Bonnie Stern and Anna Rupert's infuse family stories into their new cookbook Don't Worry, Just Cook
Q & A | CBC Radio | Posted: October 7, 2022 5:29 PM | Last Updated: October 7, 2022
The mother-daughter duo explore personal memories and stress-free recipes in their latest book
Bonnie Stern is a chef, broadcaster and the bestselling author of 12 cookbooks. For decades she has shared her love for food and cooking on TV, radio, newspapers, cookbooks and at the venerable Bonnie Stern School of Cooking in Toronto.
Stern's latest Don't Worry, Just Cook, was also a labour of love. Written with daughter and lifelong kitchen collaborator Anna Rupert, the book invites readers to share food and recipes with family and friends through the generations.
Stern and Rupert spoke with Shelagh Rogers about writing Don't Worry, Just Cook.
Sharing recipes and stories
Bonnie Stern: When I had the cooking school, people used to tell me that they love the recipes, but they also loved the stories. It gave them something to talk about at the dinner table. And I just thought, 'Oh my God, people are going to be so sick of me and my stories.'
People used to tell me that they love the recipes, but they also loved the stories.
But I think that it just brings something more to a recipe. And sometimes it's the history of the recipe. Sometimes it's just my relationship to the recipe or Anna's relationship to the recipe. And I think that makes it a little bit more meaningful.
I think that recipes do have a story and I think they deserve to be heard and make it more approachable and make it lighter and happier somehow.
A return to publishing
Anna Rupert: I think when my mom closed the cooking school, there was a pretty big emotional impact on her. And so that naturally factored into there not being another book because she was sort of doing other things and figuring out what was right for her and what she wanted to do.
I think when my mom closed the cooking school, there was a pretty big emotional impact on her.
I think it's fair to say she never stopped writing recipes. She still had the National Post articles. She was still testing recipes all the time at Friday night dinner. We were always trying different recipes, but the concept of writing another book didn't really materialize.
During that time, she and I had started working together a little bit, I had started helping a little bit more with writing talks she was going to give and helping with editing her newsletters. So just before the pandemic started I said, 'You know, if you are thinking about it at all, I'd be happy to help you with it.' And it sort of evolved from there.
A fitting title
Anna Rupert: The title Don't Worry, Just Cook came about because I was obsessed with getting a title. I don't know why. It helped me to visualize the book if we knew what it was called.
So I said to my mom one day, 'What do you always say to people? Do we have a family saying, or do you say something all the time to people in classes?' She said, 'Well, yeah, I say don't worry, just do it. Don't worry, just cook.' And we were like, 'Oh, wow, that's it!'
Bringing flavours back home
Bonnie Stern: My trips to Israel certainly widen all my flavour ideas in a wonderful, wonderful way. And I started offering culinary tours at the beginning of 2005 and it has really blossomed. The first time I tasted food in Israel, I thought this is the next big thing because these flavours are so intense and so delicious and so appealing.
The first time I tasted food in Israel, I thought this is the next big thing because these flavours are so intense and so delicious and so appealing.
I just think that the food is so interesting and it can be on so many different levels, really, because there's so many countries that are represented in Israel because Jewish people were kicked out of so many countries.
And they brought their food to Israel and it's so diverse, it's just so incredibly delicious that I wanted to share some of those flavours.
Sweet memories
Bonnie Stern: When I was a teenager, I went to a camp in the Maritimes called Camp Kadimah. I had never been to a place where so many people were so kind and so lovely. And it really made a huge difference in my life.
I was always fed by all these wonderful mothers who did everything on their own in their kitchens. It was just amazing to me.
One of the big things was when I went to camp too, there were no Jewish bakeries or anything like that. So people cooked a lot and baked a lot and on visitors day it was all this home baking. It was just amazing.
My parents didn't come for visitors day because it was so far, so I was always fed by all these wonderful mothers who did everything on their own in their kitchens. It was just amazing to me.
Bonnie Stern and Anna Rupert's comments have been edited for length and clarity.