Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook
Molly Gordy of the Associated Press recently published an article featuring 15-year old cookbook author Sam Stern. His book, Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook, recently hit bookstores.
Sam has no problem with modesty regarding his cookbook. He wrote the following review for the inside jacket: “Sam Stern has been a passionate cook for as long as he can remember. This is his first cookbook. It’s brilliant.” Gordy found this self-review “mischievous rather than arrogant” and found that it was “a tribute to the talents of this spiky-haired 15-year-old from England, whose self-styled “teen survival cookbook” is captivating multiple generations of readers on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The cookbook knows its audience and offers “bright print, ample photographs, easy-to-follow directions and versatile menus.” Recipes range from Silver Dollar Pancakes to My Friend Joe’s Thai Green Curry. The tone? “[B]lunt, humorous, enthusiastic and unmistakably adolescent.”
“I wanted to write a book for kids like me in our own voice,” he explained in a lilting Yorkshire accent while his three students chopped and stirred.
“Some of my friends didn’t eat well because their parents work long hours - they’re doctors and such - and I thought it might be nice to kind of point them in the right direction. They needed someone to give them a shove.”
Sam’s success in England has translated to the U.S. publication of his cookbook. He has made an appearance on the Today Show and is under contract to write three more books.
Gordy enlisted three teenagers to try several recipes from Cooking up a Storm and the results were excellent. “When served together, the dishes make an elegant three-course meal suitable for a dinner party.” The teens found that they were easy to make and tasted good, too. Editorial reviews and user reviews on Amazon were also positive.
