Barnes & NobleThe Mediterranean Cookbook - A Regional Celebration of Seasonal, Healthy Eating by Cider Mill Press

Good Recipes, Subpar Editing

While I enjoyed the diversity of the recipes, having worked in the cookbook publishing industry, I was disappointed to find that the book itself was poorly edited and the photos, dishonest. To put it in context: The cover photograph is what had grabbed my attention on the shelf, as it sparked an instant desire to make such an inviting platter for my next gathering. After buying the book though, I quickly discovered that the cover was merely a stock image and so not all of the components of the dish were recipes in the cookbook. For a cover image, this seemed like a poor choice. Upon further investigation, many of the dishes carried a similar disappointment--the recipes were seemingly, random compilations without true professional documentation or testing. Some images were pixelated and blurry, others were fine, but standard. Overall, it left me feeling like I could grab a bunch of images and blogger recipes online, put them together and call it my own and cash in. It felt inauthentic. While the recipes themselves were categorized nicely and the text was clear and legible, the idea that it is a compilation of Mediterranean recipes fell flat; There was hardly any regional background information to the dishes and putting them in context would make this a much more enjoyable and thoughtful book. (ie. What country is this from? What region?) What can I say, I’m the type of person that likes to know what cuisine I’m even cooking. All of that being said, I have made a few of the recipes which have been clearly written, easy to follow, and flavorful. So I suppose, its a double-edged sword for someone like me reading it. Overall, the book needs more time, editing and accuracy—& due to this, I question the reliability of the recipes I haven't made yet and quite frankly, the integrity of the publishing company.