The Foodheim Cookbook Brought My Brother-In-Law and Me Closer Through Food and Comedy

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My brother-in-law appreciates good food, likes to cook, and knows his way around the kitchen. I, on the other hand, am just happy if a meal involves beef and/or cheese. One thing we have in common though is that we’re both fans of Eric Wareheim. The producer and writer has done off-the-wall comedy projects, is hilarious on the Netflix series Master of None and, turns out, knows a lot about food. So when I saw he was releasing a cookbook, it seemed like a no-brainer Christmas gift.

I knew my brother-in-law had a couple of cookbooks that included more healthy recipes and were your standard fare — down-the-middle recipes, good pictures of food, etc. But thumbing through Foodheim added laughs to the mix. The recipes are clear and easy to follow but have Wareheim’s signature humor throughout. They were fun to read even as I had no intention of trying to make anything, which had me questioning whether I should follow through on gifting it or keep it for myself. Each recipe in Foodheim is injected with anecdotes and tips and tricks. It reminded me of reading Beastie Boys Book, where it feels like everyone is in the same room in conversation, with interjecting thoughts and delayed points made. Aside from recipes, there are essays on wine pairings, details on where the recipes come from, and stories of Wareheim’s childhood and discovering new foods.

Foodheim presented some entirely new challenges for my brother-in-law, as well as prompted him to tweak some of his own tried-and-true recipes. He’s made a handful of them thus far but admits he’s enjoyed reading the stories and one-off essays more than trying to knock out every dish. He appreciates it on a different plane than I do. I’m newer to cooking, so thumbing through the book, I lean toward new discoveries that seem less intimidating to try — Wareheim’s humor and self-awareness help here, too. I’ve read other cookbooks that call for ingredients that I don’t even know where to look for in the grocery store, and more than once I had to Google something to find what it looked like. (I didn’t know what a shallot was until two years ago and firmly believe ghee isn’t real.) Point being, we are both mining some wisdom and enjoyment from Foodheim even though we’re far apart on the cooking skills spectrum.

My brother-in-law and I have always had a lot in common, but cooking has become an unexpected topic of conversation next to new music and recent clothing purchases. We now exchange recipe riffs and kitchen hits and misses weekly. While he’s probably closer to preparing a beef bourguignon with pureed potatoes while waxing poetic on what wine would pair best, I feel like I’m not far behind.

Buy the Foodheim Cookbook

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