First We Surf, Then We Eat

August 6, 2018
Kempton (Surfing: The Manual), former editor and publisher of Surfer magazine, presents an expansive collection of recipes sourced from his travels on six continents—accompanied by stunning surf photography. Kempton’s the real deal when it comes to surfing, and he’s serious about his recipes as well. Dishes include a banana bread he sampled on a Fiji island with “an open-ocean reef pass considered to be the best in the South Pacific”; sashimi francaise, a poke/seviche mash-up that incorporates coconut milk and brown sugar; a luscious Salvadoran seafood soup; and shrimp phyllo purses with tomato chermoula sauce from the Moroccan coast, where they set their surfboards down “next to a coiled viper.” He suggests cocktails perfect for a sunset on the beach, like a classic mai tai, Peruvian pisco sour, and a simple rum punch cocktail made of cane syrup, lime, and rum (“one of the most underrated and authentic Caribbean cocktails”). He closes with a useful index organized alphabetically, with headings for key categories such as “Coconut,” “Pineapple,” and “Vegan.” Kempton’s generous collection is sure to capture the imaginations of home cooks, be they surfers or travelers.

September 15, 2018
Far from writing a "jocks only" cookbook/armchair-travel book, professional surfer, editor, and author Kempton (Surfing: The Manual, 2008) has taken great care in assembling nearly 100 universally appealing recipes that represent both favorite and unusual dishes from seasides around the world. Six continents appear as Kempton's tales take readers from Guam (where Kempton was born) and Indonesia to Mexico and California. Unusual are the personal stories and color photographs that accompany the recipes. A visit to Basque country, for instance, features a profile of restaurant Le Moulin de Bassilour, which is known for its wood-oven-made bread, cakes, and cookies. There are also pieces on the classic Caesar salad, invented in Mexico by Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini, and Sumatra's civet coffee, probably the world's most expensive beverage. A few recipes shine for their originality (Tahitian vanilla shrimp, smoky corn salsa, Trinidad coleslaw); others will be familiar to many home chefs (mai tais, pasta carbonara, arroz con pollo). No need to be a bona fide water baby to enjoy this world-cuisine-embracing collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)