Book Review - Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook
Hey Everyone! I'm here with another book review and this time, I'm doing it on a cookbook from one of my favorite cooking YouTubers, Joshua Weissman! I don't buy many cookbooks, mainly because I like to use Pinterest for my recipes, BUT since it was Joshua Weissman's cookbook, I had to buy it. Let me tell you why I added this book to my Christmas wish list
About the Author and Chef
Joshua was introduced to the kitchen when he was 3-year old by his mother, who also has a love for cooking. At age 18, he moved to Austin, Texas, where shortly he started on his professional journey in the fine-dining scene. By age 22 he had amassed a remarkable amount of knowledge stemming from 13 years of consistent hard work and cooking that he decided to start creating YouTube videos about food. By the age of 25, he is fully self-employed and doing what he loves best, cooking!
My Thoughts
My first Joshua Weissman recipe was his but better McRibs and when I made it, it was easy, not hard to follow and after I made it and my tastebuds had this glorious goodness, I knew I found a good cook YouTuber that I would be watching for a while. His cookbook, much like his videos, is simple and easy to follow. The flow of the book is your staples first (jams, sauces, breads, etc.) and then it's applying those staples to dishes (breads for sandwiches, sauces for different pasta dishes, etc.). Readers will find that the structure is preferred because it never feels overwhelming. Sometimes you get a cookbook and it's two long pages of what to do and it can feel overwhelming. Having the book break it down from staples to dish, makes the process feel less like a chore and more like you are getting the hang of this edible artform.
Circling back to the beginning, Weissman gives us a glimpse of himself in this book and how he views food and it starts the cookbook off right. With most cookbooks, we don't really, if ever, receive any back stories from the cook creating these dishes. Weissman gives us that connection with him and recipes, making this cookbook a little more special.
This may seem like a small thing, but this recipe book has pictures for EVERYTHING and I enjoy that. When you can see what you are consuming, it make it easier to create the dish so we know what the consistency should look like, and just seeing what the dish looks like if we've never had it. Most recipe books don't have pictures for everything, so I appreciate the time and effort that went into taking these photos and figuring out how to put them all in this book.
Improvements
I don't have any improvements really. I think maybe more of his personality on the pages, beside the beginning, would have been fun, but it doesn't take away from the story. Also, he put in a recipe for "Austin breakfast tacos" and I'm from San Antonio, and I don't agree with it.
Overall
Overall, this is an excellent recipe book. Even if you haven't heard of Joshua Weissman, if you like to cook, I definitley recommend this book. Or if you're looking for a gift for someone who's leanring how to cook or just moved into their first apartment, this is one you don't want to miss. Well thank you for reading my review! Until next time, Happy Reading!
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