Food-o-File
By Virginia B. Wood, Fri., March 19, 1999
Several weeks ago, Austin songwriter/soup chef Ruth Carter and her husband Bill Carterjoined their friend and bandmate Johnny Depp in London where they're working with him while he makes a movie. Ruth has been corresponding regularly via e-mail with little tidbits about the London restaurant scene. Recently, she mentioned visiting the world-renowned London bookstore Books for Cooks, and I asked her to send me a short piece about it to share with Chronicle readers. Here it is:
"I know I said I would write about the world's coolest bookstore here in London, Books for Cooks. Well, I keep going in and every time I leave, I think 'I just don't know enough about it yet.' This can be a familiar excuse of mine, but in this case it was a real feeling. I had forgotten that it was even in London, but having read about it several times in the food magazines, I remembered dreading of browsing the shelves. The store is tiny in comparison to most bookstores, but it's all cookbooks!!!! I was overwhelmed, but decided to look at some of the local stuff. It was very crowded, but the obvious owner was flitting around the store helping everybody. In the back of the store are a small kitchen and a few-- maybe six or seven-- tables. They have chefs come in and fix specialties and have lunch for a lucky few that book in advance. The first day there was a plate with a lemon something and perfect raspberries ... ooooohhhhh so nice. I bought a book and went out and around the corner and found a wonderful spice shop with a zillion spices in tiny bags and fresh herbs and nuts out in front. Next to it are 10 or 12 fruit and vegetable vendors and specialty shops of all kinds. Your mind begins to race from one recipe to another. Here is virtually everything you could ever want as you go street to street. I've been back to Books for Cooks lots of times now and have asked the advice of the owner about restaurants in the area, shops, and, of course, books. So I guess it's not so much about the incredible availability of books, it's all the lovely things you don't see. You can get almost any cookbook online these days, but here there's inspiration and guidance, a lovely aroma, expert advice, and a pleasant afternoon that make it special. For all you non-cooks, it's like this: You can go buy Lazy Lester's new album and spend a lifetime enjoying it but it sure ain't nothing like sitting around and listening to him sing in your living room!
Love to Austin, Ruth"
Lucky for me, Ruth also sent along a copy of South Wind Through the Kitchen, the best of Elizabeth David (Penguin, $19.95 paper), a posthumous compilation of favorite essays and recipes by the revered English food writer put together by her longtime editor Jill Norman. David's lovely prose and inviting recipes are making wonderful bedtime reading this week. Tucked into the book are some snapshots of the exterior of the bookshop and the nearby market in Portobello Road about which Ruth writes with such enthusiasm. The coolest thing, though, is the bookmark. It's a combination business card and bookmark on beige cardstock cut in the shape of a rolling pin. Here's what it says. "The shop for all cooks, new and old books, books by post. Lunch, coffee and cakes from Test Kitchen. Cookery Demonstrations."
#4 Blenheim Crescent
London W11 1NN
Tel: 0171 221 1992 Fax:0171 221 1517
E-mail: [email protected]
On the back side, there's a map of the neighborhood where the bookshop is located. That cinches it, I'm ready to go.
