The Star Trek Cookbook (Paperback)

by Ethan Phillips (Author), William J. Birnes (Author) "Straightening out what would become my gallery and organizing the pots, pans, and various utensils, I knew that I must take Captain Janeway's admonitions to..." (more)
Key Phrases: coltayin roots, ratamba stew, yamok sauce, Delta Quadrant, Earl Grey, Captain Picard (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Is there one food that humans, Klingons, Bajorans, and Vulcans would like? If so, what would it taste like? How would you prepare it? Could you find all the ingredients locally?

This is the task that faces Neelix, chef for the U.S.S. Voyager™, every time he takes on the challenge of trying to feed its crew of 140 food critics. But over the course of their journey, Neelix's learned a few tricks of the trade. He had to, just as a matter of self-preservation.

Ethan Phillips, in the persona of Neelix, and William J. Birnes, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Day After Roswell, throw wide the vaults of interstellar haute cuisine, revealing for the first time the secret preparation techniques behind all those exotic dishes and drinks. The favorite foods of characters from every Star Trek series and movie are here, all adapted for easy use in twentieth-century kitchens. The Star Trek Cookbook also features a complete guide for whipping up the all the drinks served at Quark's.

Fun, and easy to use, the Star Trek Cookbook is your indispensable guide to the food of the stars!

About the Author
Ethan Phillips was born into a restaurant family. His father was the owner of the famous New York steak house Frankie and Johnnie's, which still serves up the most delicious sirloin in all of Manhattan. Striking out on his own, Ethan, who plays Neelix on Star Trek: Voyager®, became an actor as well as the author of the play Penguin Blues published by Samuel French. He has acted in many of the major regional theaters across the country as well as on and off Broadway, and has appeared in many television shows including Star Trek: The Next Generation,®, NYPD Blue, Chicago Hope, Murphy Brown, Law and Order, HBO's From the Earth to the Moon, as well as playing "Pete" for five seasons on Benson. His feature films include Jeffrey, Civil Action, For Richer or Poorer, Greencard, The Shadow, Lean on Me, Wagons East, and Man Without a Face, among others. Ethan acts, writes, cooks, and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Patty, an artist.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671000225
• ISBN-13: 978-0671000226
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,543 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor editing ruins cookbook concept, March 17, 1999

By	Angelique ([e-mail]) (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews

A Star-Trek cookbook narrated by Neelix the Chef was a nice idea, but poor editing, and not enough supervision by people who know Star Trek characters, have made this book a mess.

First, some of the recipes themselves are poorly written and edited. For example, the Peptide Cake recipe does not specify the pan size. (The recipe mentions a "sheet-cake pan," the standard size of which is too large for the recipe.) The recipe itself is a little strange, as it is a sponge cake that contains many egg yolks but *no* egg whites. Since I don't know what the writers were trying to achieve, I can't say for sure that they made a mistake, but I suspect that the egg whites were left out by accident. There are other recipes for which I suspect ingredients are missing as well. This would not surprise me, due to the number of typos that are scattered throughout the text.

Second, some of the recipes are inconsistent with the book's narration, as well as with information from the tv shows. For example, after having confirmed that "raktajino" is a beverage similar to strong coffee (and having printed a recipe for making raktajino out of coffee beans,) "Neelix" offers a recipe for raktajino cake that contains no coffee! In another example, "Neelix" says that "parthos" can be made out of brussels sprouts. Any one who has seen "The Next Generation" knows that parthos looks nothing like brussels sprouts, and everything like bright green spinach. Finally, while the book gives a reasonable recipe for "Klingon blood pie," (basically a steak and kidney pie,) there is also a version, called a "favorite" of a Klingon character, that is really a sweet cherry pie. To pass a cherry pie off as "blood pie" is to say that the publishers really don't know--and don't care-- what Star Trek is all about.

Third, there are inconsistancies in the narration. On page 115, "Neelix" says that Commander Riker's favorite Klingon dish is "bregit lung"; on page 117 he says that Riker's favorite Klingon dish is "pipius claw."

An annoying aspect of the book is padding with recipes that have nothing to do with Star Trek. These recipes are given teasers that are meant to connect them with Star Trek characters. But who needs a recipe for oatmeal on the doubtful assertion that it's Jake Sisko's favorite breakfast, or a recipe for green beans (improbably called "Klingon green beans," as if any Klingon would actually sit at the same table with them!)

The book strictly avoids beverage recipes that contain alcohol, so this book is of no use to those who want to recreate ales and spirits for taste as well as looks.

The book has its good points-- it tells you how to recreate prop food, and some of the recipes are good, even thought they have little to do with Star Trek, and some of the stars have contributed good recipes.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing., December 20, 2001

By	Desmond R.G. Underwood Frederick IV "karrde23" (Cypress, TX United States) - See all my reviews

With the colorful nature of Star Trek culinary arts, one would expect this guide to the cuisine of the cosmos to be similarly entertaining. On the contrary, nearly everything about the book is dull, uninteresting and uninformative. For the most part, the recipes are poorly laid out, and only the most general details and instructions given for the preparation of the food. The book format of the book is similarly lacking, being wholly unnatractive and, at times, mildly confusing. The tone adopted by the writers is also annoying, being for the most part patronizing to the reader. All in all, this book is a very poor effort at a subject very dear to the hearts of Trekkies that simply deserves better.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A creative effort that should have aimed a lot higher., January 18, 2004

By	M. E. Volmar (Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional Dominican Republic) - See all my reviews

It's a shame that this book has been labeled and endorsed by the Star Trek franchise as their official cookbook, because it's been obviously written by people who don't understand and didn't bother to check the background information given on most foods and beverages presented in any of the Star Trek movies and the first four TV series (Original series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager).
This book's very confusing format is divided into six main sections that list the recipes according to the character's likes and dislikes based, by the way, on very doubtful assertions, which include many inaccurate quotes and anecdotes that conveniently make many Star Trek unrelated dishes seem related to the series. This means that in order to find a Strawberries and Cream recipe, you must look for it among the recipes listed as Capt. Janeway's favorites in the Voyager section.
The book also includes some dish variations that go way beyond just making a few adjustments to the recipes. For example, there is a recipe for a Klingon Blood Pie, traditionally a baked roast and veal kidneys pie, which transforms it into a sweet cranberry pie.
Most of the recipes are poorly written and badly edited, and lack specific information, giving only general instructions and details. Also, the authors have avoided including any recipe containing alcohol, altogether ignoring the liquors and spirits often showcased in the Star Trek universe.
The book's visual style is also a minus, as it doesn't include a single color photograph of a finished dish, only containing black & white pictures (mostly of crew members) taken directly from the shows. But the book's worst feature is the author's patronizing and annoying writing style.
I gave the book two stars because of the information and techniques on making prop foods and the very well written and very delicious recipes contributed by many Star Trek actors. If these two things aren't enough to satisfy you, don't even bother with this book.
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar