Other People's Bookshelves Q&A with Sophia Real
Discover her favourite books and authors.
Q - Hello Sophia. Can you please tell us about yourself and your substack publication?
A - I was born in Essen, Germany - a city far from a culinary hotspot - but have spent the past 25 years dividing my time between a small village in Austria, London, Rome and, most recently, my adopted hometown Brussels. I have my parents to thank for not only being exceptional home cooks but also for exposing my siblings and I to an incredibly broad variety of different ingredients, flavours and culinary traditions from a young age. In part because I was born just after my parents returned from living in Morocco.
I think my passion for all things food and the wish to share my own recipes definitely stems from my childhood and all the different flavours and cuisines I was exposed to. At first I shared my recipes through a food blog, I then started doing some freelance recipe development for small artisan food producers and also got my first food writing assignments. Eventually a series of supper clubs and pop-up events here in Brussels followed, and now my weekly newsletter on Substack.
My newsletter focuses on recipes for delicious baked goods and desserts that make the most of all the flavours seemingly hidden in our pantries. For example, Chamomile Financiers, French Toast with Miso Sugar and Umeboshi Plum Compote or a Preserved Lemon Drizzle Cake. I hope that reading my newsletter will encourage my readers to start looking at their pantries with a fresh pair of eyes and start seeing a whole new world of possibilities for delicious cakes and sweet treats with intriguing new flavours and flavour combinations.
Q - Please tell us about your bookshelves and cookbook collection; what does it consist of, and how many do you have?
A - At last count, a couple of months ago, I had just over 100 cookbooks, although I know I also still have a few on loan with friends and family, so it’s probably closer to 120 in total.
There is a huge range of titles - from recipe books covering cuisines from across the globe (from Peruvian, to Mexican, to Japanese, Turkish, Italian, Romanian etc.), books about sourdough bread baking, lots of books about baking and pastry/desserts to more reference type books (which I still consider cookbooks if they include recipes) - e.g. the Flavour Thesaurus and Lateral Cooking books by Niki Segnit. There are books I use for their recipes and books I use almost exclusively for inspiration or research.
Q - Which cookbooks do you love and use the most and why? Do any of them have a sentimental value?
A - While I treasure my cookbook collection and would hate to have to part with it, I don’t think any of the books have real sentimental value for me.
In terms of which cookbooks I love and use the most it depends. I am a huge fan of all the
books and own copies of most of his books. That being said, I mainly tend to cook from the two test kitchen books - Shelf Love and Extra Good Things. For some reason, I find it easier to incorporate the recipes from those books into my weeknight dinner rotation.I also love Alison Roman’s Dining In and a number of recipes from the book have become staples in our household. Beyond that, there is a not particularly well known series of books on Italian regional cooking by Maria Teresa di Marco which I adore for its beautiful photography and simple, authentic recipes for regional dishes. I own copies of the Rome and Lazio as well as the Sicily editions (and am always on the hunt for other editions) and use both a lot. Also, anything by Eleanor Ford - love the recipes in both Samarkand and A Whisper of Cardamom (the chocolate chip cookies with garam masala are terrific!).
Q - Are there any rare or special editions in your collection?
A - I don’t own any rare or special editions of cookbooks but I do own a rather special edition of a Pierre Herme recipe book. It was a gift from my sister Helena and she ordered it online. And it really is special - it is about ¼ the size of what you would expect. Pocket-sized really. In fact it looks like someone shrank a regular-sized cookbook - including the font! It’s not particularly user-friendly and I don’t think I ever made any of the recipes from the book but I have held onto it because it’s just so odd.
Q - Can you remember your first cookbook? What was it and do you still have it with you?
A - I started playing around in the kitchen at quite a young age and was given my first set of cookbooks when I could barely read. It was a set of 2 cookbooks from my step grandma with a bunch of recipes little girls could make for their dolls. One of the first recipes I learned to make from one of the books were miniature pancakes. But I don’t think I still have these books.
Q - What system do you use to organise or file your books?
A - It’s a loose system but over time I have settled on organising my books by theme which is what seems to work best for me in quickly being able to find whichever book I am looking for.
So my books are divided into (i) Italian cuisine, (ii) bread baking, (iii) pastry, desserts and confectionary, (iv) Ottolenghi, (v) Middle Eastern food, (vi) Eastern European food and (vii) reference type books and then there are a couple of free for all shelves which house anything that doesn’t fit into any of the above categories.
Q - What is your oldest Cookbook, and when was it published?
A - My oldest cookbook is probably my copy of Pellegrino Artusi’s La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangiare Bene, which was originally published in 1891 but which I admittedly don’t open very often.
Q - Which cookbooks would you recommend and why?
A - From the top of my head I would say anything by Alison Roman. Several of the dishes from Dining In have become absolute staples for me - from the Tacos al Impostor (genius recipe title if there ever was one!), the Spring Seafood Stew, the Fennel Rubbed Porkchops to the Roasted Tomato Anchovy Bucatini.
When it comes to Ottolenghi, as mentioned above I find myself cooking the most from his new Test Kitchen Series. Both Off The Shelf and Extra Good Things are full of highly cookable dishes that still deliver on the Ottolenghi flavour front but are maybe a little less work than the recipes from some of his other books. Also, hands down the Flavour Thesaurus books by Niki Segnit which are great if you are looking for inspiration (and also include some simple recipes).
Q - Do you prefer cookbooks by famous chefs, regional cuisine, or specific themes?
A - It completely depends. Like many others, I’m a big fan of Ottolenghi so I always look forward to a new Ottolenghi book coming out and almost invariably will add the new books to my collection. But I also often look for cookbooks with particular themes. E.g. when I first started baking sourdough bread, I ended up buying several books on the topic. Similarly, when I moved to Italy I also got my hands on a number of Italian cookbooks because I wanted to learn how to cook authentic Italian food.
Q - Which cookbook authors have you met or would you like to meet? Tell us about them.
A - Do close friends who have published cookbooks count? Haha.
For the longest time I was really keen to meet
and the rest of the test kitchen staff - I actually applied for a stage in the Ottolenghi test kitchen a couple of times (alas they don’t do stages). Given the typically long ingredient lists of most Ottolenghi recipes and how much Ottolenghi tests his recipes, I was always curious to see the process in action and better understand when and why they consider a recipe to be done.Thank you for sharing your bookshelves and cookbooks with us
You can also take a peak into Sophia’s Kitchen
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wonderful! i would be so happy to connect as i’m in Brussels, cookbook lover and huge Ottolenghi fan :) let’s get in touch!!!
Thanks for sharing and for the Ottolenghi test kitchen recommendations! I have some of his books that I never seem to be able to make regular use of, so I will check those out.