(Serious) New Cook: Recipes, Tips, and Techniques

Book Synopsis: Winner of the 2023 Best Cookbook Award in the children, youth, and family category by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP)An NPR Best Book of 2022A Parade Magazine Great Gift for Foodies Inspiration and stellar instruction in a groundbreaking resource that's just right for teens and college students, twenty-somethings cooking in their own first kitchens, or folks of any age who are ready to get serious about making great food.

“This one's well worth gifting to your 20-something, along with their first good knife.” —National Public Radio

“Learning how to cook—simply, seasonally, and organically, for family and friends—is one of the most fulfilling things you can do in life. This book is the essential (and delicious!) roadmap you need: friendly, approachable, and perfectly ready to inspire new cooks to fall in love.” —Alice Waters, chef, restaurateur, author, and American culinary icon

“The must-have new cookbook for all (serious) new cooks.” —Edible Marin & Wine Country

“Get this one for your cousin who just moved into her first apartment.” —Stained Page News

Filled with recipes for impressive, craveable food—with all the guidance needed to make it—(Serious) New Cook is perfect for young adults or any new(ish) cooks who have ever found themselves salivating at cooking TikToks or drooling over gorgeous cookbooks, only to believe they aren't skilled enough to attempt the recipes themselves. Here, the clear, detailed instruction and stunning step-by-step photography will have readers wowing their friends and families from their very first dish. Along with recipes that are at once aspirational and totally doable, authors Leah Su Quiroga and Cammie Kim Lin use their experience as a chef from one of America's top restaurants and an award-winning teacher and writer to deftly share knowledge, stories, and brilliant tips with humor and insight.

It's an homage to their own multicultural families and to the countless young adults they've taught and cooked with—their own kids, Cammie's high school and college students, the new cooks who came up under Leah in the Chez Panisse kitchen. (Serious) New Cook hits all the right notes, packed with inspired takes on familiar favorites, as well as new flavors to build an expansive repertoire: crepes with compote, handmade arepas, “broken” Caesar salad, mushroom pot pie, Korean bulgogi meatballs, classic cupcakes, dalgona milkshakes, and more. With stunning step-by-step photography by Molly DeCoudreaux, the recipes are presented in trios organized around a core technique or concept. Learn one recipe and readers will be well on their way to mastering all three. Also included are guest recipes from acclaimed chefs and authors Alice Waters, Bryant Terry, Sean Sherman, Sohui Kim, Russell Moore, Claire Ptak, Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis, ushering a new generation of (serious) new cooks into the fold.

More than just a collection of recipes, (Serious) New Cook is an indispensable resource and an inspiring guide.

With an introduction by Cal Peternell (Twelve Recipes, Burnt Toast and Other Disasters) and stunning photography by Molly DeCoudreaux (Sharp, Feed Your People, Italy by Ingredient), (Serious) New Cook will recalibrate our expectations for beginner cookbooks, young adult cookbooks, teen cookbooks, college cooking resources, and the like. A perfect holiday or graduation gift —along with a good first knife!

This IACP Award winner is the perfect bridge to cookbooks by Molly Baz, Joshua Weissman, Rick Martínez, Eric Kim, Jamie Oliver, America's Test Kitchen, Alice Waters, Samin Nosrat, and more!