Remembering Nach Waxman
Nach Waxman will be remembered for his knowledge, enthusiasm, and generosity.
Photo credit: Roberta Guerette
By Matthew Cockerill
Tributes to Nach Waxman, owner of the renowned New York City cookbook store Kitchen Arts & Letters, have poured in from across the culinary world following the sad news of his death on August 4, aged 84.
Nach Waxman’s generosity and enthusiasm were legendary. Over the course of nearly 40 years, his store became the focus for a worldwide community of chefs, writers, and home cooks with a passion for cookbooks. ckbk benefited from this generosity not only through the kind supportive words he shared with us directly, but also through our work with the many cookbook authors (and cookbook store owners) whom he helped and inspired, and who shared their own debts of gratitude following the news of his death.
John Martin Taylor, author of numerous cookbooks on the cooking of the American South, opened his own cookbook store in Charleston, North Carolina, after apprenticing with Waxman in New York. He notes that Kitchen Arts & Letters was a crossroads for the food world. “I met so many cookbook authors there: Paula Wolfert, Nika Hazelton, Suzanne Hamlin, Barbara Kafka, Elizabeth Schneider, Richard Olney, Diana Kennedy, Elizabeth Andoh, and Richard Sax, among others,” he said.
Celia Sack, owner of Omnivore Books in San Francisco, noted: “He paved the way for all us upstart cookbook store owners, and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude.”
Elizabeth Schneider, whose 1979 book Better than Store Bought was edited by Nach Waxman in his earlier career as a publisher, noted: “So many of us benefited from Nach's curiosity, enthusiasm, candor, and generosity over his years of dedication to the culinary arts and the printed word.”
Darra Goldstein, Williams College professor and cookbook author, shared on Twitter: “Nach was such a visionary in the world of food, long before others were taking cookbooks seriously. His knowledge was vast, and I learned so much from him. I will miss him and his exuberant welcome whenever I came into the shop.”
Naomi Duguid, author of numerous cookbooks on less-well known Asian cuisines, noted Waxman’s enthusiasm for cookbooks that explored new and un-trodden areas: “All of us owe him a huge debt. He was so supportive of idiosyncratic cookbooks and of food writers generally.”
Elizabeth Andoh, known for her books on Japanese cuisine, tweeted: “Nach's role in creating a cookbook culture of excellence cannot be underestimated.”
Richard Grausman, culinary educator and author of French Classics Made Easy, told ckbk: “I met Nach in 1985, the year I left the Cordon Bleu and started writing my book. Nach had a reputation as a cookbook expert and I went to his store to speak with him. It was a warm and friendly conversation from the beginning, and the few times I visited him over the years, we would pick up where our last one had stopped. Nach was a gentle and extremely knowledgeable man whose reputation in the culinary field was worldwide. He will be missed!”
Jayne Cohen, whose cookbooks focus on Jewish cuisine, recalled: “I met Nach first as my source for collectible cookbook treasures, especially about old New York. When I got to know him better, I found he was a passionate ‘fresser’ of Jewish foods and he regaled me with delicious stories. A generous man and a real mensch.”
Jewish culture was a key part of Nach’s life, and two of his own recipes for classic Jewish dishes, Brisket of Beef and Potato Latkes, appear in The New Basics (1989). Sheila Lukins, who died in 2009, describes how her co-author Julee Rosso was thrilled when Kitchen Arts & Letters opened, offering “a bookstore full of her obsession: cookbooks! And with an owner as passionate about the subject as she is.”
The world of cookbooks will not be the same without Nach Waxman. We offer condolences to his family and to the team at Kitchen Arts & Letters, along with our best wishes as they continue to build on Nach’s legacy.