Not a Cookbook is the debut book by Canadian filmmaker and artist Robby Reis.
Not so much a cookbook than a layered, collage-style portrait of a restaurant and the family that holds it together, Not a Cookbook is centred on Resto Palme, a Caribbean restaurant in Montreal run by married duo Lee-Anne Millaire Lafleur and Ralph Alerte. the book offers a deeply personal and provocative exploration of kitchen culture, where food becomes a lens through which to examine family, friendship, labour and resistance.
A longtime friend of the family, Reis takes an embedded, nonlinear approach to storytelling. Through photographs, texts, and contributions from customers and staff, Not a Cookbook captures not just the daily challenges of running a family business, but also the peripheral stories of racism, activism and the emotional work required to build and protect something shared and sacred.
And again, despite the name, Not a Cookbook offers some treasured family recipes although when it comes to the few key ingredients that make a certain sauce so special, Alerte leaves us simply with, “sorry blood, I can’t give it away.” The result is a new model for the cookbook: a radical kitchen guide rooted in community, resilience and love. Less about what’s on the plate, and more about everything that makes the plate possible.
TBW Books, 80pp, 20cm x 25cm, illustrated spiral bound paperback, 2025
