'The Cookbook for Men Who Must'

He rides a Harley by day and works in the pressure-cooker drug-research industry, but when he comes home to Centreville at night Richard Chamberlain finds nothing more relaxing than diving into the kitchen to whip up a full-course meal for family and friends.

And like most accomplished cooks, Chamberlain, 67, a pharmaceutical research consultant, was often asked to give up his most prized recipes. Rather than handing out index cards with the recipes scrawled out in long-hand, Chamberlain did something better and published a book: "The Cookbook for Men Who Must" a collection of man-friendly, well-thought-out, dishes. It’s available on Amazon.com.

 “It was really at first for my two daughters, who wanted me to write this down,” Chamberlain said. “And, it’s really for everybody, who is pressed for time these days. After I laid it out, I figured I could publish it.”

The book is fun, with plenty of humorous notes such as: “Everything in Moderation—including moderation,” and “Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.” The final parting shot at the end of the book is … well … a picture of Chamberlain from behind.

On the more serious side, the book encourages using less fat, less sugar, and smaller portions. It’s not a health-food book and most of the main course recipes could be described as “comfort foods,” such as the one for “Chicken and Dumplings.” He does let loose in the last chapter with his calorie-chart busting desert recipes.

The strong point of the book is that it stresses simplicity, both in the recipes and the instructions, which are laid out in a clear, step-by-step method.

“I had a friend in the drug industry read the book and told me the recipes looked just like a drug company’s SOPs,” or standard operating procedures, Chamberlain said with a laugh.

He started cooking at about 10 when he helped his grandmother at the family’s homestead in Northern Illinois. Armed with a doctorate-degree in statistics, Chamberlain is called in by the big drug companies when they get stuck with some onerous software drug-research problem.  

Although a big fan of sour dough bread, you won’t find an automatic bread maker in his kitchen. Chamberlain is not a gadget guy.

“I don’t think you need all that stuff,” Chamberlain said. “I just try to keep everything simple.”

If the book has any larger purpose, Chamberlain said, it should be to make the cook’s burden a little lighter. 

“I wrote the book to show that cooking should be fun,” Chamberlain said. “It shouldn’t be a chore.”