The captivating debut of Nicola Lamb, SIFT, explores the essential ingredients that form the foundation of great cakes and perfectly guides readers through the techniques they support and connect with its wonderful recipes.
NIcola Lamb’s Fuck It is the type of book with which you want to curl up in a welcoming corner, a cup of tea in hand, ready to lose you in the wonderful world of cooking. But it’s not just a collection of recipes: it is a guide who invites you to fall in love with the process, not just the final result. Whether you are a complete beginner or a professional baker, this book has something to teach, inspire and remember the magic that happens when the ingredients gather.
Nicola’s journey in cooking is a story of passion, nostalgia and a profound love to share the joy of the process. Reflecting on his journey, he shares, “Fuck He is dedicated to my nanny Carole and his Brownies, that my sisters and I were obsessed with growing. I suppose that it was my first introduction to how much cooking of joy brings other people and how to symbolize care and affection. Even if I cooked a little, sometimes with Carole, when I was small (he did all the hard pieces), it was not until I left the house and moved to London at the age of 18 that I collected as a hobby. “
There was a moment of doubt before working fully in a career in cooking, but Nicola soon realized that his love had not just been deepened. As she says, “a few years later, just before entering a professional cuisine, I was worried that preparing my” career “rather than just a hobby could ruin it, but love has only grown!”
Nicola continued to train in some of the most famous kitchens in the world and work with masters such as Dominique Ansel and Yotam Ottolenghi. It brings vast experience in this book, but with a warmth and accessibility that makes you feel at home immediately. “I owe everything to the fantastic teachers of my life: from the chefs who got up to my side and looked at the choux paste eggs provisionally to writers such as Harold Mcgee, Paula Figoni, Francisco Migoya and Samin Nosrat, to name a few, whose work I poured. I am incredibly grateful.” It is clear from the beginning that for Nicola, cooking is a deeply personal journey, based on learning, discovery and a lot of patience.
When it comes to the most demanding recipe on which Nicola has worked, his experience with hand laminated croissants stands out. “Writing a recipe for hand slow croissants who get great results took a long time,” reflects. “I started that recipe in 2020 and it took so much time to nail my pastry skills!”
Even with years of work experience in a lively production bakery, doing thousands of croissants per week, Nicola discovered that translating that high volume process into a domestic cuisine was far from simple. Remember that understanding what regular in the formula inspired it to understand the ingredients at a deeper level. This journey has not simply modeled his Croissant recipe: he also led to a new approach to document his creative process in his weekly newsletter below called Kitchen Projects and, in the end, in Fuck.
“With FuckI wanted to write the book I wanted to have when I started cooking. At the time I was intimidated by many big and heavy books aimed at professionals, but I wanted more details than the cooking books at home, who often browse the technical details. “Its goal was clear: to create accessible and reliable basic recipes combined with a sufficient technical depth to educate and enhance the bakers to understand why behind the methods.
The first part of Fuck It almost seems like a love letter to the science of cooking, which, if you are something like me, will make you pass out. The front half of the book is in-depth information on the key ingredients of baking-roasts, eggs, sugar and fat-più guides on consistency, color, such as foods increase and technical components such as temperature, donness indicators and adequate techniques.
Nicola unravels the role of every ingredient clearly. Take the eggs, for example: it doesn’t only tell you what’s in an egg; It takes you deep into the world of fat, proteins and water and shows you how every part works together to create something wonderful. It is fascinating and while it might seem a little technical, Nicola’s voice is so inviting that you will find yourself leaning To find out more.
If you have ever wondered why things increase how they do, how to create an improvised test chamber or what happens exactly during caramelization, this section is for you. Nicola’s passion for science behind cooking is contagious and the diagrams and detailed rankings that includes make the concepts more difficult that seem to you something desire to understand. It reminds us that learning to ask “why” is one of the most important lessons in cooking and once you start pulling on those threads, it is incredible how everything connects in the wider picture.
As Nicola says, “this book and its recipes have been specifically designed to be manufactured, depending on the level of mood and trust”. Once you have a handle on the bases, Nicola presents its “basic recipes”, things such as puff pastry, cake pasta, milk bread, brioche and choux pastry. These are more than simple recipes; They are opportunities to perfect the skills that will make a second nature feel. There are no flashy photos to distract you, no useless flowering: only clear and detailed instructions and weighted notes that guide you through each step.
So come the recipes themselves. This is where Nicola’s creativity really shines. It makes family cakes and adds its turning point, like a cottage to cotta cotta cotta brûlée or squiggly chocolate loaf that run chocolate bread In something even more irresistible. And let’s not forget the French toast cinnamon sandwiches, a playful two -favorite breakfast nod. The recipes are organized by the commitment of the time, so you can choose what adapts to your program, from the rapid afternoon delicacies to the most involved weekend projects. And if you need some update on a technique, Nicola includes comfortable references to the previous chapters so that you can raise before immersing you.
When it comes to his creative process behind the scenes, Nicola is a fan of self -proclaimed spreadsheets. “The first thing I do once I thought of a combination of flavors Or the consistency I am looking for is to start a new spreadsheet “, he shares. For Nicola, it is the perfect way of organizing chaos and immersing himself in science behind his creations.
Its approach consists in understanding how every ingredient interacts to create the perfect result. Nicola explains that he begins by analyzing the fundamental elements using the basic “rules” of the development of recipes. For example, sugar and fat are essential to make things kept and soft, while flour works like a structure that gives the structure. So, if it wants something soft, she knows that it will need a higher relationship of sugar and fat. On the other hand, if it wants to introduce a new liquid, such as sour cream, it could reduce the number of eggs in the mix to keep everything in perfect harmony. “Cooking concerns balance,” he says. And it is this mentality that allows it to constantly create recipes with the perfect consistency and flavor.
“All recipes have techniques incorporated inside them, which means that you will start noticing how much different bikes are connected,” he explains. It is like a gigantic network of knowledge, in which every new thing you learn is another thread that unites everything together. “I wanted this book to seem like a gigantic investigation committee all connected to the string so that they can really build confidence in cooking and see how everything is connected!”
But perhaps the most fascinating part of Fuck Remember Nicola that bankruptcy is part of the journey. “There will be burnt crusts, pastry blocked in pans, unconfected gelatines and everything else,” he says. “But try not to let them knock on your trust. Failures are a crucial part of the learning journey.” He adds: “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or ask questions. I know it’s frustrating, but it’s how we learn.”
This refreshing mixture of science, art and pure joy makes you feel cooking like an eternal adventure. Of course, some recipes are demanding, but this is where the fun is. Cooking is a practice and with Nicola as a guide, not only you will get the technical know-how, but also the trust to face even the most ambitious cakes.
In the end, Fuck It is more than a simple cookbook: it is an invitation to explore, experiment and savor the process. Because, as Nicola says wisely, “every journey that ends with the cake is worth making”. And I couldn’t agree anymore.
Find Nicola Lamb on Instagram on @nicolalamb, a nicolalamb.comand Kitchenprojects.substack.com. His debut cookbook, SIFT: the elements of great cookingIt is available now.
