Not my style of food, and fancier:more involved than I have time to dedicate to cooking. If you’re okay with those things, then this cookbook is for you.

The Cook You Want to Be is a great book for both novice chefs and that expert chef you always get the best food from. Filled with the basics and recipes to wow anyone, Baraghani's book is a great addition to any collection.

This is one of the best cookbooks you will ever own. Why? Because it teaches you how to be a better cook. You need this book. My favorites so far have been- crispy herb salsa verde, Jammy egg and scallion sandwiches, eat with everything cucumber salad, parmesan kale chip salad with tangy mustard dressing, charred brussell sprouts with creamy nuoc cham, and Kufteh. Buy this book. You will get to play with flavors and textures that will change the way you cook and eat.

I am absolutely obsessed with Andy B and I think this book made me even more obsessed!!! There is a bit more writing in it than I typically prefer in my cookbooks, but I loved hearing about his Persian upbringing and the personal anecdotes included!

The recipes are incredible as well! I am so excited to try out Andy's toum recipe as well as several of the vegetable recipes (fennel in cream??? say no more!). I would say about 3/4 of the recipes have easily accessible items from a mid-size grocery store, which I appreciate!! I will say the recipes that I noticed may not have had accessible ingredients were things I might be willing to go out of my way to get from elsewhere.

Regardless, I CAN'T WAIT to get my own copy of this book!!! I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, so I'm not sure if all the pictures and layouts are exactly correct, but from what I could tell this is going to be an absolutely stunning book and I might even splurge on a signed copy!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this cookbook for an honest review.

“The Cook You Want to Be” from Andy Baraghani reads like a love letter from a seasoned chef to inspire home cooks to become more adventurous and take their cooking to the next level.

Baraghani’s writing is so friendly, laid-back, and even playful at times that you would think he was writing this cookbook for someone he knew his whole life. For a cookbook, I was surprised to find how personal he became at times, but that vulnerability helped me understand why he prepared and cooked the dishes the way he did.

As a regular home cook (and the keeper of more cookbooks than I can fit onto my pantry’s shelf), I found this cookbook to be very inspiring with many tasty options I couldn’t wait to try, most of the recipes were easy to follow with great tips, and the delicious photos sold many dishes for me. I appreciated that many dishes were produce-heavy since we’re mostly meat-free in my house. However, Baraghani loves to use anchovies in many of his recipes, and I try to steer clear of them due to intolerance. I wish he would have offered a substitute so I could still make a successful dish.

One big takeaway for me so far from this cookbook was trying Baraghani’s tip for mixing all salads with your hands instead of utensils to really get the dressing distributed evenly and not leaving a pool of dressing in the bottom of the bowl. I have tried this technique twice and have been amazed with not only how much better my salads taste, but also that I’m using less dressing than I thought I needed!

My only complaint was that I wanted to see more photos of the completed dishes. While I do appreciate some “in progress” photos while I’m working through a recipe, I want to know what the finished product is supposed to look like.

Overall, I would highly recommend this cookbook to any home cook who wants to try some new and flavorful dishes. While not all the recipes will appeal to everyone, Baraghani’s variety in the dishes, his personal stories, and expert advice are well worth a read through the entire book.

I really enjoyed this book. I love when the writer includes a done of context and background about the recipes. I am not at all familiar with Persian cooking and found this collection a refreshing change to my routine go-to's. I found myself salivating and the descriptions and flavour combinations. I look forward to working some of the basics in to our usual repertoire. If you are looking to wake up your kitchen, improve your skills and try something new, this might just be the cookbook for you. I can't wait to get cooking!

I'm a fan of Andy's from his time at bon appetit. This book clearly reflect is no nonsense basic simplicity with complex and great flavors. The layout of the book is a soothing minimalism. I also appreciate that most of the recipes are only one pages. As a citrus lover I greatly appreciate this book.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was around 3.5 stars for me.

I really like Andy! I was excited to read this book! I wish there were pictures of the finished product for the recipes since that's something that I look for in cook books. Also for go-to recipes I was expecting some that aren't as time intensive as many of these recipes are.

That being said Baraghani makes some of these recipes sound very easy. There's also a good variety! Covering all sorts of meats, grains, and vegetables for any time of day or night this is a very intensive recipe book. This may not be a cook book for beginners, but it's definitely a way to step up your cooking.

I loved this cookbook. Baraghani has a laid-back but still interesting approach to cooking that I really appreciated. As a pescatarian, I appreciated his attention to vegetables and non-meat dishes, and I thought the flavors he used and the combinations he dreamed up were great. Highly recommended!

This is a fabulous book, full of recipes and helpful tips and tricks, which makes it way more than just a cookbook. I’ve always tried new seasonings and spices as I experience them in my travels. I also like learning form others, but at the end of the day we all have a little flair of our own that makes us unique. It may not come out for awhile as you’re learning, but as you gain confidence it starts to come out, your own personal cooking DNA

The recipes in this books are easy to follow, the pictures are drool worthy and you’ll learn a few tips and tricks no matter your cooking level. Definitely a great book for cooks of all levels.

The book merges Andy’s Persian culinary traditions, as well as his personal cooking style, beautifully. The photographs taken for the book give the feeling of going for a foodie shopping trip with Andy by your side and having him right in the kitchen with you while cooking and plating the food.

Vegetarians will like that this book has very respectable vegetable and grain sections of their very own; though there is plenty for the omnivores in the crowd.
If you’re a fan of Andy B and have been following him since his Bon Appétit days, you’ll love cooking through (and reading) this book.

Loved it good information and clear recipe's that are easy to follow. A must for anyone interested in cooking.
I received this book from the publishers via Netgalley for a review

Oh how I love a good cookbook, actually I love most cookbooks as I love food and cooking. and this book would fit quite easily into my cookbook collection.

It is a book that is not only about recipes but about cooking, handy hints and tips and making your cooking unique to you. There is some great information and handy ideas that it is a book you will go back to time and again. It is not just about the recipe you choose and cook but also about how you can use the methods, ingredients again and again.

The recipes look and sound wonderful, they aren't overly complicated, they use great, real ingredients and it is a book that I think I may need to track down so I can have the hard copy in amongst my already overflowing collection of great cookbooks!

Wow. Obviously Andy Baraghani is a well known chef, with this book he is letting us know who he really is outside of BA and the institutions he has been a part of in the past. I am really blown away.

The photography is stunning - it is playful, artistic, creative, different, and fun. The images indicated to me that this book has a point of view, and that it is a little different from every other book on the shelf. The prose is surprising - I felt like I somewhat knew Andy from my time as a BA subscriber and youtube watcher, but he is just a delight. His writing is very tongue-in-cheek, conversational, and personal. I loved hearing his voice and his stories.

The sections are broken out as follows: Might Little Recipes, Start (or End) Your Day with an Egg, Snacks to Share....or Not, Salad for Days, Mind Your Veg, Grains, Pastas, Cheap Happiness, Meaty Things, Soup Obsessed, Fish, I Love You.

Andy's cooking is influenced by his Persian roots, California upbringing, and time cooking in both professional kitchens and home kitchens. I love what he wrote in the beginning: there is no recipe in this book that he can't make in his small NYC kitchen. And that is definitely reflected in the book! The recipes are down to earth, accessible, and interesting.

Loved this book more than I expected to. Thank you to Netgalley and Clarkson Potter / Ten Speed Press for the ARC. The Cook You Want to Be is out 4/26/22.

4.5 stars rounded up

I'll be honest, I hadn't ever heard of this cookbook author before, but I'm definitely going to be checking him out now! Full disclosure: I've yet to actually cook a recipe from this yet, but I've bookmarked a lot of them, far more than is usual for me in a standard cookbook given my various ingredient dislikes, but I'll come back and update as I make some!

That being said, this cookbook was pretty stunning, and I can only imagine how much better it'd be in a physical copy as opposed to the digital ARC--I'm seriously considering purchasing it for myself, and gifting it to friends! There were a lot of gorgeous vegetarian recipes, along with many, many recipes that were naturally gluten-free. I'd say this is a great cookbook for people/families with either of those dietary restrictions, or if you're pescatarian, as the meat section is quite small, though it packs a punch for the meat-lovers!

The title of this "The Cook You Want to Be" felt really fitting. There's something quite aspirational and inspirational, both when it comes to the recipes and the format/design/photographs here, but in a way that doesn't feel depressing. This is the cook I want to be! There was such great variety in the recipes, and despite the somewhat fancy sounding/looking dishes, I actually thought the ingredient lists, techniques, and instructions all seemed quite reasonable. I appreciated that there were often substitution options for ingredients that might be harder to source (garlic instead of garlic greens, kale instead of swiss chard, etc) and that there were also serving suggestions in the beginning or end notes--one of my pet peeves is when cookbooks provide just a main dish or spread or side dish with no suggestions on how they would suggest pairing with other dishes for a full meal, so I really appreciated it.

There's a section at the beginning discussing preferred pantry items, cooking tools, etc. which I found helpful and informative, but not overly long. Same with his section and recipe intros, and little asides throughout--they were a delightful (and helpful) bit of context and commentary, but didn't detract from the recipes.

I'm genuinely super excited to make SO many of the recipes in this book--it's the kind of cookbook that inspires and invigorates! I'm super pleased I requested this ARC on a whim.

Truly, the only reason I'm knocking off half a star is because I did wish there were more photographs. The ones we have are gorgeous and so lush, but there are a few recipes without any at all (thankfully not too many!) and some of the recipes have photos in-process but not finished, etc. I'm also really hoping the binding is the kind that lays flat, as that's another pet peeve of mine in cookbooks, though it's sadly pretty common.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Cook You Want to Be.

I'm not familiar with Andy Baraghani but I love cookbooks, because I love to eat, not because I love to cook.

This was a great cookbook featuring recipes with exotic and unique flavors, some of which are pulled from the chef's Persian roots.

As I was reading, I realized I've never eaten Persian food before and I'm a native New Yorker; we have every kind of food imaginable here!

The recipes are categorized by ingredient and there are a lot of vegetable dishes, which might inspire the reader to eat more vegs. It did for me!

The writing style and tone is friendly, warm and conversational. I can imagine the chef's voice as I read.

In my opinion, the best thing about Mr. Baraghani is his sincerity about cooking outside the box; he stresses eating and cooking with ingredients you're unfamiliar with to test and stretch your culinary boundaries and food preferences.

If you don't succeed cooking with a particular food, try again. And again. There's no cooking shame here.

I was happy to see the photographs came through on my Kindle.

As usual, my only caveat is the dessert section is so brief.