Hardcover · New copy
Appetites: A Cookbook
- Forty years of professional cooking and travel, cut down to the dishes he made at home
- Recipes, stories and blunt advice in his own voice
- A 304-page hardcover built to be cooked from and kept
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- Starred by criticsPublishers Weekly and Booklist
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Who is this cookbook for?
Home cooks who want food with some personality, and anyone who misses Bourdain's voice. It reads as well on the sofa as it works at the stove.
Do I need cooking experience?
No. Many recipes are everyday basics like scrambled eggs and tuna salad, written with direct instructions. A few are weekend projects.
Is it a good gift?
Yes. It is a large, fully photographed hardcover, and it is the last cookbook he wrote.
Why this book
Most cookbooks give you recipes. This one has an opinion.
Published in 2016, Appetites was Bourdain's first cookbook in more than ten years. By then he was a father cooking for his daughter and her friends, and he wrote down what he actually made.
Two starred reviews, a year-end best list and a New York Times bestseller.
- Starred review
Publishers Weekly
Called it perhaps his most accessible book yet, a collection of recipes for family and friends that keeps his blunt wit.
- Starred review
Booklist
Praised his funny, irreverent, opinionated voice and the tightly chosen recipes, and said it belongs on every library's food shelf.
- Review
Bookforum
Described it as a colourful, profane portrait of one family's food, and a strong cookbook too.
- Best cookbooks of 2016
Saveur
An editor's pick for the year. She said it made her believe she could cook the food, and liked that the photos are messy instead of glamorous.
- Review
The Globe and Mail
Chef Jen Agg found it a thoughtful, grown-up cookbook with approachable recipes and practical advice for new cooks.
- Radio feature
NPR Morning Edition
Interviewed Bourdain about a book shaped by his life as a dad, built around home cooking and family dinners.
- Bestseller
The New York Times
Booksellers list Appetites among Bourdain's New York Times bestsellers, alongside Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw.
Summaries of published reviews and coverage, not direct quotes. Gold stars mark the two starred reviews.
Easy to follow
Everything you need on one spread
Open to a recipe and it is all in front of you. No flipping back and forth with wet hands. Some, like the açaí bowl, are only two steps long.
- IngredientsOne column down the side, in the order you use them
- Short introWhat the dish is and why it is worth making
- MethodA few plain paragraphs, with times and heat levels
- ServesStated at the end, so you know how much to buy
- PhotoA full page showing how it should look
Stories behind the food
You will read it like a book
The sausage and pepper hero comes with a confession about New York street fairs. Budae jjigae comes with its wartime history. The writing is funny, rude and honest, and it makes you want to cook the thing.
How it works
From shelf to table in three steps
Pick a dish
Chapters are sorted by what you feel like eating, from breakfast to dessert.
Shop the list
Take the ingredient column to the shop. Most of it is in any supermarket.
Follow the steps
Cook through the method in order. The photo tells you when you got it right.
What's inside
A chapter for every appetite
- Breakfast
- Salads
- Soups
- Sandwiches
- Party
- Hamburger rules
- Pasta
- Fish and seafood
- Birds
- Thanksgiving
- Meat
- Side dishes
- Dessert
- Stocks, sauces and dressings
Korean fried chicken, lasagne Bolognese, New England clam chowder, chicken satay with peanut sauce, duck rillettes, and scrambled eggs done properly.
Holiday gifting
For the cook in your life
A large hardcover with Ralph Steadman's artwork on the jacket. It suits the friend who cooks every weekend and the one who has watched every episode of Parts Unknown.
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What readers are saying
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Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is this the physical book?
Yes. It is the full hardcover edition from Ecco, ISBN 978-0-06-240995-9.
What kinds of recipes are inside?
Home cooking from his own kitchen and his travels, from simple eggs and soups to duck rillettes and calf's liver with bacon and apples.
Does it include his stories and personality?
Yes. Recipes open in his voice, and Laurie Woolever, his longtime collaborator, wrote it with him. The language is as salty as you would expect.
When will my order arrive?
Orders arrive in 7–9 business days. Buy 2 or more and shipping is free.
What is your return policy?
Send it back unused within 30 days of delivery for a full refund of the item price. Contact us first for the return address. Return shipping is at your cost, unless the book arrived damaged or we sent the wrong item. Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within 5 business days.
How do I contact you?
Use the Contact page and include your order number. If your order arrives damaged, contact us within 7 days of delivery with a photo and we will replace or refund it at no cost to you.
Our promise
30-day money-back guarantee
If it isn't what you hoped for, send it back unused within 30 days of delivery for a full refund of the item price. If it arrives damaged or we sent the wrong item, we will replace or refund it at no cost to you.
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