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More Foodie Gifts – The Hardcore Foodie

Yep, it’s that time again – time for part 2 of Kamikaze Cookery’s holiday gift guide.

This time, we’re looking at gifts for the hardcore foodie. This is serious stuff, for borderline obsessives like, erm, me. And indeed, I’ve tested all the stuff I’m recommending here, with the lone exception of the Sous-Vide Magic, where I built my own.

Big Fat Duck Cookbook

It’s big. It’s fat. It does have, I think, a recipe for duck. But most importantly, it’s the most beautiful, inspiring, extreme cookbook I’ve ever seen.

Heston Blumenthal runs the Fat Duck, which most people would consider to be, alongside El Bulli and The French Laundry, probably the best restaurant in the world, and certainly the best example of molecular gastronomy anywhere. He became famous for the Fat Duck’s tasting menu, a 15-or-so course tasting extravaganza including mousse flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen at your table, tea that’s hot on one side of the glass and cold on the other, and similar amazing things. I’ve eaten there, and it literally changed my life – it’s the reason you’re reading this now.

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook contains most of the recipes from those tasting menus. Not simplified for home cooking, not with some of the ingredients removed (at least, I’d be really surprised if that was the case) – the actual recipes. Plus, a lengthy discussion of Heston’s life and inspirations in cooking, which is a truly fantastic read, and a whopping great big appendix at the back with tons of information on scientific cookery (worth the price of admission on its own).

It’s a very expensive book, but the reason why is immediately obvious when you see it. The book itself is a piece of art. It’s gigantic, it’s filled with illustrations from Dave “Sandman” McKean, and it really does feel like some kind of spellbook, brought down from musty top shelves to be consulted for cookery incantations. I’m considering buying a second copy, so that when I fuck one copy up by cooking from it I have another one that’s still pretty.
Just awesome.

• US – The Big Fat Duck Cookbook – $157
• UK – The Big Fat Duck Cookbook – £80

Bamix Hand Mixer

It’s That Blender.

And all I can say, once again, is yes, it really is that good. It’ll foam things that nothing else can foam. It’s easier to use than any blending device I’ve ever encountered. It works just as well as a spice mill. Or a whisk. I believe it makes a tolerably good mincer, although obviously not ideal. It’ll even – and I just tested this – puree sprouts (with a bit of encouragement).

If you know a serious cook, who could use a serious handblender, this one’s more serious than a Financial Times special edition. And also less boring.

• US – Bamix Mono Hand Blender 14-in – $139

• UK – Bamix Deluxe Blender White – £89

On Food And Cooking

Yes, I’m going on about On Food And Cooking again. Seriously, this is The Tome. If there’s one book any serious cook should have – before Larousse, before Escoffier, before Elizabeth David, before Delia – this is it.

There are no recipes. There is just Knowledge. Hundreds of pages of Knowledge.

Want to know how and why stews work? Want to know what’s gone wrong with your souffle? Want to know the way your steak changes with temperature? Want to know everything you can do with eggs? Want to know about stocks, herbs, vegetables and the aromatics therin? Want to make your stuff work right? Want to invent new recipes?

It’s all here.

If the foodie in your life doesn’t have a copy, he/she’s probably been meaning to get around to it.

• US – On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen – $26.40
• UK – McGee on Food and Cooking – £21

Sous-Vide Magic

We’ve been going on about sous-vide a bit, and we’ll probably do so more in the future. It’s fantastic. But there’s one problem for most people – the fact that lab water baths are really, really expensive, and keeping water at a constant temperature on the hob is, as Alex would put it, a total pain in the arse.

Enter this little box. Attach it between your rice cooker or crockpot (aka slow cooker, British people) and stick the probe in the water inside it, and it’ll hold any temperature you want. Sous-vide on the cheap. Ish.

It’s only available in the US, sadly. Find it Fresh Meal Solutions ($129). You’ll probably also want a FoodSaver ($144)

In Search Of Perfection

Heston Blumenthal produced a series of programs on the BBC last year in which he attempted to create the “perfect” version of various well-known dishes – Spaghetti Bolognaise, Pizza, a burger, Chilli Con Carne, and so on. The cookbooks contain both a story of his travels, and the recipes for each dish, which are likely to do two things. Firstly, they’re very likely to be the most complex meals you or your foodie friend have ever cooked.

Secondly, they’re likely to produce the best food you’ve ever made.

It’s another Heston book, and I make no apology for that. I’ve cooked several meals from these books, and in addition to being enormous fun if you enjoy cooking (this is serious restaurant-style stuff, but brilliantly explained so that virtually anyone can follow along), the results were truly sensational. If your intended present-reciever doesn’t enjoy long recipes, then these books ain’t for them, but if they like nothing better than a day in the kitchen, this is cooking Nirvana.

• US – In Search of Perfection – $38
• UK – In Search of Perfection – £12
• US – Further Adventures in Search of Perfection – $23
• UK – Further Adventures in Search of Perfection – £10.53

Honourable Mentions

El Bulli’s various Molecular Gastronomy kits are good fun if a bit expensive (I’ve got their Sferification kit) – I’m not sure where to get them in the US. The Sferification kit does produce good food, although it could have done with more description.

The French Laundry Cookbook (US – $31, UK – £20) is an absolute classic. The food’s extremely difficult to cook, but possible, and it’s an inspiration to read. I don’t own it, but I’ve looked through it a fair bit. Sadly, I can’t recommend Thomas Keller’s latest book, on Sous-Vide – it’s a bit rubbish.

Finally, of course, the Kamikaze Cookery Season 0 Part 1 DVD ($17 – US, £9 – UK) is an excellent gift, guaranteed to provide hours of amusement for children and adults alike. Or something.