Who knew that Elon had a chef brother? I certainly did not.

I’m continuing my “Best of 2024” cookbook review series today by reviewing The Kitchen: Cooking for Your Community by Kimbal Musk.

About the book:

To cook a meal for others—with thoughtfulness about the ingredients and care for the technique—can be the ultimate act of sharing. Gathering around the table opens people up, sparks meaningful connections, and builds community. This was one of the key principles that led Kimbal Musk to open The Kitchen restaurant twenty years ago, and it remains at the core of the restaurant’s mission as it has grown to have locations in four cities—Boulder, Denver, Chicago, and soon Austin.

Now Musk shares more than 100 recipes for all of The Kitchen’s most beloved dishes so that you can make them at home. Here are signature creations such as the legendary Tomato Soup, Cast Iron Roasted Chicken, and Sticky Toffee Pudding, as well as more recent favorites like Crispy Cauliflower Korma, Grilled Ranch Steak with Romesco and Catalan Spinach, and Tahini Mousse Cake. The Kitchen is an American bistro serving seasonal shared plates with many global influences. Peruvian chiles pop up often, homemade naan serves as a base for shareable dishes, and miso gives a lift to several veggies.

Reflecting the restaurant’s history as a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement, many of the recipes include variations according to the season. In fact, the book empowers the home cook to feel free to adapt at every turn. An ample chapter on sauces and toppings provides an arsenal of flavor boosters to punch up all of your cooking, and many dishes have components that you can mix and match with others throughout the book. There are plenty of quick and easy recipes that are sure to become regulars in your weeknight rotation, as well as some spectacular showstoppers to serve at your next party. As a bonus, the majority of the recipes link out to videos that show you how to accomplish key kitchen hacks. With all these practical features, this book is bound to become a trusted companion on the kitchen shelf to turn to time and again—as well as one that will inspire you to cook for your community.

About the author:

Kimbal Musk is the co-founder of The Kitchen, an American bistro.  Now marking its twentieth anniversary, The Kitchen serves thoughtfully sourced, Seasonal American Shared Plates with global influences. Musk is also the co-founder of Big Green, a philanthropic organization devoted to getting every American growing food. His personal mission is to empower and invest in the next generation who are building a healthier, happier future. The Wall Street Journal has called him a “cheerful crusader for real food,” and The Guardian has lauded how he “takes the tech entrepreneur ethos and applies it to food.” Musk has been named a Global Social Entrepreneur by the World Economic Forum. Musk currently sits on the board of Tesla Inc., and formerly served on the board of Chipotle Mexican Grill and SpaceX. Follow him on X @Kimbal and Instagram @KimbalMusk.

What I thought…

Musk writes in a conversational style, something that I wasn’t expecting. He is very plain spoken and his voice is honest. Yes, he was able to get into what he loved (cooking) and attend the French Culinary Institute (NYC) because at the ripe old age of twenty-seven he sold the tech company that he and Elon cofounded. I’m not holding that against him.  (But, $350 mil can afford one the pleasure of doing whatever they want. Still, not bitter.)

He talks about the “community” angle starting with 9/11. He was living near the WTC. His apartment was unharmed but he was able to return to Lower Manhattan and volunteer as a cook to provide for the first responders. He did this for six weeks, sixteen hours a day.

After this experience, he set out on a road trip to find his next home. This led him to Boulder, a town that exemplified community to him. He serendipitously meets Hugo Matheson, another chef, and they ended up first working together at a Boulder restaurant and then opening The Kitchen in 2004. The Kitchen was designed to be sustainable, focused on local ingredients, and assessible to all—“equally welcoming to a CEO and to a local carpenter hungry after a day’s work” (13).

Musk wrote this cookbook for The Kitchen’s guests and “anyone who loves to cook for their friends and family” (15).

Musk is also eager to give credit to his people, too, especially those staff members that were with him on day one.

The book is separated into the following sections:

• Cocktails
• Condiments, Toppings & Sauces
• Vegetables
• Grains & Pasta
• Seafood
• Poultry
• Meat
• Bakes & Sweets

I found the cocktail section a bit “cheffy.” By that I mean the recipes weren’t very accessible for the home bartender.  That is unless you have a fully stocked bar and can add half an ounce of Aperol here and half an ounce of St. Germain there. He does offer a great tip though for making large-batch cocktails. Add about 30% water to your big batch. That mimics the volume of ice that breaks up in a shaker.  There are also a couple of mocktail recipes, but the best part of the cocktail section might be access to his playlist!

The veggie section includes dishes that could be entrees unto themselves. I would gorge on any of them. The seafood section is impressive and I love that he includes a ceviche that is to be eaten with tortilla chips. Musk’s Whole Roasted Chicken is simple and traditional:  lemon, garlic, thyme, rosemary. The key seems to be in the prep and seasoning.

Throughout the book are small vignettes about the original Boulder restaurant, the Denver location, and the Big Green organization.  There are also tips like how to hunk parmesan and supreme citrus scattered through.

QR codes abound with info on how to season well, how to render fat, etc. (Then there’s that aforementioned playlist!)

I really want to try his Pulled Pork (201). It includes wine, apple juice, carrots, onions, celery, and Fresno chiles.

The Sourdough Focaccia (231) is also calling my name.  Musk includes a sourdough starter recipe.

The desserts are elevated traditional ones: Eton Mess, Vanilla Meringues, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Chèvre Cheesecake…. The Savory Crullers with Whipped Allium Butter (243) sounds interesting (in a good way).

I’ve tried two of the condiments (with a few modifications) and I was impressed.  The salsa verde (54) was wonderful on steak and burgers. His Comback Sauce (59) was equally good for dipping onion rings and topping Shrimp Po’ Boys.

I’m including them both here because I modified them a bit. (I also wanted to keep these recipes after the book went back to the library.)

Would I buy this book? Perhaps. Would I give it as a gift? Probably depending on the level of expertise the giftee had. But, I do think that most of the recipes are do-able and they all sound delicious.

I’ll end the review with a quote that comes early in the book.

Pablo Picasso once beautifully said, ‘The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.’ I believe food is a gift we give ourselves three times a day. Cooking food for others is a joy and a gift I give my community” (16)

The Kitchen is also on my go-to list the next time we’re in Boulder or Denver (or Austin).

I’m linking up with Foodies Read for June.

Postscript: We mentioned The Kitchen to my brother-in-law and his girlfriend who live near Boulder. They went. Said it was fabulous but was pretty high end. Not sure a carpenter could afford the prices.