Real Food, Real Fast

Teen celebrity cooking sensation Sam Stern reinvents the term "fast food" — thanks to these quick-and-tasty recipes that entice kids to cook for themselves.

British teen Sam Stern is a great cook, and he’s on a mission to get everyone else doing it. Now that his COOKING UP A STORM has stirred up a storm of attention, he’s offering REAL FOOD, REAL FAST to lure all those time-pressured teens away from their fast-food fixes. Once again, with his engaging conversational tone — and the help of his friends — Sam breezily runs through dozens of recipes, using real ingredients and simple techniques. But what makes these dishes a cinch for even cooking-resistant kids are the cool tabs that indicate preparation times of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 minutes. Brilliant!

Teen celebrity cooking sensation Sam Stern reinvents the term "fast food" — thanks to these quick-and-tasty recipes that entice kids to cook for themselves.

British teen Sam Stern is a great cook, and he’s on a mission to get everyone else doing it. Now that his COOKING UP A STORM has stirred up a storm of attention, he’s offering REAL FOOD, REAL FAST to lure all those time-pressured teens away from their fast-food fixes. Once again, with his engaging conversational tone — and the help of his friends — Sam breezily runs through dozens of recipes, using real ingredients and simple techniques. But what makes these dishes a cinch for even cooking-resistant kids are the cool tabs that indicate preparation times of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 minutes. Brilliant!

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up- Written by a British teen cooking personality, this book is full of time-management advice, recipes, and tips for combining dishes. Cross-references enable novices to put together full meals, and the index encourages browsing by ingredient or type of recipe. Tabs enable quick access to the section of the book containing recipes for 5- to 30-minute time frames. A listing of "Essential Extras" at the back provides more adventurous cooks the chance to create basics for themselves rather than purchasing premade items, such as stocks, dressings, assorted spreads, and breads. Each recipe includes serving sizes, variations to adapt the recipes to one's own taste, pictures of the author and friends, and often pictures of the finished product. The directions are easy, although the British colloquialisms might confuse those not familiar with cooking. A teen-friendly guide to healthy eating, featuring foods that are fast and easy to make.-Sara Rofofsky Marcus, Yeshiva Har Torah, Little Neck, NY

Sam Stern, who wrote COOKING UP A STORM with his mother, Susan, is a high school student who — like many of his friends — loves to cook and eat. He lives with his family in York, England, where he is rarely seen without an iPod.