In this week's cookbook review, we turn our attention to Nothing Matters but Delicious, the debut cookbook from Greg Baxtrom, award-winning chef and restaurateur behind Olmsted and Maison Yaki in Brooklyn.
The book's central argument is simple: most of what fine dining culture tells home cooks they need, the obsessive precision, the rigid technique, the hyperspecific recipes, doesn't actually matter. What matters is cooking something genuinely delicious. It's an appealing idea, and Greg makes a reasonable case for it throughout.
The tone throughout is conversational and encouraging. Greg is clearly trying to lower the barrier to entry for home cooks who feel intimidated by professional cookbooks, and in that he largely succeeds.
The sidebars are among the most useful parts of the book, practical notes on how to recover from mistakes, when to trust your instincts, and what's actually happening in the pan. These are the kinds of tips that rarely make it into cookbooks, and their inclusion here is genuinely helpful.
How much you take from the book will depend on what you bring to it. Cooks who are comfortable with a degree of flexibility will find the approach liberating; those who prefer a more structured framework may want to treat it as a starting point rather than a step-by-step guide.
The recipe selection is broad. Greg moves from Simple Ribeye with Roasted Root Vegetables and Easy Peasy Mac & Cheesy at one end to Bouillabaisse and Indoor S’more at the other, with photographs and infographics that are more functional than decorative.
The range is a genuine strength of the book, there's something here for a nervous beginner and something for a more confident cook looking for new ideas.
Across the full spectrum, the recipes feel well-considered and purposeful. Whether you start with the simpler dishes or work your way towards the more ambitious ones, the book gives you enough context to understand not just what to do, but why.
Where Nothing Matters but Delicious earns its place on the shelf is in the mindset it tries to cultivate. Greg is less interested in teaching you specific recipes than in making you a more confident, curious cook, someone who understands why something works rather than just following steps. That's a worthwhile goal, and the book makes real progress towards it.
It won't replace a more technique-focused reference book, and some readers may occasionally want more structure than it offers. But as a companion to cooking, something to read alongside rather than follow to the letter, it has genuine value.
Nothing Matters but Delicious is an enjoyable debut that makes a solid case for cooking with less anxiety and more instinct. The practical sidebars are excellent, the recipe range is well-judged, and Greg's voice is warm and approachable throughout.
If you're looking for a cookbook that will give you permission to cook more freely and make fewer apologies for the results, this is a good choice. Just be aware that it works best as a starting point rather than a comprehensive guide.
Nothing Matters but Delicious is a bold and liberating cookbook from chef Greg Baxtrom, proving that great cooking is less about technique and more about confidence, curiosity, and above all, flavour.
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