All That Crumbs Allow

There’s something quietly radical about a cookbook that treats breadcrumbs not as afterthought but as catalyst: an ingredient worth cooking toward, not merely with. In All That Crumbs Allow, former restaurant professionals Michelle Marek and Camilla Wynne build that case with conviction and creativity, anchoring the everyday act of using up leftover bread in a sense of pleasure, not scarcity.

The 50 recipes gathered here are often simple in appearance, but they speak to a restless and inventive approach to cooking. Tuna fritters with lemony buttermilk dressing, a breadcrumb omelette served on rye, rhubarb-cardamom breadcrumb cake. These aren’t just practical; they’re unexpected and satisfying, balancing thrift with thoughtful layering of flavor and texture.

Czech dishes appear throughout the book, some classic, others gently reimagined, lending an idiosyncratic note that complements the authors’ understated style. And while there are no photographs, the occasional line drawing adds a light, almost zine-like touch, in keeping with the book’s compact, unpretentious feel.

Guest contributors—including Nicola Lamb, Andrew Janjigian, Canal House authors Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirscheimer, and others—further expand the range of ideas here, but it’s Marek and Wynne’s voice that defines the book: pragmatic, funny, and fond of the kitchen as both workplace and playground.

Paperback. Line drawings.