"THIS IS NOT A RECIPE BOOK… IT SHOWS US HOW TO USE A RECIPE…"

HARBEN, Philip. The Way to Cook or Common Sense in the Kitchen. London: John Lane The Bodley Head, (1945). Octavo, original red cloth, original dust jacket. $500.

First edition of the first cookbook by the first television celebrity chef.

Harben began broadcasting segments on cooking on the radio for the BBC in 1942; in 1946, one year after this book came out, he began appearing on television in his show Cookery, making him the first television celebrity chef. In this book and on his shows, his emphasis was not on recipes, but rather on the techniques and general principles of cooking. Bookplate.

Book with mild toning to spine ends; dust jacket spine toned, with chip to head with minor loss of text. A very good copy.