Star Wars cookbooks aren’t anything new, with official cookbooks being around since the ‘90s. There is a bit of a tradition with them, however. The title must contain a terrible pun. Previous books have been called Wookiee’s Cookies or Darth Malt. This latest one, inspired by the newer films, is called BB-Ate.
It’s a breakfast cookbook, aimed firmly at younger audiences. The idea is that a loving parent uses this book to help a youngling experiment in the kitchen. In theory, it could serve as a handy guide for anyone who happens to be utterly and completely inept at cooking. But it’s clearly aimed at kids. For a start, it’s child-sized, being an approximately A5 format book. It has a ring binding to make it easy to turn the pages with sticky fingers and it’s also glossy. Overzealous use of a whisk will soak the pages, but the publisher has at least made a token effort against kitchen hazards.
The recipes are pretty basic, as you’d expect from a breakfast book aimed at kids. Frozen yoghurt, pancakes, waffles, French toast and so on. They are simply presented and the instructions are plain and straightforward. We get some basic kitchen safety tips at the front and all of the recipes use simple tools; you won’t be doing anything more complicated than whisking or baking here.
Where the book excels is in its presentation. Each recipe is a Star Wars pun. It’s not French toast, it’s First Order French Toast. Raisin Bread becomes Reysin Bread, energy bars become Admiral Ack-Bars and so on. Because this is a breakfast cookbook for those who don’t know how to cook. Because it’s also a Star Wars cookbook, the recipe is called Stormtrooper Standoff and directs the cook to paint the eggs with a marker pen in a way that they look like Stormtrooper helmets.
Each recipe comes with a brilliantly-posed photo, usually involving the finished product and a Star Wars action figure or two. This is rather cute and really sells the idea of the book. This is great for kids who love Star Wars. It’s not a fancy cookbook for geeks (though those do exist), but it is pretty and simple.
THE STAR WARS COOKBOOK: BB-ATE / AUTHOR: LARA STARR / PUBLISHER: CHRONICLE BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
