Samin Nosrat once shunned recipes. Now she's sharing them

"Samin Nosrat's 2017 cookbook, Salt Fat Acid Heat, was organized around what she considers the four fundamental elements of food and how to make delicious dishes that didn't require step-by-step instructions. One thing deliberately absent: recipes. "People can get trapped in a recipe, and feel so bound to the written letter," she says. "They feel really constraining, and that constraint hurts my heart.""

"Nosrat honed her craft at the famous Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse, where she started out as a busser and eventually made it into the kitchen as a cook. Salt Fat Acid Heat felt like the culmination of a lifetime of work, and led to a four-episode Netflix show. But when the pandemic hit and Nosrat was forced to stay home, she struggled with depression."

""I was sitting in this house by myself and wondering like, what am I doing?" she says. "I already said everything I have to say about cooking. And I'm not even sure I like cooking or eating that much anymore." The isolation made Nosrat realize the importance of sharing meals with other people. She started a Monday-night dinner party for friends, which she calls her "anchor for life.""

"And she began to reconsider her stance on recipes. She now sees them as a tool for creating community around food. "The truth is that people, I've realized, need some handholding," she says. "I think this is almost an act of service, the way I view making recipes is something I can do that can be of use to the greatest number of people.""

A 2017 cookbook emphasized four fundamental elements of food and teaching how to make delicious dishes without step-by-step instructions, deliberately omitting recipes. The creator believed rigid recipes could trap cooks and constrain creativity. Culinary training at Berkeley's Chez Panisse informed that philosophy and led to broader recognition, including a Netflix series. Pandemic isolation triggered depression and prompted a reevaluation of cooking's purpose, highlighting the importance of sharing meals. Regular communal dinners became an emotional anchor and reframed recipes as practical tools and acts of service to guide many people and build community.

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