I’M WRITING A COOKBOOK!
I can’t believe I can finally say that out aloud.
I’m writing a cookbook in collaboration with chef and illustrator extraordinaire, Jennie Levitt. It’s due to be published in the spring of 2017 by Sterling (Barnes & Noble), USA. It’s a book filled with recipes and stories from our time cooking and sharing meals in Paris for our little pop-up restaurant. It’s got recipes for small plates, sharing platters, creative desserts and contemporary drinks.
Okay, so here’s the long version.
I’m writing a cookboooooooooook!
Ages ago, we put together a pretty little cookbook proposal. It was filled with all our ideas for the perfect first cookbook we’ve both been wanting to craft together. Our brilliant literary agent, Beth, went around town pitching our idea to publishers Stateside. For a long time we heard nothing. Just as we were about to think up a new cross-country (I live in London and Jennie lives in Bogotá) project to pursue together, we had three offers come in. 3!
With the multiple back and forth between the parties involved, i.e. us, the agency, the publishers, their legal departments, and every combination therein over the last couple of months, we finally signed on the dotted line earlier this month.
We have a plethora of fine-tuned recipes we’ve put together while cooking for our pop-up restaurant. But we want to push these further, make them better, make them current. Keep them in line with our recent experiences, tastes and beliefs. Add more finesse, yet keep them approachable.
This is the first time we’re both putting down our most cherished recipes into a cookbook. These are recipes we’ve cooked together for Friday Lunches, our 2 year long pop-up restaurant in France. Jennie, being a chef and running her own catering business in the United States, Brazil and Colombia, and me from my time at the world’s best cooking schools, Le Cordon Bleu and Alain Ducasse, working at some of the best restaurants and from teaching my annual baking classes in Mumbai. It’s our take on a modern way of eating in Paris, and with this book, in your homes around the world.
We then test the recipes. Multiple times. Changing elements every time to experience something new, something different. We cram our Google documents with comments of the minutest detail. We Skype when it’s too much to type. Just today, we finally came up with a name we both love. I hope our editor loves it too. Fingers crossed. Google Drive and Skype are our best friends.
I can’t believe I get to tell Arjun I’m going to the market for work! My grocery bills are tax deductible, because, well, this is work! I was at Borough Market yesterday to buy artichokes, olive oil, blood oranges and scallops. We tested and perfected two recipes. One of which was this beautiful, beautiful artichoke. Now traditionally, you’ll get artichokes boiled in water served with an aioli or vinaigrette. Ours is a spunkier version made with a spiced cider court-bouillon (a nod to the region of Brittany which is where bottles of my favourite cider and artichokes come from) and a mayonnaise made with the sunniest egg yolks and walnut oil pressed in a small town in France. I can’t wait to share the recipe, and I hope you’ll buy the book when it’s out.
Of course there’s going to be dessert. Lots of it. Beautiful flavours coming together. Pleasant textures. I can’t wait to tell you more as it happens.
To keep up with book updates, follow Jennie and me on Instagram.
PS: I’m going to be in Bombay this Feb/March to teach baking classes. Don’t know when I’ll be able to come again so grab your seat while it’s still available. I’ve added new dates too if you missed out earlier, have a look here: Classes.PurpleFoodie.com