Psychology of Food, Cooks, and Cooking - by David Livert (Hardcover)

About the Book

A Psychology of Food, Cooks, and Cooking reviews psychological research and theory to illuminate the ubiquitous human behavior of cooking in both professional and domestic kitchens, drawing upon Livert's twenty years of experience examining both types of cooks.

Book Synopsis

In A Psychology of Food, Cooks, and Cooking, David Livert employs current psychological research and theory to provide insights into the ubiquitous human behavior of cooking. Livert's book provides a novel perspective, reviewing current research on cooks and cooking in both psychology and food studies. This book organizes and summarizes the large and diverse body of research and theory in psychology to better understand cooks and the behavior of cooking. This volume uniquely applies psychological research and theory to both domestic and commercial kitchens, taking advantage of Livert's two decades of research and scholarship on the intersection of social psychology and food preparation. A Psychology of Food, Cooks, and Cooking illustrates the important insights that major psychological theories and concepts add to our understanding of cooks and cooking.

Review Quotes

A psychological dissection of the essential human behavior of cooking is surprisingly novel. David Livert has done a wonderful job of now giving us an engaging, scholarly, and highly approachable and extremely useful analysis of what it means to cook and be a cook and how we interact with food.

Drawing on his vast knowledge from many different areas of psychology, Professor Livert cleverly and clearly helps us understand the behavior of cooking, a human activity that is so essential to our health and well-being. Home cooks and chefs will both delight in the many insights he provides.

This is an intriguing, beautifully written book about cooking. It's also a profound statement about what it is to be human--and much more besides. A must read.

What does it mean to cook? David Livert makes you think about your culinary practices and food decisions, and to consider how the essential behavior of cooking is anything but natural.

About the Author

David Livert is professor of psychology at Penn State University.