Book Review: “Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook” by Allison Robicelli

Would you believe that it has been 35 years since Back to the Future first lit up the cinema screens? Food & travel writer Allison Robicelli and Insight Editions have teamed up to help you celebrate this milestone in a fun and tasty way. Introducing Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook.

Summary of Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook

The book’s tagline says it all: “Over 65 classic Hill Valley recipes from the past, present, and future!” Matt Robicelli developed the collection of recipes from the different time periods represented in the Back to the Future films and Allison Robicelli wrote the accompanying text that pulls the book together.

The book is filled with fun facts, promotional images from the films, and beautiful photography of the foods you can make. The recipes are organized by the years featured in the films:

• 1985
• 1955
• 2015
• Alternate 1985
• 1885

There are even a few pages that give you suggestions for hosting a Back to the Future movie marathon.

What Worked for Me

The design and layout fit the year that the recipes are fun. This is a nice detail that I didn’t expect. Like the Wonder Woman cookbook, I reviewed before I enjoyed geeking out with the images from the three films. I also enjoyed the creativity evident in the recipe names:

• From 1985: Battle of the Bands Cola Cake (Cola Cake)
• From 1955: George McFly’s Blob from Outer Space (Live Gelatin with Pineapple)
• From 2015: Self-Lacing Chocolate Bread (Chocolate Bread)
• From Alternate 1985: Chicken Cordon Biff (Chicken Cordon Bleu)
• From 1885: Seamus’s One-Shot Pot Rabbit Stew (Rabbit Stew)

I think I’m going to have a lot of fun whipping up recipes from this book!

What Didn’t Work for Me

I got nothing here. I really like the book — as both a book and a cookbook. My standard complaint about books that are hard to keep open doesn’t work here because this is more of a coffee-table book than a book you would regularly use in the kitchen.

My Recommendation for Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook

If you are a fan of the Back to the Future films and you love reading recipes (and, perhaps cooking them too), you can’t go wrong with Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook.

Rating for Back to the Future: The Official Hill Valley Cookbook

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.