The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn

Oct 15, 2012 UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 3-stars, 2011-reads, genre-cookbooks-technique, genre-cookbooks, reviewed-for-netgalley, reviewed-by-me, format-ebook-for-netgalley, format-kindle-or-kindle-compatible, format-pdf, books-for-review, blogged-at-blithely-bookish

Normally, I do not stalk people in grocery stores.
I confess to the occasional practice of supermarket voyeurism.
But who doesn’t sometimes notice the curious collections of fellow shoppers, then contemplate what they may reveal about them?

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is not your typical cookbook, and not at all what I expected. It took me some time to get into the memoir-esque beginning where we learn what led Kathleen Flinn to decide to teach cooking and technique to the everyday chef –...more
Normally, I do not stalk people in grocery stores.
I confess to the occasional practice of supermarket voyeurism.
But who doesn’t sometimes notice the curious collections of fellow shoppers, then contemplate what they may reveal about them?

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is not your typical cookbook, and not at all what I expected. It took me some time to get into the memoir-esque beginning where we learn what led Kathleen Flinn to decide to teach cooking and technique to the everyday chef – meaning people who are cooking for themselves and their families. As she tells us, it all began late, on an otherwise average Tuesday afternoon….
Late on an otherwise average Tuesday afternoon, a sight near the canned tuna stopped me dead in my tracks. The cart sat as if abandoned in the middle of the aisle. It contained two dozen haphazardly piled boxes of dehydrated mixes for pasta, casseroles, rice, and stuffing and dubious jars of gravy. Despite being half full, the cart contained no real food. As I stood contemplating its contents, a heavyset woman in her late thirties, casually attired in an eggplant colored fleece, claimed the cart. Her preteen daughter twirled impatiently around her, quietly singing a Lady Gaga song under her breath.

Would it be wrong if I followed her to find out what else she might buy?

To be honest, I found myself giggling as I imagined this playing out, and the subsequent meet-and-greet that took place when Kathleen introduced herself to said ‘heavyset woman in her late thirties’ and then proceeded to teach her how to shop better, cheaper and healthier. I’ve found myself doing similar things while shopping in bookstores and watching people walk right past some of the best books on the shelves! How can anyone pass by the historical romances, or the romantic suspense books and not even take a look! It’s appalling… I mean, the covers alone are worth taking a gander at with those hot chests and sexy chins – and why on earth do the photographers stop before they get to the eyes?? Honestly!

But I digress…

I enjoyed the beginning and getting to know a bit about Kathleen and what makes her tick. It was fun, there's a lot of humor in this book, but as I read on and it was more and more of the same, I found myself skimming and wanting to get to “the good stuff” – the recipes, cooking lessons, and the tip and tricks.

And when I finally found them? I love them! Great tip after tip on making stock, ways to add flavor to just about anything, how to avoid kitchen disasters... The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is a veritable smorgasbord of information that every cook, professional or novice, should have at their fingertips. The only problem I have with this book is that I like being able to flip right to a page and find what I'm looking for. I love lots of photos and to have everything spelled out for me, because I'm not a confident cook, and having to go through the chapters to find what I need didn't work for me. Yes, there was an index, but it just isn't the layout I like in my cookbooks, but that's just my opinion.

The bottom line - The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is not just a great reference guide, it's an enjoyable story. If you're looking for something more than your average cut and dry cookbook, this might just be perfect for you!(less)

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Dec 04, 2011 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it 4 of 5 stars

I grew up in the sixties when there was a strong movement toward moving back to natural foods. I had a mom who was a stay-at-home mother and prepared a big dinner ever night for us. When I had a family of my own, I prepared dinner every night, as my mother had modeled for me. Gradually, however, after I went back to work fulltime, I found it increasingly difficult to cook a meal every evening. My husband and I fell into lazy habits, popping in a frozen pizza one night and stopping by Subway for...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Karin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cooking, self-discovery, self-help, nonfiction, favorites, borrowed-from-the-library, recipes, education, autobiography-memoir

After encountering a woman in the grocery store who good-naturedly let Kathleen help her select fresh groceries, Kathleen began to realize that modern convenience foods have made people reluctant to cook at home, from scratch, and most people don’t know how easy it can be (not to mention less expensive, and more healthy for you). She embarked on a project to work with several volunteers to help them learn some cooking basics, add to their culinary repertoire, clear out their refrigerators and pa...more

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May 02, 2012 Kirsten rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cookbook, food, nonfiction, united-states, memoir

Flinn bridges the divide in American food culture between heavy consumption of processed food (a topic I recently read about in Fed Up with Lunch: The School Lunch Project: How One Anonymous Teacher Revealed the Truth About School Lunches --And How We Can Change Them!) and the elitism of those in the "foodie bubble." She points out how both the processed food industry and the elitist foodies send out the same message, that cooking food at home for yourself from real ingredients is difficult, exp...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Katie Robson rated it 4 of 5 stars

I adored this book. I recently began my foray into cooking heavily over this past year. I'm consistently told by friends how amazing my cooking is, and am already familiar with many terms and techniques that Kathleen Finn discuses. However, while I was already great at following recipes/adjusting them to my own needs, I wanted to gain a foundation in the basics and, like many of the people featured in this book, hoped to someday be able to just look in my fridge or pantry and whip something up w...more I adored this book. I recently began my foray into cooking heavily over this past year. I'm consistently told by friends how amazing my cooking is, and am already familiar with many terms and techniques that Kathleen Finn discuses. However, while I was already great at following recipes/adjusting them to my own needs, I wanted to gain a foundation in the basics and, like many of the people featured in this book, hoped to someday be able to just look in my fridge or pantry and whip something up without the guide of a recipe. I believe this book is a great first step towards achieving that. Therefore, I believe this novel is not only beneficial for complete beginner/novice cooks with limited experience, but even more advanced cooks who may lack traditional education in cooking and want to be reminded of the basics, or ANYONE interested in food issues/politics.

Above all else, I would like to point out how thoughtful this novel is, and that is why I love it so. The presentation of all the stories she tells, her motives for beginning the project, her own fears at the outset of everything, etc. - it is all presented in a very kind, thoughtful, approachable tone. Flinn really comes across as someone who genuinely just wants to help people and truly cares about the issues raised in her book.

Outside of teaching cooking, this novel offers an entertaining story on it's own. Flinn provides a simple yet substantial set of recipes blanketed among novelesque stories and dialogue, allowing the reader to feel like they are right there in the test kitchens with the team. In addition to providing recipes, Flinn educates on issues in the food industry, ranging from discussions on the chemicals in processed foods to where our chicken and beef comes from and how it is treated there. This was probably the most interesting aspect of the book for myself, since food origin is something I'm highly interested in (I've seen every food documentary on Netflix, including Food, INC. which she mentions in particular at one point, as well as Jamie Oliver's shows). For instance, I learned that "free-range" chicken doesn't really mean anything, because to be labeled "free-range," the chickens merely have to have the OPTION to go outside (via one small or door or what have you at the barn), and just because they have the option doesn't mean they do go outside. While Flinn often notes that the best way to buy your meat is from a butcher who knows the farms where his meat comes from, I appreciated her acknowledgment that this is not feasible for everyone, to which she gently reminds that buying items from grocery stores is akin to casting a vote - you the consumer are telling the store what you want more of by purchasing certain items, and so you should make choices wisely. I believe this is one of her biggest points for advocating change, which I agree with. In fact, she opens the book by recounting a time when Flinn was at a supermarket, following around a thirty year old women and her teenage daughter; Flinn followed the woman, watching as she filled her cart with boxed/processed foods from the center aisles of the store, no fresh or real food in sight, until she finally caved and approached the woman at the packaged meat section of the store. She convinced the woman to buy a whole chicken, had the butcher teach the woman how to cut the chicken, and convinced her to fill her cart with other fresh produce and items, giving her simple recipes and tips on how to cook it all.

It was at that moment Flinn, armed with her Le Cordon Bleu degree, realized most Americans don't eat like herself or all of her chef friends. She eventually decides she needs to do something to change this, to use her culinary knowledge for the greater good, and sets out to find a set of people who have ZERO experience in the kitchen. She finds nine volunteers that, though their reasons for being inept at cooking all differ, eat about 95% of their meals as pre-prepared/processed foods, and who don't know how to cook at all, even if they try to follow recipes. Before delving into the tips, tricks, and recipes she provides in the bulk of the book, she begins by telling the stories of each of the nine volunteers - the level of their skills, the items they keep stocked in their kitchens (or, more often, the items rotting in their fridges - food waste was a big theme among almost all of them), and their family histories with cooking (parents' behaviors in the kitchen, grandparents, etc.). This was one of the more fascinating, entertaining sections of the novel, and really sucks you into the project, as Flinn has a way of making the reader really feel for these women and their struggles, which makes the growth they each experience over the course of the book all the more enigmatic.

I've tried a few of the recipes she offers, and each one was fantastic. My favorite so far was the French Dijon flavor recipe for roast chicken - my husband, who hates mustard, LOVED this chicken as much as I did (and I love mustard). We made that one twice in the same week!

Overall the book makes for a very enjoyable read, no matter your level of kitchen prowess. If you often find yourself wondering what goes into the food your eating, what motivates people to make the food choices that they do, or have an aim to eat better yourself, I think you will find this book worthwhile.(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

What Flinn does here is what Jamie Oliver has been trying to do on a larger scale, in the UK and LA. She's a seasoned chef who tries an experiment - she selects 9 women to teach how to cook. She generally teaches them basic skills - knife skills, braising, soups, using leftovers, etc. Then she follows up with them, to see if the acquisition of the skills impacted their lives or the way they ate. She chose people for the free program based on the way they were eating before the classes - she want...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Tracy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: recipes, recommended, memoir

It took me a very long time to read this book (three months!) but in no way should that discourage you from picking it up if you enjoy cooking. Kathleen Flinn, author of a prior book about attending culinary school in France that I read and liked but didn't love, wrote this memoir about taking nine women who were not cooks at all and teaching them how to cook intuitively. I cook almost exclusively from recipes, so I enjoyed the instructions in this book.

She had classes (and book chapters) on kni...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Lesa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like to bake. I can make a killer cherry pie, thanks to my mom’s recipe, crust and everything from scratch. I’m definitely not a cook. I would love to have had cooking lessons from someone like Kathleen Flinn, author of The Kitchen Counter Cooking School.

Flinn is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. More important, she learned that so many of us lack the knowledge and basic skills to cook. Her book is subtitled, “How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home C...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Dawn rated it 5 of 5 stars

First: I'll say this. I cook. I generally spend more time on the outer aisles of the supermarket than on the center ones. I already knew what braise means, and have done it fairly often. I make my own bread. Anyone looking at my blog knows this. I read and I cook and I have done both pretty much as far back as I can remember.

This book however is not for people like me.

This book is for that friend who is afraid of her own kitchen but wont admit it.

We all have them. Her kitchen is always pristi...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Cindy Hudson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I already like to cook, and most of the time I think I do a pretty good job whipping up things in the kitchen. So when I started to read The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn, I thought I would enjoy her story but not find much to learn about cooking. From the first chapter, I knew I was wrong.

Flinn’s narrative about working with nine women who didn’t feel comfortable in the kitchen is fascinating...more I already like to cook, and most of the time I think I do a pretty good job whipping up things in the kitchen. So when I started to read The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn, I thought I would enjoy her story but not find much to learn about cooking. From the first chapter, I knew I was wrong.

Flinn’s narrative about working with nine women who didn’t feel comfortable in the kitchen is fascinating on many fronts. It all started with Flinn’s encounter with a woman in a grocery store who was buying mostly boxed foods to prepare at home, because she didn’t feel she could cook anything that would taste as good. From there she recruited nine volunteers who opened up their pantries and fridges to Flinn, then prepared her something they would often cook. The lessons that followed were geared toward novices, but they hold something worthwhile for experienced cooks as well.

The volunteers learned everything from how to hold a knife and chop vegetables, to how to cut up a chicken, use leftovers, make soup and more. Each chapter of the book recounts the lesson and comes with recipes at the end. Flinn’s style is conversational, and she includes little bits of fascinating information about cooking and food throughout the story.

I found myself reading passages out loud to my husband and checking my own cupboards each time Flinn went through a new lesson. And I was inspired to make several of the recipes even while I was reading the book. Things I previously thought were too much trouble to make, like chicken stock and homemade bread from scratch, Flinn demystifies and makes easy. I really enjoyed taking the opportunity of getting out of my rut in the kitchen and learning new things that I believe will serve me for a long time to come.

I’m keeping my copy of The Kitchen Counter Cooking School right alongside my Joy of Cooking and my Cajun cookbooks. I’m also planning to give this as a gift to several friends who have commiserated with me over their lack of skills at the stove.
(less)

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Nov 11, 2011 Joy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I heard of this book via a short review in People last week, and was so intrigued that I went ahead and bought it that same day. We've all heard the exhortations and encouragements to cook healthy and avoid processed foods, but what if you were never taught to cook? What if your husband was a chef and was so critical of how you held the knife that you never tried to cut up an onion? What if you wanted to cook better meals for your family, but you were so terrified of messing it up that you staye...more I heard of this book via a short review in People last week, and was so intrigued that I went ahead and bought it that same day. We've all heard the exhortations and encouragements to cook healthy and avoid processed foods, but what if you were never taught to cook? What if your husband was a chef and was so critical of how you held the knife that you never tried to cut up an onion? What if you wanted to cook better meals for your family, but you were so terrified of messing it up that you stayed safe with boxed freezer meals? The author, a Cordon Bleu trained chef, discovered this fear one day when meeting a stranger in a grocery store who had no idea how to cut up a chicken or what to do with the non-breast-meat parts, and her project was born. With the help of a radio show, she collected volunteers who wanted to learn how to cook and then she taught them, hands-on and with simple skill-building exercises each week. This book is the story of that project, from her first interviews with her students where she peeked into their pantries and they made her one of their normal meals, through the cooking classes where she taught them how to chop vegetables and use flavoring, through to the closing interviews months after the classes where she saw what they had learned and retained. This book and concept really resonated with me, as I've been working to cook more and use more whole foods while cutting out premade meals nearly entirely from our kitchen, and while I've had a bit of teaching here and there and am pretty good at figuring things out, I can easily see where someone who wasn't taught would have a hard time. There used to be many ways for people to learn how to cook - their mothers, Home Ec classes, church potlucks, etc. - but many people are now two generations removed or more from family members who cooked with whole foods and not out of boxes or cans, and cooking classes in school are a thing of the past. If nothing else, this book will remind you that if you screw up dinner, so what? There will be another chance tomorrow, and you can always call out for pizza if it ends up that badly.(less)

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Nov 05, 2011 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star, cooking-crafting, books-i-think-i-should-read, pleasure-reading, nonfiction, work-review-related-reading, formative

I loved this book. At first I was afraid it was going to be condescending since the author is a Cordon Bleu trained chef. I couldn't have been more wrong. This was actually one of the most inspiring books I've read in a very long time.

The idea for this book started when Flinn was grocery shopping and noticed the truly horrible, processed, non-food food in a stranger's cart. She started up a conversation with the woman and ended up taking her around the store to get the "real" version of all the...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Lisa at Adventures of 2.0 added it

Shelves: reviewed, favorites

Lately I’ve noticed that, while I read most things pretty fast, I can gobble up one of these non-fictiony books in an afternoon. I love reading a book where I’m given a nice, tangible connection to the author and her real life set of characters and I love seeing what actual people are actually doing. Maybe I’m just nosey but these kinds of books just make me happy, so I guess it all works out nicely for everyone.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School was a book I requested and forgot about in my wo...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, kindle

As far as usefulness goes, this book is a solid 4 stars. But I felt that the writing lacked some structure and the book lacked a clear purpose so I'm downgrading to 3.

However, I think this book works well for a specific kind of person: people who want more confidence in the kitchen. The project, where Flinn takes 9 women who can't cook in for a few basic cooking lessons, helps you realize that many people fear cooking simply because they lack knowledge.

As someone who's overcome my own cooking fe...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

If you have any interest at all in food, read this book!! I won't even tell you where Flinn earned her culinary degree because I don't want to scare readers off. But her devotion to making good tasting and healthy food easy and accessible to all is commendable.

Even though I've cooked for years, I still felt a boost in confidence after devouring this book. I've been a slave to recipes, afraid to substitute ingredients. No more! Flinn reinforces the point to experiment and substitute. Why not?...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Myckyee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’m a closet foodie and I love to cook and bake, but after working all day I don’t have the energy. After reading this book I realized I’m far from alone.

For The Kitchen Counter Cooking School project, author Kathleen Flinn recruited nine volunteers who needed help. Each had something that needed improvement - they were cooking unhealthy food, buying take-out and resorting to what they thought would be the fastest and most convenient method of food preparation. All the volunteers were women and...more I’m a closet foodie and I love to cook and bake, but after working all day I don’t have the energy. After reading this book I realized I’m far from alone.

For The Kitchen Counter Cooking School project, author Kathleen Flinn recruited nine volunteers who needed help. Each had something that needed improvement - they were cooking unhealthy food, buying take-out and resorting to what they thought would be the fastest and most convenient method of food preparation. All the volunteers were women and I could relate to all of them to some degree.

At the start of the book, the author introduces each volunteer by describing a visit to their homes and in particular their kitchens. There were issues with outdated food, too much food as well as content. Food labels were looked at, cooking methods discussed and even storage issues confronted. Each woman was surprised when a spotlight was pointed at their fridge and cupboards. Sometimes it takes an outsider to say, yep, storing 15 boxes of pre-made pasta dinners at this cost doesn’t make sense when you can make something yourself for a fraction of the price, is much healthier and doesn’t take nearly as much time as you’d think if you know what you’re doing. The author rented a kitchen and once a week the volunteers learned how to do exactly that.

The book is divided into parts and each describes a food product or group and how best to prepare it. The volunteers were given the tools and instructions and were encouraged to experiment. Their delight in discovering that they could produce healthy and attractive dishes was evident. I like how the self-esteem of a person can be raised just by learning a method of cooking they previously thought had been impossible to master. At the end of the book, I enjoyed seeing how each volunteer benefited from what they’d learned during the lessons.

Each chapter ends with the recipes that are taught in the class. I found the chapter on meat to be especially instructive and after reading about how many hormones and antibiotics are fed to livestock, I want to learn how to cook more vegetarian dishes!

People may dislike cooking or simply don’t cook for various reasons. Perhaps they were never taught properly, or as children they were shooed out of the kitchen. Maybe their spouses like doing it more than themselves. Whatever the reason, I recommend this book. It shows how anyone can learn to prepare nutritious and cost-effective meals even if they’ve always thought the task a daunting one. The recipes are simple and fast and there’s something for everyone in The Kitchen Counter Cooking School.(less)

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Sep 22, 2011 Nancy added it

Kathleen begins the book by stalking a woman in the grocery store. Maybe a little creepy but her heart is pure. She notices a woman with an inordinate amount of boxed and canned goods. Having recently graduated from the prestigious culinary arts institute in France, she could not, in good conscience, allow this woman to believe MSG and high doses of sodium were part of the food pyramid. She intervened. She took the woman to the butcher and asked him to demonstrate how to debone a whole chicken....more

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Jul 06, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, cooking

Everyone likes a Cinderella story, and "The Kitchen Counter Cooking School" is very much a nonfiction fairy tale, complete with transformations and a happy ending. As fairytales do, some of the social implications are glossed over (for example, why is this so focused on women instead of both genders, especially when so many women are working full-time AND responsible for most of the house-work) but it is still a greatly enjoyable read. Kathleen is a breezy narrator, and it helps that she doesn't...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Vicky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I had a little trouble getting into this book. The beginning is a memoir-like history of Kathleen and her background. I'm glad I kept at it as the more I read, the more I enjoyed it.

This is a book about cooks and cooking. It's also about life and lessons. Kathleen Flinn is a writer and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. Though she doesn't own a restaurant or is a chef in one, she writes about food and knows food and other chefs. All this is to say, she does know what she's talki...more I had a little trouble getting into this book. The beginning is a memoir-like history of Kathleen and her background. I'm glad I kept at it as the more I read, the more I enjoyed it.

This is a book about cooks and cooking. It's also about life and lessons. Kathleen Flinn is a writer and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. Though she doesn't own a restaurant or is a chef in one, she writes about food and knows food and other chefs. All this is to say, she does know what she's talking about when she tells you about food.

While grocery shopping one day, she noticed a woman loading up her cart with nothing but overprocessed fake food and an idea hit Kathleen. What if she took ten cooking novices and taught them the basics of cooking? Thus began six months of teaching - everything from chopping onions to tasting salt to learning about cuts of meat. Her nine volunteers started out as fast food and processed food junkies to people who could braise, saute, bake and simmer with the best of them. Kathleen wasn't the only teacher for her classes as she brought in chefs and nutritionists to show her class specific lessons. Along the way, Kathleen discovered what many teachers already know - that in teaching, you also learn.

At the end of the experiment, the students were more confident, more selective of what they bought and ate, and healthier as they found out that cooking from scratch is not only better for you, but also better for the environment and for your pocketbook.

I've been cooking for fifty years and I learned more than a few things in this book. In addition to the tips, there are also great basic recipes and tips for you to learn to make things on your own. Though Kathleen does promote good cooking, she also admits it's not for everybody. According to her, "not every meal has to be from scratch, nor does everything you consume have to be organic, locally sourced and pasture raised. Try to find a comfortable place somewhere between Tuna Helper (registered trademark) and Top Chef. If you burn, scorch, drop, boil over, overcook, undercook, underseason or other wise put a meal together that's less than a success, in the end it doesn't matter. It's just one meal."

Definitely a good book to read if you skip the first few pages. I recommend it for anyone who is a novice or afraid to pick up a knife and slice an onion. Grab your pots and pans, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Follow her tips and recipes and soon you'll be cooking with the best of them too.(less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a little like a cooking reality show without the creative editing that makes everything into a big fake drama. I enjoyed following the progression of the basic cooking courses the author was presenting to her kitchen-skill-challenged volunteers. It's a quick read, you probably won't fall asleep reading it, and you will probably learn a couple of things before it's over. Decent book. I rated the book itself four stars, however if you look carefully, you will see I "read" the audio bo...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Julie Davis rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was captivated by the book's beginning in which Kathleen Flinn tells about becoming interested in a woman and daughter grocery shopping. Fascinated by the prepackaged and "mix" foods in her cart, she began stalking them and eventually wound up helping them replace all the highly processed meals with the ingredients for homemade. Key to this was scribbling recipes and simple instructions. This encounter led to Flinn's epiphany that there is a generation of women (and people in general, actually...more I was captivated by the book's beginning in which Kathleen Flinn tells about becoming interested in a woman and daughter grocery shopping. Fascinated by the prepackaged and "mix" foods in her cart, she began stalking them and eventually wound up helping them replace all the highly processed meals with the ingredients for homemade. Key to this was scribbling recipes and simple instructions. This encounter led to Flinn's epiphany that there is a generation of women (and people in general, actually) who don't have the first idea of how to cook. Never taught to cook by their parents, they are equally ignorant of nutrition. Flinn selected 10 worthy candidates and began her Kitchen Counter Cooking School to educate not only them as cooks but also herself in the ways of how to communicate simple kitchen knowledge.

I would find the beginning hokey except that I know one young woman who is in exactly these straits, never having been taught to cook and now having a family to feed. After getting over my own surprise, I have begun showing her a few techniques and recipes. This book is for those who have no one to do the same for them.

I didn't really care about the chapters where Flinn broke away from the school to tell about a stint cooking for a cruise or putting on a series of dinners to raise money for the school. They distracted from the point of the book for me. I'm glad that she has a good marriage and it is nice that her husband finds it sexy that she bounces up and down in her chair when the black truffle risotto is served. However, I don't care. These chapters seemed as if they belonged in a different book. However, they are easy to skim and others, perhaps, may have enjoyed them much more than I did. They cost the book a star through.

Overall, The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is well written and enjoyable, as well as carrying strands of information about food processing and eating habits in the U.S. today. It is also thought provoking, no matter your level of ability in the kitchen. None of us is above reproach. The author herself is prompted to do self-examination of her own habits and realizes that she wastes a lot of food. Likewise, I was reminded of the same thing (we know and then we forget, such is the pattern of life, non?). I will be examining my cupboards for aged supplies and my refrigerator for items that can be used before I wind up following my pattern of tossing them out in a week, withered and soft.

Definitely recommended.(less)

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Jan 03, 2012 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kathleen Flinn has written a wonderful book that shares her experience with a group of women who were not comfortable in the kitchen. Kathleen begins to give them lessons in the basics of cooking to help them to not have to rely on takeout or overly processed food found at the grocery store.

The book is filled with wonderful tips from each of the lessons given. I learned a lot about picking out a good knife and how to chop things correctly and I also really liked the part that teaches you how to...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Quick and interesting read.
Flinn decides to "rescue" some volunteers from their fears and ignorance about cooking for themselves. It's an interesting sociological study in a way -- all the different reasons (family, culture, economics, time) that these women have never mastered the basics of cooking for themselves.

Her plan is hatched when she ends up stalking a woman in the supermarket, whose cart is filled with boxes and cans.

"The girl tossed 2 cans of diced store-brand tomatoes in their ca...more Quick and interesting read.
Flinn decides to "rescue" some volunteers from their fears and ignorance about cooking for themselves. It's an interesting sociological study in a way -- all the different reasons (family, culture, economics, time) that these women have never mastered the basics of cooking for themselves.

Her plan is hatched when she ends up stalking a woman in the supermarket, whose cart is filled with boxes and cans.

"The girl tossed 2 cans of diced store-brand tomatoes in their cart and the pair rolled away. I stood contemplating the wall of tomatoes featuring 19 different brands that offered them as whole, diced, peeled, fire-roasted, organic, imported, and packed with basil.
Do they taste the same? I thought of MFK Fisher's argument and of the chefs who made us taste everything in order to develop what's often referred to as "taste memory." I thought of the book The Tasting Club by Dina Cheney. Essentially, the book suggests comparative tastings of olive oil, cheese, olives, coffees, teas and the like as a centerpiece for social gatherings. Why not comparatively taste canned tomatoes? I selected 9 different varieties of diced and took them in my arms to the checkout..." p.77

"The trick to great scrambled eggs is to start with a cold pan. Add a couple of pats of butter and the eggs, and then turn the heat up to medium-low and stir regularly. It's a longer process but yields a softer result than the classic high-heat version in an elastic flavor and a rubbery consistency." p.149

Using up food you've purchased: "I estimated the cost of every item and tagged each with a post-it. In the course of 2 weeks, if I had to throw an item away, I'd take the post-it note and stick it to an area inside one of my cabinet doors.
Almost immediately, tossing something signaled defeat by surrender. My mind-set changed: Oh no, I don't want to put that post-it for this bell pepper on my door. At the end of 2 weeks, I'd thrown out about $16 in food, less than usual but still nothing to make me proud." p.224

Flinn follows up with her students a few months or more after the classes ended. Many of them have made big (and small) changes in their approach to cooking and eating. In a self-reflective mode, Flinn muses:
"How had I changed? My spice drawer is immaculate, thanks to the Great Spice Cleanout of 2009. Our freezer is lined with pasture-raised beef, pork and chicken, a nod to the various classes on the subject and, in a way, a circle back to my early life on the farm in Michigan. I make soup at least once a week now to clean out my fridge. As Thierry suggested, we have a photo in the back of our fridge, an image of Mike and me embracing in Paris. ." p.262

"With that, I'm off to take a class on canning with Shannon [one of her students]. She recently earned her "Master Canner" designation. Last summer, Shannon didn't know how to hold a knife. Tomorrow, she will teach me how to preserve pears. It's the most fitting close to the circle that I can imagine. We live, we learn, we teach one another. Isn't that the way it should be?" p.263

I have to say the book has reawakened some interest in cooking and especially tasting. (less)

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Oct 07, 2011 Abby Lyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

The first chapter of this book really drew me in: here is a fresh-faced graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu following a complete stranger around a mega-grocery store, mystified as the shopper piles box upon box of heavily processed food into her cart. Eventually Flinn works up the nerve to introduce herself, offering (unsolicited) advice on healthier eating (with the added bonus of lowering the grocery bill) and even steering the good-natured woman to the butcher's counter for an imprompt...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cookbooks, food-books

I enjoyed this read. The format was interesting and it moved along well. I did lose interest at the end but the first ¾ of the book were really interesting. My favorite section was her encouragement to taste test foods side by side for better comparison. Try several brands of canned tomatoes to see which one has the best flavor. Also try different salts. We did the salt test and were shocked at how chemically was the table salt was compared to real salt! The book made me want to offer free cooki...more I enjoyed this read. The format was interesting and it moved along well. I did lose interest at the end but the first ¾ of the book were really interesting. My favorite section was her encouragement to taste test foods side by side for better comparison. Try several brands of canned tomatoes to see which one has the best flavor. Also try different salts. We did the salt test and were shocked at how chemically was the table salt was compared to real salt! The book made me want to offer free cooking classes in my home and walk through each of these courses.

Here are a few quotes I wanted to make note of:

Slavish followers of recipes, who treat them as gospel instead of guidelines, make the mistake of putting more faith in someone else's instruction, than they do in themselves (stated by the author of the Flavor Bible). Pg. 76

Several studies back up Jamie’s assertions that the less a person cooks real food, the more they rely on processed or convenience food, and the more weight-related health problems they experience. To a large extent, the more you cook, the less you weigh. Pg. 20

The women in the supermarket lacked confidence and skill when it came to cooking. She wasn’t sure how to turn whole foods into dinner, and as a result, she found her choices were limited. But that’s the issue. If you can’t cook, you put yourself at the mercy of companies who interests are overwhelmingly financial. Pg. 21

We live in a world where experts preach we should all eat leafy vegetables but then we’re bombarded with message that sugar-laden cereals are part of a “nutritious breakfast,” and commercials present Subway as they holy grail to weight loss. TV cooking show host Sandra Lee cheerfully suggests that “gravy is too hard to make, so just buy jars of gravy” and advises viewers to buy jars of garlic because “mincing garlic takes too long.” To be fair, her voice is just one of many stating that convenience is the MOST important asset when it comes to eating. No wonder we’ve forgotten that the most essential thing we do is feed ourselves and the people we care about. Pg. 22

Research studies have found that an increasing number of American children get enough food to eat yet remain undernourished due to over reliance on foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar yet lack the fundamental nutrients. A 2004 study found that nearly a third of the calories in a typical American child’s diet came from junk foods, defined as ultra processed foods with little nutrition. Pg. 45

The author also points out that many published recipes in cookbooks, websites, newspaper clippings or tv shows have many key ingredients or steps eliminated in order to make the recipe shorter and faster. Sacrificing much flavor and depth to the final dish.
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Oct 13, 2011 LORI CASWELL rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kathleen Flinn returns from Paris where she studied at Le Cordon Bleu. Back in the Seattle she is unsure what to do with her new culinary degree until a trip to a local grocery store give her an epiphany. Seeing a woman's cart filled with boxes of "ultraprocessed products" kicked her "chefternal" instincts into overdrive. As she talked to the woman she realized this woman was afraid to cook things fresh because she thought it would be too hard or wouldn't taste right. She spent some time traveli...more Kathleen Flinn returns from Paris where she studied at Le Cordon Bleu. Back in the Seattle she is unsure what to do with her new culinary degree until a trip to a local grocery store give her an epiphany. Seeing a woman's cart filled with boxes of "ultraprocessed products" kicked her "chefternal" instincts into overdrive. As she talked to the woman she realized this woman was afraid to cook things fresh because she thought it would be too hard or wouldn't taste right. She spent some time traveling with her around the store and convinced her to put the packaged food back on the shelf and try cooking with real food. This made her start to wonder if she had found what to do with her degree.

This led Kathleen to gather a group of volunteers who felt the same as the woman in the grocery store. She enlisted the help of other culinary professionals, rented kitchen space and started a class on cooking fundamentals from making simple Alfredo sauce to proper chopping techniques and even weekly taste testing of things like olive oil and salt. This book tracks the volunteers through the classes and includes common sense recipes and details for the reader as well.

My Thoughts
I enjoyed this book. My husband is the "chef" in our family and have inserted several post it's within the pages of things I want to share with him.

This book really reads a lot like fiction, taking peeks into these people's lives with wonderful lessons and recipes as an added bonus. While very instructional it is entertaining and humorous. The author has a delightful writing style.

With fast food quickly becoming the common way to eat these days, this book will teach you that fast food can be nourishing, tasteful and does not come from a drive thru lane. I was actually stunned how easy it is to make dishes that I thought could only be found in a restaurant, with wonderful flavor and none of the preservatives found it the prepackaged dishes found on the grocery shelves. This may be a book to add to your cookbook shelf after reading the story of the volunteer's journey at the The Kitchen Counter Cooking School. It could change your life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Viking. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”(less)

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Dec 26, 2011 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, I don't think I'm a great cook; I almost always follow recipes, and am hesitant to take on tough-sounding dishes. I have gone through phases of reading all sorts of cooking techniques books, cook books, and cooking magazines. I know a lot of tips and methods, but haven't practiced many of them. it seems like an awful lot of work. The Kitchen Counter Cooking School was the perfect book for me. The author recruited 9 volunteers to learn general cooking skills, and taught them new ways of looki...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

I thought this book would be a nice food read, pleasant but not something I'd remember much of in a month or two - boy, was I wrong. I love food, read all the magazines and blogs, cook pretty much every night, and I learned SO many things here. I'd never really stopped to consider how easy it is to make most things from scratch, or how much money I really am wasting every time I let something go bad and toss it out (ironic since food waste is a big issue of mine), or just how easy and simple goo...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book because she is describing a bit of my life right now. I just started a cooking school with a friend. Our ideas and Ms. Flinn's line up incredibly well. You learn to cook because you know what you are eating if you cook it, it will taste much better, you will have fun, you show how much you love your friends and family by cooking real food for them. All these things are important to us. I found this very informative for our effort because she's ahead of us. She's taught...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cooking-food, 5-star

I LOVED this book and will probably end up buying it (which I rarely buy books)! I actually think I liked this one more than The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry. The Kitchen Counter Cooking School picks up after Kathleen and Mike move back home to Seattle and she tries to figure out what to do with her culinary degree. While at the grocery store she spots a woman with a cart loaded down with boxes of processed food. Kathleen strikes up a conversation with her and convinces her that it's jus...more

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