Saveur

Nach Waxman, owner of the Kitchen Arts & Letters bookstore in New York City, boasts an eclectic collection of more than 11,000 food-themed books and a passion for introducing unusual tomes to his customers. Recently, SAVEUR set out to discover what inspired the store's conception, why it has such a devoted following, and the must-reads for food lovers.

What came first, your passion for books or your passion for food?

I've never considered myself to be a foodie. I'm a book person, and my background is in publishing. But when I decided to open a specialized bookstore, food seemed like a great subject to pursue. When I was growing up, my family was hardly what you would call adventurous eaters, but my mother was steeped in the tradition of Jewish-American cooking, and she did that very well. I also grew up in a farming area, so I could appreciate what a tomato was supposed to look like and how fresh eggs tasted.

What's unusual about your store?

Everyone who works here has some sort of culinary background. Many employees have gone on to the French Culinary Institute or the Institute of Culinary Education. Something else that makes us distinct is that we are not just a cookbook store. In fact, not even half of the books are cookbooks. Our books cover the range of how food and wine fit into our culture, from technical manuals on food manufacturing to social histories of food, from books on agricultural policy to food literature. Our approach is putting food into all the contexts in which it has bearing.

Plus, our books are imported from all over—from India, South Africa, the UK. We have books in French, Spanish, German; even a few in Portuguese. We'll go to great lengths to show our customers books they haven't encountered before.

As a student, you studied anthropology and focused on South Asia. Does food from that part of the world interest you now?

Absolutely. I've always had an interest in the region, especially India. In the store, we practically overpresent South Asia. We've developed a following for those kinds of books.

I would love to see a good Indian multiregional book, one that went from top to bottom and east to west. A Taste of India by Madhur Jaffrey is a good book, but sadly it's out of print and only covers six or seven regions. Another one of my favorites is Savoring the Spice Coast of India by Maya Kaimal; it's a crime that it's no longer in print.

What are the essential books you'd recommend for a first-year culinary student?

La Varenne Pratique by Anne Willan; On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee; and Madeline Kamman's The Making of a Cook. These books are not just about following recipes; they're about understanding food and the cooking process, the properties of ingredients, and how to solve culinary problems.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #117