The Last O.G. Cookbook Review

From A TV Show To a Cookbook

Today, in this cookbook review, we bring you something different than usual. The Last O.G. Cookbook was released to coincide with season two premiere of The Last O.G, a TBS comedy starring Tracy Morgan. This witty companion cookbook is ostensibly written by Morgan’s character, Tray Barker, with cameos from the show’s other characters.

Morgan plays Tray Barker, a recently released ex-convict who, upon returning to his hometown of Brooklyn to find his girlfriend married to another man and his neighborhood gentrified, relies on his cooking skills to find his place in a city he often doesn’t recognize. The soulful recipes in this book offer outrageously addictive taste sensations, combinations that may seem wacky but work wonders, and bold in-your-face flavors.

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Inside The Last O.G. Cookbook

In this book, you will find 80 dished with soul-food roots, created by the fictional ex-con turned chef and Taylor. You will learn how to make dishes such as Dessert Loaf, Wild-style Lasagna, Prison Pad Thai and much more. With special features woven throughout that immerse you in the O.G. world, this keepsake volume will become a new standard for soul food cooking and a must-own book for every fan of the show.

The book is divided into five sections: Snack Attack, The Main Line, Side Pieces, Sweet Stuff and Pour Some Out. Each of these sections is full of colorful images and fun illustrations that suit perfectly the theme of the book. The recipes contain lists with ingredients that are readily available with easy to read instructions.

For those seeking behind-bars cuisine, this is the right book for you! You will find a prison burrito made from instant ramen, a bag of Doritos, and a Slim Jim. With its okra and filé powder, Gowanus gumbo owes more to New Orleans than to Brooklyn, but the borough is an undeniable costar in this collection, with offerings inspired by its neighborhoods as well as a “food safari” map featuring eight of the borough’s classic foods (among them, doughnuts at Peter Pan Donut Shop, and heroes at Mamma Louisa’s).

As all great cookbooks, this one ofers more than simple recipes. The authors show a serious side as well with pages dedicated to such topics as the limited access people in low-income neighborhoods have to nutritional foods and the difficulties former inmates face in reentering society. Humor and civic awareness get served up alongside some rough and tumble eats in this surprisingly solid cookbook.

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Final Thoughts

The Last O.G. cookbook takes you on a funny high to a serious low and back again. You really don’t need to watch the TV series to fall in love with this book and by Barker’s quirkiness and passion for food. This is a cookbook that will please many people, but especially the fans of the TV series.