Black Axe Mangal Cookbook Review

Black Axe Mangal

It’s been a long time since we reviewed a restaurant cookbook. We personally love this genre of books because it is like to get access to the backdoor of our favorite restaurants. In this week’s cookbook review, we decided to travel to London to bring you the review of the Black Axe Mangal Cookbook.

The Black Axe Mangal is the much-anticipated first cookbook from one of London’s most-loved cult restaurants. Chef Lee Tiernan’s Black Axe Mangal is a sensual riot, combining innovative open-fire cooking and underused ingredients with a bold aesthetic Influenced by his love of music and skate culture.

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Inside London’s Most-Loved Cult Restaurant

The Black Axe Mangal Cookbook brings together Tienan’s signature recipes. Including Pig’s Cheek and Prune Doughnuts, Squid Ink Flatbreads with Smoked Cod’s Roe and Shrimp-encrusted Pigs’ Tails, along with step-by-step instructions for the three fundamentals of BAM cooking: bread, smoking, and grilling.

If we have to choose one word to describe this book it would be “different”. Like the restaurant, this book as something special on it that always makes us want to go back to it.

Grilling, smoking, and bread are essentials in the Black Axe Mangal restaurant. As a result, this book begins with clear directions for grilling, hot and cold smoking and bread making. But it is not only at the beginning of the book that we find references to these elements. Throughout the book, you will find recipes where these elements play a major role.

Another essential part of this book is at the end, where you will find usable recipes and rations for the many condiments and embellishments that make the food at BAM so damn tasty. These BAM basics are gold for anyone who loves to cook.

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A Restaurant Cookbook

As in all restaurant cookbooks, we reviewed, some of the recipes of this book require a lot of work. Maybe you’re never going to go through all of the steps to make their Mapo tofu, Hash brown, and fried eggs, or the Classic lamb offal flatbread, but you could, and there is always good to have these amazing recipes at your reach.

But there are other dishes, in particular, sides, that are totally doable, like the Watermelon and Pickled Ginger, Charred Sweetcorn and Smoked Cod’s Roe Butter corn or even the Grilled Hispi Cabbage. If you’ve not been to Black Axe Mangal restaurant, this book is a good way to sense the vibes of the restaurant.

The format and design of this book is also something worth mentioning. It manages to mix the outwardly punk/metal tendencies of Tiernan and BAM, with clear, timeless design. There are a handful of tongue in cheek tableau’s the likes you probably won’t have imagined let alone seen in a cookbook before. But also singular and mighty tempting images of the food too.

Final Thoughts

In the end, the Black Axe Mangal Cookbook offers more than delicious and recipes. After reading and flicking through this book, you will realize there’s a whole load of knowledge, inspiration and totally cookable food as well. We believe that this book is not for everyone, but we know for sure that if you are looking for a crazy and outrageous cookbook,  you will love this one!