Theodora Floros owns a Montreal catering company and runs a high school kitchen. While her cookbook title is a bit of a misnomer – the recipes are actually geared for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with dishes such as “Cornish game hen with BBQ sauce” and “Pork with chickpeas” (the author capitalizes only the first word in a recipe name) – the recipes sound interesting. Many are easy and tasty, such as the “Sweet potato salad,” and there are more than a few ideas for vegetarians. Still the book will be a challenging sell for many reasons.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the price. With all the competition these days, from the Internet to celebrity chefs, even well-meaning cookbook authors are up against it. Forty-seven dollars is simply too much for a soft cover cookbook. In addition, although Floros tries to offer quality for the price by including glossy pages and full-color photos, many of the pictures don’t do the food justice — in fact, just the opposite. Case in point: the dish on the cover looks gloppy, cheesy and unattractive, though the actual recipe has no cheese and the dish is very pretty — and delicious. Other inconsistencies pile up. Every so often, for example, Floros mixes metrics (grams, kilograms, etc.), with cups and teaspoons. The page numbers and index don’t match up, making it hard to find specific recipes. And there are numerous typos (“Sloppy Jane (vegetarian), I had to call is (sic) something!”)
Granted some of these are minor issues, but such carelessness makes it difficult for readers to take a chance on her recipes. And that may be the most unfortunate part, given their promise. Floros may want to re-think her goals, because this is one case in which readers, contemplating such a large expense, are forced to judge a cookbook by its cover.
Also available in hardcover.
