Brent Ridge

A copy of this book was provided to the reviewer for the purposes of this review.

Upon first inspection of the book the subtitle "How to build a truly great business" one might expect on of those self-help books regarding entrepreneurship that provides hollow platitudes like "synergize your business" or "give 110%" that really provide no actual help. Further seeing that each chapter is titled with cheesy sayings like "Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice" or "a bad workman blames his show more tools" reinforces the preconception. Fortunately however, G.O.A.T Wisdom, provides actually useful advice, actually explaining the metaphor behind the cheesy saying, while at the same time providing an interesting and engaging story of the building of the company Beekman 1802, that gives a real world example of that advice the importance of that advice. That being said the authors to tend to stick to the metaphors a little to much in some places. The language of the book in fairly easy to comprehend and the length is not overwhelming. A fine read that certainly does the task of providing business advice better than many other books that have tried to do the same before. show less

Although the Beekman 1802 farm is located in Upstate New York, The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook: 100 Delicious Heritage Recipes from the Farm and Garden contains what I would call a Brooklyn hipster take on traditional recipes. The difficulty of the recipes fall somewhere between your grandma’s from-scratch chocolate cake and Martha Stewart’s concoctions. In other words, if you’re looking for an icebox cake that starts with store-bought cookies or a recipe featuring Cool Whip show more or gelatin, this cookbook is not for you. You want Sandra Lee or the Kraft recipe website.

That said, authors Brent Ridge, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, and Sandy Gluck have included recipes — even the occasional easy one — that would please traditional cooks. And, even when you’re feeling lazy — and, in my case, that’s pretty often — an experienced cook can reverse engineer quite a few of these recipes to use Pillsbury pie crust, Keebler graham cracker crusts, boxed cake and pudding mixes, and other in-a-hurry staples and still come out with something pretty grand. And in other cases, you can leave out the lavender, cardamom, and other exotic ingredients you don’t want to buy for one lousy recipe and still get yummy results. And isn’t that good enough for a cookbook that cost $1.99?

Just don’t substitute Cool Whip for real whipped cream, OK? We should always maintain some standards. show less

Let me start this review by saying: I am not a business person—far from it. As a lifelong educator, I was initially concerned that this book might not hold my interest. However, I found myself pleasantly engaged by the startup story of Beekman 1802 and the core principles that contributed to its success.

Each chapter offers a compelling blend of narrative and practical application. The “Chew On This” section at the end of each chapter is especially helpful, providing actionable show more strategies for those in the business world.

Overall, I would recommend this book. While I’m not in a position to judge the practicality of the advice from a business perspective, I appreciated the thoughtful presentation. I do wonder whether Beekman 1802’s success was due to good fortune or the principles outlined—but either way, it’s a worthwhile and enjoyable read. show less

This book is absolutely a thing of beauty. It’s the brainchild of those fabulous Beekman boys, Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, accompanied by gorgeous photos by Sandy Gluck. I’m not much of a cookbook fan…not that I don’t LOVE to cook (and eat, of course), but I usually get totally overwhelmed by all of the choices that a cookbook offers. Not so with this book. The recipes are as warm and inviting as the design of the book is.

I bought this book because, frankly…I have a total show more crush on the Beekman boys…particularly cute little Josh and his amazing vegetable garden XD. I also love the aspirations behind their line of books, housewares, linens and foodstuffs – to create things of an heirloom quality that can be passed down for generations. Seriously…I want EVERYTHING on their website, Beekman1802.com…particularly the amazing fruit spoons and that picnic blanket which I just think is gorgeous.

The cookbook follows in the tradition of their other goods…it’s an heirloom product. It’s bound beautifully, has some of the most gorgeous food photography I’ve ever seen, has space to add your own recipes from the family and is filled with timeless recipes that aren’t likely to ever go out of style. Many of the recipes do have a modern twist to them, but nothing that makes it anything but a classic.

I’ve already bookmarked probably about 50 recipes and I plan on trying one a week from the cookbook starting with Dandelion Salad with Slab Bacon, Croutons, and Hot Bacon dressing. Mostly all of the recipes use exclusively things that you can harvest from your own garden or farm or find on a neighbor’s garden or farm. Well…living in New Orleans, I’m stuck with what I grow in my own backyard garden and will have to go to Whole Foods for the rest :p But all of the ingredients are fresh, for the most part, not packaged things.

The book has numerous vegetarian options as well and for those meat lovers, there are PLENTY of mouth watering choices to devour. I seriously can’t wait to make their baked ham, meatloaf burgers and roasted pork loin recipes. They all sound amazing…what am I talking about…everything in here sounds amazing! Except for the recipes with eggs :/ I was kind of fearful when I saw the first recipe was for deviled eggs, lol. I really despise eggs…except for in cakes. Anything you put in a cake I will basically eat :p

If you buy one cookbook this year, I’d make it this one. It’s definitely a thing that can be passed on through the generations and it’s filled with recipes that are separated by season that can keep the table happy year round. Love it! show less