Cuisine or barbarity - Maria Nicolau

A revolutionary guide to traditional recipes to give back to the people what belongs to them: the happiness and freedom to cook and eat.

Synopsis

Cooking is an act of freedom and resistance against the homogenization of our time. Cuisine ou barbarie (Cooking or Barbarism) , written by Maria Nicolau, a chef with a frank and uncompromising style, was a unique literary phenomenon in Catalonia, with over 100,000 copies sold and critical acclaim.

Far more than a simple collection of recipes, this book is a vibrant plea for a cuisine rooted in tradition. Through simple recipes, personal anecdotes, and anthropological reflections, Nicolau restores meaning to the act of cooking, far removed from the standardized influences of agribusiness, and reveals the power of food to transmit, share, and savor life.

Described as a "quixotic crusade" by chef Dabiz Muñoz (*** Michelin), Cuisine ou barbarie is an essential modern resistance manual for those who wish to rediscover the pleasure of cooking, for themselves, for others and for the future.

Praise

"The literary phenomenon of the year. The renaissance we needed after an era of gastronomic obscurantism." El País

"If in 2,000 years a team of archaeologists is to find a book, please, let it be this one." Anonymous reader on Goodreads

"A historical, wild, succulent book!" Josep Roca , chef of El Celler de Can Roca, *** Michelin, 3 times voted Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant50

"A revolutionary book. A quixotic crusade." David Muñoz Chef of DiverXo, *** Michelin

"I learn, I am moved, and I laugh. I say it vehemently: this is the best book about food and life." Ada Parellada, Spanish chef

“The emergence of Maria Nicolau is the undisputed phenomenon of the year in Catalonia. She has put home cooking at the center of the conversation, even among those who had never cooked a simple fried egg. And that is a joy for all those who love to eat and want to continue eating well.” Marc Casanovas , food essayist

“Maria Nicolau has reinvented gastronomic literature, at least in Catalan.” Miquel Bonet , food journalist

"What an extraordinary book! What a pleasure it was! Josep Roca says that anyone who reads it will inevitably fall in love with Maria Nicolau forever. How right he is! Read it and fall under her spell." Anna Guitart , journalist

"What a marvel! A book brimming with life. This will be my gift to all my loved ones in the years to come." Laura Rosel , journalist

"Much more than just cuisine, a work of anthropology." Òscar Moré , Cadena SER

"The passion and charisma with which Maria Nicolau conveys her ideas are not at all pretentious." Joan Burdeus , Núvol

“Nicolau has written a kind of sentimental biography that celebrates the vibrant act of cooking. I wholeheartedly attest to this as a reader and apprentice.” Josep Maria Fonalleras , El Periódico