“Imagine for a moment dreaming about a cookbook that tells you how to cut fish, use all the parts and not waste anything,” said Eric Ripert, chef and co-owner of the famed seafood restaurant Le Bernardin, in Manhattan. “So what are you doing? Llamas Kitchen Arts
Ripert, whose latest cookbook, Seafood Simple, came out this month, recently signed six hundred copies at the small food and beverage bookstore on Lexington Avenue between 93rd and 94th St. Make no mistake, Kitchen Arts.
What makes a store thrive, a pandemic, and thrive again when our reading, cooking, and even drinking behavior has completely changed?Sadly, founding spouse Nahum Joel Waxman, known to all as Nach, passed away in 2021, but we spoke with management. his spouse Matt Sartwell, who started running with him in 1991.
“When Nach founded the bookstore in 1983, there were several independent bookstores in the neighborhood,” he says. “So he thought a specialty would be better. ” But for a moment he hesitates between two of his passions: eating or playing sports?Waxman, who studied anthropology at Cornell, the University of Chicago, and Harvard, and then worked in publishing for twenty years, chose a nutrition that “influenced the way I saw the world. “
Sartwell met the founder and his wife, Maron, at a party where he had volunteered to check out the food. Waxman identified the dishes Sartwell had prepared (and taken from his apartment) as coming from Cucina Fresca, a 1985 Italian cookbook written through Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman, one of Waxman’s favorite cookbooks.
Kitchen Arts
“Someone called last week from California looking for Noma’s first cookbook, which is out of print,” he said, referring to chef René Redzepi’s iconic restaurant in Copenhagen. Although the store also specializes in out-of-stock titles, Mr. Sartwell was curious to perceive the motivation for this request.
“I think if he started a collection, maybe it wouldn’t be the best book for him,” she said. “So we spent a lot of time on the phone because I wanted to make sure I understood what I needed. “At the end of the conversation, the appellant came to New York to meet with Mr. Sartwell and explore the out-of-stock jewels. “We’re a full-priced e-bookstore,” he said, “but you can call and communicate with a human being. “
Cooking Arts & Letters on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan
It turns out that he is not just a human being, but a being with an opinion, a point of view, and a deep wisdom in the field of food and beverages. A walk through the online page begins as an undeniable search, however, each of the eBooks comes with an accurate, almost passionate description, and by the time you’ve read a few, you’re either hungry or you’ve already ordered more eBooks than you have room on your shelf.
From the first generation of Frankie Gaw: Recipes from My Taiwanese-American Home, we read: “In briefing notes and bankruptcy openings, Gaw vividly illuminates the contrasts between his family’s afterlife and his dreams, between traditions and discovery. “
Then, about Franklin Smoke: Wood, Fire, Food via Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay, it’s “A great, long, subtle, evolved smoked brisket recipe from all that Franklin has published before. However, this requires intelligent chimney management. “. It’s not just a matter of leaving him alone. You’ll need to pay attention to it regularly. For 12 hours. This is exactly what you should do with the breast that catches the attention of the whole world.
And commenting on a very rare and out-of-print copy of ABC of Mixing Cocktails written by Harry McElhone (“one of the godfathers of his craft”) in 1922 (and which will be offered at $1,100): “Even after some 40 years in the business world, there are still some out-of-print books that make us shudder when we find them. It’s one of the few titles we still had to manage. Acquiring such an award makes our blood beat and we are very happy. be offering it here.
Ancient depiction of a hostess serving cheese and crackers to her visitors at a cocktail; Array. . [ ] Serigraphy, 1933. (Photo via GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)
If someone buys an e-book and doesn’t like it, Mr. Sartwell will accept it. “Someone called and said they had just bought this ebook, but ‘I hate cilantro and each and every recipe contains cilantro!'” Sometimes, Mr. . Sartwell sees a new e-book and sends it to an express customer. “If they like it, they tell us to rate their card. If not, they send it back.
When Covid-19 hit, Kitchen Arts
“It’s like a lot of people remember our existence,” Sartwell said.
We may not soon forget!