'Cookstrips – Italian Cooking' (1970s) by Len Deighton

Len Deighton’s 'Cookstrips: Italian Cooking' stands as a testament to the remarkable breadth of his talents. Known to most readers as a bestselling thriller writer and the creator of the anonymous spy from 'The Ipcress File', Deighton was also a dedicated cook and food writer. His Cookstrips—a series of illustrated recipes that first appeared in The Observer in the 1960s—brought visual clarity and confidence to home cooks during a time when cookery was still largely the domain of professionals or housewives.

The Italian edition of his Cookstrips focuses on one of the world’s most beloved cuisines, marrying Deighton’s signature clarity with the seductive simplicity of Italian food.

More than just a recipe collection, 'Cookstrips – Italian Cooking' is a visual and cultural manifesto. The recipes are presented not in traditional prose, but in a series of illustrated panels: line drawings annotated with brisk, often humorous instructions. Each strip distills a dish to its essence, emphasizing process, timing, and tools—perfect for those who learn by seeing rather than reading. In this regard, Deighton was decades ahead of his time, prefiguring the infographic-heavy cookbooks and YouTube tutorials of the digital age.

Italian cuisine, with its regional diversity and emphasis on quality ingredients, could easily overwhelm a newcomer. Deighton’s genius lies in his ability to demystify. He chooses dishes that are representative rather than encyclopedic: classic pasta sauces like puttanesca, carbonara, and ragù, simple risottos, and elegant but unfussy meat and vegetable preparations. His recipes are never precious or intimidating; they’re meant to be used—splattered with sauce and kept beside a chopping board.

What distinguishes the Italian Cookstrips from other cookbooks is not just their clarity but their character. Deighton’s illustrations are precise but not clinical; his captions are informative but never didactic. There’s a dry wit in his approach, a sense that cooking is both a discipline and a joy. He understands that confidence in the kitchen comes from knowing why you’re doing something, not just being told how to do it. This practical sensibility—drawn from Deighton’s time as a wartime RAF trainee, art student, and later, a food columnist—resonates throughout the book.

At a time when post-war Britain was awakening to continental flavours, Deighton’s Italian Cookstrips played an important cultural role. They encouraged experimentation and internationalism in the kitchen, without the burden of pretension. In a sense, the Cookstrips did for cooking what Deighton’s thrillers did for espionage: they made it accessible, stylish, and unmistakably modern.

But it would be wrong to view the Cookstrips as merely nostalgic or retro-chic. Their continued appeal lies in their functionality. In an era oversaturated with overly stylised food photography and verbose recipes, Deighton’s stripped-down, graphic approach is refreshingly direct. It is cooking reduced to action—appropriately, given the original title of his broader cookbook collection, Action Cook Book.

The Italian edition in particular benefits from Deighton’s respect for authenticity. While he adapts certain recipes to suit mid-century British kitchens, he retains the spirit of Italian cooking: its seasonality, its balance, and its reliance on quality rather than complexity. There is little room here for fusion or reinvention—just a celebration of a cuisine that, like Deighton’s own prose, is elegant in its efficiency.

In conclusion, Cookstrips – Italian Cooking is more than a cookbook—it’s a cultural artifact and a design achievement. It distills the ethos of Italian cuisine into a visual language that still speaks clearly today. For fans of Deighton’s fiction, it reveals another side of his precision and creativity. For home cooks, it offers timeless, unfussy instruction wrapped in wit and intelligence. In an age of culinary excess, Len Deighton’s Italian Cookstrips are a reminder that cooking, like storytelling, is most powerful when it is simple, confident, and done with style.