OP: Wolf In Chef's Clothing

When this book was published in 1950, one usage of “wolf” was for a man whose behavior toward women was unabashedly admiring. Women did not use the term with affection, but there were men who saw nothing wrong with the aggressive attitude wolf implied. 

It is a relief to report that this “cookbook for men” is somewhat meeker than the title’s suggestion that it is a descendent of the aphrodisiac manuals and seducers’ handbooks that prevailed from the Renaissance to deep into the 20th Century. Wolf in Chef’s Clothing—a title apparently more to draw in and preserve all senses of masculinity—is actually good-humored, with very minimal leering, juvenile snickering, and suggestive language. 

In reality, it reasonably argues that, for many reasons, men should know how to cook—for themselves and for others in their lives. Men weren’t expected to be very much in the home kitchen, and those who did cook pursued the most acceptably masculine specialties—game cookery, barbecue and other outdoor efforts, and perhaps one favorite omelet. 

This is a rather quaint and charming book. It is about entertaining—all of one’s friends—about good hospitality, and good fun. The endpapers, in fact, show a wolf in the kitchen preparing a dinner for his five little pups. 

The book is in an 8-½” x 11” format with very sweet instructional drawings in near-comic book form. Enjoyable to page through and encounter a few useful ideas along the way. Our copy, which had been heavily handled, is skillfully rebound, using the artwork and type from the original case. Good looking, quite sturdy. A very few small stains internally.