More about Phil Rosenthal new book
Want to know how Massimo Bottura created his famous Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano? It’s in the book. Interested in chef Alon Shaya’s sumptuous lutenitsa? It’s on pg. 74. Salivating over Ian Kittichai’s khao soi? You can now make it at home.
In addition to the recipes, there’s loads of behind-the-scenes photos and anecdotes that fans of the show will devour as well. So, we asked Rosenthal about the book, some of his adventures, and what’s coming up next in his world of food and travel.
How do you describe this book to people?
I wanted to make the ultimate companion book to the show, complete with stories, highlights, behind the scenes photos, and beautiful screen captures because we have amazing cinematographers. And then I thought, what if it was also the best cookbook in the world? So, we have 60 of the most requested recipes from the first four seasons of the show from, I think, the best chefs in the world.
When you say requested, who is asking for these recipes?
People DM me every day. Every single day. Do you want to know the most requested one? If you know the show, you know that I don't go into a lot of process. It’s not about that. It's not a cooking show. But there was one that I thought was so simple, and so great, and I knew wouldn't be time consuming, so I thought, I want to show it to you. And that's the pork chop in Venice. And I show it. Couldn't be easier. That's the most requested recipe, even though it's in the show. So, we put it in the book.
What were some of your favourite things about writing this book?
First of all, I knew I needed help. I knew I needed someone because I never wrote a cookbook before, I’m not a cookbook author. And this is kind of a hybrid type of book, right? So, I needed someone with some experience in the cookbook world; I could handle the other stuff. And the way I wrote my first book was I like talking more than writing even though it's still writing. I like telling my stories to someone who then has it transcribed and printed out, then I go over it, and then I fix it.
That's what I did with this, and I let the great Jenn Garbee handle the recipe parts and the organisational parts, which I also don't know for this type of book. So, in telling my stories to her again, and her asking me pertinent questions, I got to relive everything. It was also fun to go through the photos with my brother who took a good portion of the photos in the book on his iPhone. So, that was really fun too.
Did you try to cook anything in your own book? Is there a single recipe that you even attempted?
You know me, right? I'm not a chef. I am so happy to have experts do it. And Jenn and her team tested every single recipe. Some of the photos in the book are of the recipes as they turn out because as a cookbook author, Jenn is very concerned that when you make the recipe, it turns out right. There was one thing where the photographer and the food stylist made that pork chop, and they took a picture of it, and it was thick. When they made it, the pork chop was thick. Now, I didn't give a lot of editorial feedback. I approved every photo and everything that's in the book, but when I got to that photo, I said, ‘what's that?’ They said, ‘that's the pork chop.’ I said, ‘no it's not. You got to pound it.’ And they said, ‘that's artistic license.’ I said, ‘I'm sorry, if people are buying the book and want that recipe, they want it to turn out like they saw on the show.’ That was very important to me, so I had them redo it. Everything else was perfect. Of course, there were slight differences because of different ingredients and things that are available here that you can’t get straight from Morocco. So, there's things like that. But a lot of things are pretty damn good.
How long did the book take from idea to finish line?
I think a year. It's a wonderful keepsake. I think it's just a nice thing whether you're a cook or not. It does honestly feel like there's something for everybody. Even if you hate my stupid face, it's a good cookbook. And if you're not a cook, and you like show, it's that as well. It's the companion book.
One of the really nice touches in the book is how you incorporated your parents. What was your thought behind that?
That, I insisted on. I think they were a vital part of the show. It connects everything. The touchstone of your parents of that postcard home, the modern equivalent of the postcard home, and to have their words transcribed and put in the book. By the way, if you get the audio book, I took the audio from the show for all those segments, and I read all the story parts. And then the chef intros, we got them to record most of those, the chefs did them. And then you get a PDF for your iPad or your phone of all the photos and all the recipes. So, it's a multimedia thing. This is the new thing now and I love that.
I think one of the nicest parts of the show is how you highlight different groups and organisations for how they help feed people in need. Is there any element of that with this book?
Of course, and you know one of my favourite parts of doing the show, is to find these people. And so, I’m donating proceeds of this book to charity.
You got some real heavyweight chefs for this book. Which chefs can people expect to get recipes from?
We were thinking about who should do the foreword, who would be pretty impressive? Oh, how about the best chef in the world? That was cool to get him. And Massimo Bottura and his team wrote a wonderful thing about our time on Western Avenue [in Los Angeles] when they all came and we went for Korean hotdogs, which he loved and went back for seconds. He's such a great, he's really one of my favourites. Other people coming to mind, chef Moha Fedal in Morocco is such a charming, wonderful, ebullient spirit, and his family that I love. It's easily the best part of the show. I hope what comes through in the book is it's really not the food it's the people; it's always the people. The food is the connection. Food for me is the great connector and then laughs are the cement and that's what I hope the book is. Maybe you’re attracted to the food, but if you're entertained and you laugh a little bit then we're connected even stronger.
Other chefs in the book are Thomas Keller, Alice Waters. How about this this charming woman Elena Reygadas and her pink mole that's chef-tested and in the book. There's also the chef-tested brownie from Cape Town, which is the world’s best brownie from Anthony Gird.
For fans of the show, which seasons does this book cover and is there a chance of a follow-up?
The first four seasons. Which gives you an idea of how long it took to make the book. Well, we have season five and six at the very least. So, there could easily be a sequel. And you know, I look forward to feedback from the readers to tell me what they'd like in the next one.
You have a few words of wisdom in your book. One is talking about ‘local’. You just pound home this idea of finding a local. Can you expound on that?
Well, it's very simple. Who's the expert? Me? No, I just got here. How about someone who lives here? Why don't you talk to them? Just common sense. I spoke to someone yesterday at this party and she said: ‘Oh, I love your show. And we're waiting to take our daughter somewhere.’ How old is your daughter? ‘10.’ What are you waiting for, I said. ‘Well, I want her to remember it.’ I said, are you only planning one trip for her life? Because we took Ben and Lily to Venice when they were not even six and three. And they remember it. And now they're travelling on their own. I don't know what you're waiting for. She goes, ‘Oh,’ like this was a new idea.
Here's my philosophy. First of all, go now, because we don't know what's coming. We don't know what's happening in the world. If you can go, go. Why? Because you're going to want to go a lot once you go once. So, go now. You want the rest of your life to travel. Here's what my big conundrum is when I travel - I want to try new places, but how do you not go back to the place you love, and the people you fell in love with there? Go now. And I always say, Venice is the perfect place to bring your kid, like the first place you should take the kid. It's rides! It's A Small World, except everyone waving is Italian. Right? The cars are boats. It's a very simple thing to get your head around. And then, by the way, it's the most visually spectacular city on Earth. So go now, I promise you there won't be a great difference between 10 and 11 for the child, so I think I changed her mind yesterday.
The irony of this book is really that you want people to put it down and just leave.
Put the book down and go. Did you get inspired yet? Go! The moment you're inspired, go. Here's the other thing. You'll never be as young as you are right now. That took me a while to understand. So, go!
