, they are left to wonder why the small local store with the knowledgeable people, where they went to get educated and "kick tires" before making their purchase online went out of business. Perhaps the saddest thing is that they really don't understand that they, and people like them were the cause.-COLLAPSE
Super nice video interview! Everything was succinct, for me. I thought that, the final point was well made, regarding B&N. Like the man said,"All you need is love". Rock on! P.S. Sure would like to read that Greene on Greens book.
I love your bookstore.
CS-- Thanks for the nice comments. Clearly, you couldn't be righter about knowing technique. Technique, quality ingredients, and we could add judgement, add up to at least a good first step toward one's becoming a successful and comfortable cook. But applying technique is more complex than that. It involves a lot more than knowing how to bone a duck or produce a velvety sauce. It involves at...+READ
CS-- Thanks for the nice comments. Clearly, you couldn't be righter about knowing technique. Technique, quality ingredients, and we could add judgement, add up to at least a good first step toward one's becoming a successful and comfortable cook. But applying technique is more complex than that. It involves a lot more than knowing how to bone a duck or produce a velvety sauce. It involves at least three other components that count just as much as mastery.
First, imagination. We admire a woodworker who is adept at producing an exquisite mortise-and-tenon joint, but if he or she has nothing worthwhile to make , cannot translate a skill into an object of beauty or graceful utility, what they know is of little more than minimal value. That ability to translate is much of what we call creativity.
Second, a willingness to take risks. Technique isn't a series of rote procedures, it's an entryway to expanding one's exploration of the potential of skills and materials. It invites one to test not just what works or doesn't work but also what works differently and produces fresh, new results. Trussing a fowl elegantly and well is laudable, but Barbara Kafka's' hunch that not trussing a fowl produces more uniform cooking and better joints is perhaps more impressive.
Third, flexibility, which is related to risk-taking but involves opening up a sensitivity to the ways in which technique can be adapted to the variability we expect in the cooking process--an instinct for tasting and testing and developing appropriate mid-course responses to what's going on in the mixer, the pot or the oven. Good cooking is a process of continuing discovery.
* * *
Let me add that I--we at Kitchen Arts--particularly appreciate your comments about us and about Barnes and Noble. We have nothing enduring against them, but we do have a strong and lasting belief in independent bookstores and, in fact, in independent businesses of all kinds. Our commitment is quite different from establishments such as those. Our rewards come from different sources, our pleasures from our different goals. --Nach-COLLAPSE
Hey, Nach, I thought in the first few seconds you summed it up admirably, when you said something about how some cooks decide what they want to cook, and go looking for ingredients, and others look at their ingredients, and then decide what they are going to cook.
One thing I think you hinted at, but did not mention outright is that in order to do the latter, they need to have an understanding...+READ
Hey, Nach, I thought in the first few seconds you summed it up admirably, when you said something about how some cooks decide what they want to cook, and go looking for ingredients, and others look at their ingredients, and then decide what they are going to cook.
One thing I think you hinted at, but did not mention outright is that in order to do the latter, they need to have an understanding of the basic cooking techniques. It's one thing to follow a list of ingredients, and a set of instructions, but quite another to look in one's pantry, and from experience know how those ingredients might be combined, and how they might be cooked to yield a palatable result.
I loved the way you explained how formulaic recipe books don't work. "Cook at 325 degrees, 15 minutes per pound." and the like, indeed. How does the author know what temperature whatever it is was when it went into my oven? How do they know how moist, or what the fat content is? How do they know at what altitude I live? How do they know how hot my oven really is? And so on. As you say, there are way too many variables.
Last, I'm so glad you were able to prevail against Barnes and Noble. That store is for people who know exactly what they want, know they just want it cheap, and know they are not going to get any help at all from the clerks who work there.
I've been saying for years that I would rather pay a little extra to shop in a store where the help is actually helpful. You, for example, could no doubt say "Well, if you are interested in this, let me show you another book you'll like,." where at B&N, were I to be foolish enough to ask for suggestions, and were I to be speaking to a particularly witty clerk, I might expect an answer like "Sorry, I have been known to burn green salad."
Alas, I am on the other side of the country. I truly wish I could come into your store, and speak with you. Your store combines two of my passions: books, and cooking.-COLLAPSE
I'm fortunate enough to live about three blocks away from Kitchen Arts & Letters, and it is one of my favorite stores in NYC. I'm particularly interested in British cookery these days, and Mr. Waxman has a wonderful selection - from which I keep adding to my own, much smaller, collection. I always feel as if I'm amongst kindred spirits when I'm in the store.
berkeleybabe and others-- Thanks for your nice comments. Doing what you like is a lot easier than it seems while you're only sitting around and thinking about it. B-babe: the Time-Life Foods of the World is one of the great publishing projects of the past 40 or 50 years. The general editor was Michael Field,orignally a highly admired concert pianist, who decided that he liked doing food even...+READ
berkeleybabe and others-- Thanks for your nice comments. Doing what you like is a lot easier than it seems while you're only sitting around and thinking about it. B-babe: the Time-Life Foods of the World is one of the great publishing projects of the past 40 or 50 years. The general editor was Michael Field,orignally a highly admired concert pianist, who decided that he liked doing food even more, wrote a few books, did a little television, took on this huge program, and, sadly, died young. The books are now a little bit dated, since cusines such as Indian and African, were truly exotic and little known in the 1970s, so some of the writing seems obvious and and naive. However the background material is excellent and the recipes authentic, given the time in which they were assembled.
The writers were top-notch--your Provincial France book was done by M.F.K. Fisher and the Vienna's Empire by Joseph Wechsberg, two major figures in food literature. As of B.Crocker Boys & Girls, it's a prize, and the fact that the original was republished in a facsimile edition a few years ago is a tribute to its durablity.
Keep the questions coming. Cheers, Nach-COLLAPSE
Meredith, I just stumbled upon the link and then came back here to see if any new entries appeared. Happy to help out. The book arrived in my mail yesterday and did not disappoint.
Although this surprise pop out find satisfied my immediate "hunger" for a cookbook pop up...I'm still on a quest.
I hope other CH's will see this post and weigh in with other leads.
Pop-up cookbook now up as a CHOW Pick: http://www.chow.com/pick/7077
Thanks again for the great lead, HillJ and others!
Meredith
Mr. W. --I think I'm in love.
A definite stop my next visit.
I still have my original Betty Crocker "Cooking for Boys and Girls", two books of my parent's Time/Life series on Provincial France and Vienna Austro-Hungary which are my most treasured. A friend found a trove of a number of other Time/Life cookbooks in the series which was a delight.
What is your impression of that series, or the BC...+READ
Mr. W. --I think I'm in love.
A definite stop my next visit.
I still have my original Betty Crocker "Cooking for Boys and Girls", two books of my parent's Time/Life series on Provincial France and Vienna Austro-Hungary which are my most treasured. A friend found a trove of a number of other Time/Life cookbooks in the series which was a delight.
What is your impression of that series, or the BC boys and girls version? I understand the very first edition had drawings by Andrew Warhola, later known as Andy Warhol.
Glad to know you're out there!-COLLAPSE
I used to go by there all the time when I lived in the neighborhood. Waxman is as awesome as he seems, ,genuine, chil, helpful in choosing gifts and he makes awesome latkes (immortalized in the New Basic Cookbook.)
"share" be thy middle name. Enjoy!
I added the book to my wish list on Amazon. Very cute. :) Thanks, HillJ!
mudaba, not at all.
This is great HillJ--mind if I write it up as a CHOW Pick?
Meredith
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/book-reviews/childrens-book-recommendation-lets-cook-by-robert-crowther-073919
A quick shout out to Mr. W & flourgirl that folks on CHOW do help with requests. This books was brought to my attention.
I submit to you both, this pop-"out" cookbook I just purchased. Fun.
Wow. I'm sure we all have these moments, but watching this series spoke to me in a life calling kind of way that I haven't experienced. I would love to have your job Nach Waxman.
I'll definitely have to keep my eyes open for those flip books.
I collect both children's books and adult-oriented books in movable form. Really, my only criteria (besides condition) is whether or not I personally like the book, and that the movable features pass my rather inscrutable internal meter as to level of coolness/wow-factor/technical accomplishment (and this is very flexible based on...+READ
I'll definitely have to keep my eyes open for those flip books.
I collect both children's books and adult-oriented books in movable form. Really, my only criteria (besides condition) is whether or not I personally like the book, and that the movable features pass my rather inscrutable internal meter as to level of coolness/wow-factor/technical accomplishment (and this is very flexible based on the age of the book, etc.)
My two oldest books are "The Book of Magic", by William Wiesner, 1944 and "Mother Goose Magic Window", by Hank Hart, 1943.-COLLAPSE
Good for you on the wine pop up! Sabuda has certainly brought new-life to pop up collecting but I actually only collect adult titles, adult-themed or vintage pop ups.
The flip books I collect run the gamut in terms of theme. Very popular form of entertainment and some of the newest flip books I own today are distributed by animation artists & graphic designers who have turned their model work...+READ
Good for you on the wine pop up! Sabuda has certainly brought new-life to pop up collecting but I actually only collect adult titles, adult-themed or vintage pop ups.
The flip books I collect run the gamut in terms of theme. Very popular form of entertainment and some of the newest flip books I own today are distributed by animation artists & graphic designers who have turned their model work into flip book collectibles. Very cool.
Look for Harper's around 1960's for the flip book/cook book titles. The cookbook series I own is five small books in one cardboard case. Each a different recipe that you "flip" to reveal the cooking steps. Rare but worth seeking out.-COLLAPSE
HillJ - I meant to add that I found a copy of the wine book on Amazon. Should be a fun and interesting addition to my collection. :)
Are any of your flipbooks cookbooks? (It wasn't clear from your post.) If so, would you mind sharing some of the titles?
Thanks HillJ - that's a great site - I knew about it 'cause I've been collecting movable books for quite a few years now. But I haven't looked into flip books. Never even thought about them before. But you're right - they're movable books - how great to have a new avenue to explore in the world of movable books. Thanks!
(Just wanted to add that my collection was greatly expanded by all the...+READ
Thanks HillJ - that's a great site - I knew about it 'cause I've been collecting movable books for quite a few years now. But I haven't looked into flip books. Never even thought about them before. But you're right - they're movable books - how great to have a new avenue to explore in the world of movable books. Thanks!
(Just wanted to add that my collection was greatly expanded by all the great titles I found on the bargain tables at Border's before Christmas this year. Got almost all the Sabuda titles I didn't already own for a few dollars a piece - and some of them were first editions!)-COLLAPSE
flourgirl, here's a useful link:
http://www.movablebooksociety.org/resources.html
flourgirl the online auction sites might net you a copy of the Wine Pop Up. It's older but not rare.
My moveable book collection includes flip books (and there are several cookbooks that are designed in the flip style). You might enjoy investigating flip books as well (if you haven't).
Hey HillJ, what fun to know that you are a movable book collector. I am too! (Between my movable books and my cookbook collection I'm having a serious space crisis - just ordered yet another bookcase...) And thanks for helping put out the info about the pop-up wine book - I never heard of it before.
The official title is Hugh Johnson's Pop Up Wine Book.
Mr. W. I own a copy of the wine writer H. Johnson's popup. It's great fun. I've been a moveable book collector most of my reading life. Rather large collection today...but I have been unable to find a cookbook or food topic pop up yet...still hunting. Thank you for the response.
HillJ-- Strikes me that there haven't been terribly many pop-ups. There were a few children's books that I vaguely remember, but I don't have any names right now. Also nameless is a wine book done a number of years ago by the great British wine writer Hugh Johnson, which, as I recall, was about wine making and the subject was illustrated with ingenious popups. If any of this comes back to me,...+READ
HillJ-- Strikes me that there haven't been terribly many pop-ups. There were a few children's books that I vaguely remember, but I don't have any names right now. Also nameless is a wine book done a number of years ago by the great British wine writer Hugh Johnson, which, as I recall, was about wine making and the subject was illustrated with ingenious popups. If any of this comes back to me, I'll surely let you know--or maybe some correspondents out there will pick up on it. Thanks, Nach-COLLAPSE
Mr. W, do you recall coming across any cookbooks that are designed as in the Pop Up book style?
Mr. W, my reaction was more to the question asked (off camera) than to the answer given. You are entitled to your opinion. I plan to visit your shop after the New Year. Shall I introduce myself :)
Thank you for keeping such a treasure trove going!
Gosh, HillJ, if you think my observations about Rachael Ray were bashing, I'm gonna have to be mighty careful from here on in. I said there was nothing that thrilled me about her work (true of many of the food books out there), but there was no reason for her to be excluded, except that she was not likely to be of interest to many of our customers. That turned out to be very much the case. Can't...+READ
Gosh, HillJ, if you think my observations about Rachael Ray were bashing, I'm gonna have to be mighty careful from here on in. I said there was nothing that thrilled me about her work (true of many of the food books out there), but there was no reason for her to be excluded, except that she was not likely to be of interest to many of our customers. That turned out to be very much the case. Can't help that! Thanks, Nach Waxman-COLLAPSE
Thanks for the add'l detail Meredith. I am equally surprised by Mr. Waxman's "on camera" response if those were the questions.
Most impressive was his recall for vintage titles.
Hey HillJ,
I'm not sure about CH, but on CHOW we do not frown upon writing critically about the FN: http://www.chow.com/stories/11454/9 and http://www.chow.com/media/2606
I was the interviewer for that interview, and though I don't remember specifically, I think the question that prompted that answer was something like, "Which cookbooks sell best? and Do you sell even more of the bestselling...+READ
Hey HillJ,
I'm not sure about CH, but on CHOW we do not frown upon writing critically about the FN: http://www.chow.com/stories/11454/9 and http://www.chow.com/media/2606
I was the interviewer for that interview, and though I don't remember specifically, I think the question that prompted that answer was something like, "Which cookbooks sell best? and Do you sell even more of the bestselling cookbooks than other bookstores (which sell quite a few themselves?" I was surprised by the answer!
Meredith Arthur-COLLAPSE
Very enjoyable video. What's not to love about a man with a true passion.
I'm not sure what prompted the response about Rachel Ray since the interview questions weren't recorded but CHOW/CH usually frowns upon FN bashing...what gives with the RR question?
Absolutely right on. You really can't beat love or passion when it comes to cooking and baking. Precision recipes definitely have their place in today's society, but true old world comfort food is created by those who have that feel and sense of what will work without all of the gadgetry, exotic ingredients and smoke and mirrors. This video is pure inspiration.
wow....
that made my day :)
"they can't beat love" heehee, so true.