The Philosopher's Cookbook

In making time to do something well, you give it the respect it deserves. For Martin Versfeld cooking was neither a chore, nor a lifestyle embellishment; it was an encounter with the mystery that lives at the heart of ordinary things. `You still have to soft-boil an egg for three minutes,' he tells us, `but why boil it in a hurry when...

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"A profound wisdom and a great delight" - André Brink

In making time to do something well, you give it the respect it deserves. For Martin Versfeld cooking was neither a chore, nor a lifestyle embellishment; it was an encounter with the mystery that lives at the heart of ordinary things. `You still have to soft-boil an egg for three minutes,' he tells us, `but why boil it in a hurry when you can boil it in eternity, or in 250 millilitres of water instead of the Sea of Being?'

Versfeld's recipes have more of the poet about them than the instructor, they celebrate the complex relationship between humanity and food.

The Philosopher's Cookbook is about the art of slow cooking and thinking about what you are cooking and thinking while you are cooking. The art of preparing and eating food is inextricably intertwined with the meaning of life. There is nothing better than preparing, talking about, philosophising over and finally partaking of slow food and for Versfeld making time for something is an expression of love.

You will feel compelled to share this book with those around you. It will make you hungry; it will make you want to sniff the dirt on fresh vegetables.

The Philosopher's Cookbook is the manifesto of one of the great minds of our age: a cookbook, a philosophical enquiry and an essay on the human predicament. The pure simplicity of Versfeld's writing is a joy to the reader.