Living and Eating

Archi­tect John Pawson and chef Annie Bell’s Living and Eating remains highly rele­vant, twenty years after its 2001 publi­ca­tion. For a decade, this cook­book has been central to our own pared-down, mini­mal­ist lifestyle — a design philos­o­phy applied to everyday living.

In collab­o­ra­tion, Pawson and Bell address the kitchen, that most personal of spaces. The book presents 240 recipes and a philos­o­phy of simple living and inten­tional choice. Sound equip­ment, they argue, is key to both cooking and lifestyle. The goal is essen­tial­ism: remov­ing the unnec­es­sary to engage only with what matters.

This inten­tion­al­ity extends from design elements — oven, light­ing, storage — to the plate, ensur­ing nothing distracts from the food, wine, and the plea­sure of company. Recipes move from the straight­for­ward (radish swirled in butter) to slightly more involved dishes (Chicken Liver Parfait). They offer seasonal sugges­tions, such as Tomato and Basil Lasagna for summer. The compi­la­tion is notable for its clean, sharp, richly flavored results, and an evident affec­tion for Gruyère.

Follow­ing the recipes, Pawson and Bell detail their pref­er­ence for high-reward equip­ment, ideal occa­sions, and small, essen­tial addi­tions to the home — candles, specific vases, and fruit bowls — that enhance the dining expe­ri­ence. Their insights encour­age effort­less hosting, narrow­ing the gap between how one eats and how one entertains.

Though out of print for over a decade, this book’s value has only increased. Cooks & Poets offers new copies of Living and Eating indi­vid­u­ally (we have 10).