OP: The Cook's Room: A Celebration of the Heart of the Home

Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1991. Hardcover. Very Good. First US printing.        

Alan Davidson (1924–2003), was a leading figure in the food and culinary world—writing, editing, and publishing.

The Cook’s Room, edited by Davidson and published in 1991, includes essays by culinary and food writing heavy-hitters like M.F.K. Fisher, Julie Sahni, Diana Kennedy, and many others, describing various kitchens around the world, including their often complex histories and the varied way in which they were used. From design and function, to efficiency and tradition, this is a handsomely illustrated anthropological text that explores the most meaningful room in the house.

The contributors describe kitchens in locations that range from the Atlantic, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean and Middle East, to the Americas, Asia, and Australia. They reveal how culinary traditions shaped kitchen design and utility, even after a number of practices had fallen out of use. 

Notable correlations like the preponderance of blue and white color schemes, perhaps being related to the once-highly fashionable blue and white China featured in upper class homes, and the likelihood of comals or mortars and pestles existing alongside food processors on the same countertop serve as a reminder that food and cooking, while constantly evolving, never forget its roots.

This is a good-looking, large-format (9.75” x 10.5”) book, filled with high-quality color photography. While not a systematically scholarly work, it provides excellent material for those interested in kitchen design, function, and history.

We are offering a first US printing copy in Very Good condition, including the dust jacket.