The Way We Cook (Saveur): Portraits of Home Cooks Around the World

by James Oseland (Editor), Francine Prose (Introduction), Penny De Los Santos (Photographer)

From the editors of the definitive culinary—and culinary-travel—magazine, this lavishly photographed and narrative book illuminates and celebrates the stories, recipes, and places of home cooks around the world. From the editors of the award-winning magazine SAVEUR comes a breathtaking photographic chronicle of global cooking, The Way We Cook. This collection of lush culinary images conveys the inspiring ways that people feed themselves each day. The unique compilation has been selected from hundreds of thousands of photos taken during more than a decade of international reporting. These images offer unprecedented access to home cooks and professionals in far-flung locales, who create the dishes that define who they are and where they're from. Within these pages are a chef doling out Charleston, South Carolina's finest fried pork chop; a family making fresh cheese in Zacatecas, Mexico; a mother and daughter preparing an elaborate meal in Riga, Latvia. Interspersed throughout are the stories that bring this visual odyssey to life. This rich volume also presents an illustrated map that marks the destinations featured in these pages, as well as 50 recipes for those dishes from these subjects. Each moment captured by SAVEUR's contributing photographers - Landon Nordeman, Penny De Los Santos, Andre Baranowski, Ariana Lindquist, Todd Coleman, and others - demonstrates the never-ending pleasure that's derived from delicious food.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Photography, Travel, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 6, 2012

About the author

James Oseland is an American writer, editor and television personality. He is the author and editor-in-chief of World Food, an acclaimed book series from Ten Speed Press. He served as editor-in-chief of the U.S. food magazine Saveur from 2006 to 2014. His memoir and cookbook Cradle of Flavor (2006, W.W. Norton) was named one of the best books of 2006 by the New York Times, Time Asia, and Good Morning America, among others. He has edited an array of bestselling and award-winning anthologies and cookbooks, notably Saveur: The New Comfort Food (2011, Chronicle), A Fork In the Road (2013, Lonely Planet), and Saveur: The New Classics (2014, Weldon Owen). His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Gourmet, Vogue, and dozens of other media outlets. He was a judge from 2009 to 2013 on the Bravo television series Top Chef Masters.
Oseland is the author of Jimmy Neurosis (2019, Ecco Press), a critically acclaimed coming-of-age memoir set against the California and New York City punk rock movements of the late 1970s. Out called the book "nonstop entertainment," while Rolling Stone hailed it as a "vibrant coming-of-age memoir [told] in an instantly lovable voice."

Reviews

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic photography and great stories. A few recipes at the end are a nice touch.

[Kelly Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos, well put together, definitely will find a spot on my coffee table.

[Aasinathena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always intrigued by what role food played in different cultures around the world. This coffee table worthy book gives beautiful proof for that !

[Alain Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading The Way We Cook, I was struck by the photographers' engaging images of people cooking in the kitchen and sitting around the table with family and friends. The pictures that appear on the book's pages capture the spirit of the moment and the meal itself. indeed, photographs of food—especially dishes made throughout generations—tell us the story of the people who cook and eat them. The images of these dishes are not simply mouthwatering; they serve an emotional purpose, bringing to life a memory in much the same way a spoonful of your mother's cranberry sauce, an old recipe in a family scrapbook, or the smell of onions frying in the kitchen might. Photographs help us hold on to resonant moments and the flavors that shape them. With that in mind, I thought it appropriate to the holidays to share my impression of this book which illustrates techniques for photographing food in a memorable way. My hope is that you can use them during your own celebrations to capture cherished culinary traditions.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I enjoy the most about Saveur magazine is its lavish emphasis on photography and these elements are given prominent placement in 'The Way We Cook' a beautiful, hardbound coffe-table'esque tome that fans of the magazine and foodies alike will relish. Interestingly, this book focuses on the cook and the kitchen (as opposed to the ingredients and/or the finished product) so there is a warmth to the level of humanity portrayed throughout. The vast majority of the book is comprised of full-page photography with a minimal amount of text so this one can be read through fairly quickly. The last tenth of the book contains various recipes but keep in mind that these are Saveur magazine recipes which are not designed for ease of preparation or accessibility of ingredients.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as The Way we eat... like it didnt actually show the way people cook just pictures of folks sometimes with food...