From 1998 to 2001 Ross produced a series of cookbooks with Helen Tracey and Linda Kaplan, under the pseudenom of "Ziggy Zen". The cookbooks featured simple recipes that even a "man who probably only owns one saucepan" could cook. Helen and Linda created the recipes, while Ross peppered the books with drawings and witty quips and quotes.
The cookbooks were an international success, with close to half a million copies being printed in over twelve countries. Copies are still available for purchase on the internet through sites such as Amazon.com.
COOKBOOK TITLES BY ZIGGY ZEN
A Cookbook for a man who probably only owns one saucepan
Idiot Proof Recipes
How to become a dinner party legend and avoid crippling
psychological damage
Easy Dinner Party Recipes
How to drink wine out of fish heads while cooking lobster
in a Volkswagen hub cap
Easy Seafood Receipes
The Mafia just moved in next door and they're dropping by
for dinner Cookbook
Easy Italian Recipes,
How to wok up a storm without burning the house down
Easy Asian Receipes
Ten unexpected Greeks just arrived for dinner Cookbook
Easy Greek Recipes
REVIEW PUBLISHED IN WOMAN'S DAY USA
By Doug Wallen
"The post-modern cookbooks by Ziggy Zen"
Bewildered as I am by this age of Atkins and South Beach, I've found culinary guidance in some refreshinly left-field sources.
At a random Manayunk boutique I stumbled upon How To Drink wine out of Fish Heads While Cooking Lobster in a Volkswagen Hub Cap and A Cookbook for a Man Who Probably Only Owns One Saucepan.
Each pocket-size Australian tome, though credited to "Ziggy Zen" is the work of recipe maven Helen Tracey and humorist Ross Renwick. Since "idiot-proof recipes" (as Saucepan is subtitled) are nothing new, it's Renwick's bizarre contributions that keep me coming back.
He peppers the 6 books with tales of aliens, Elvis, Kevin Bacon, international travels and the origin of corporate logos. There are sight gags galore, like the crude drawing of a hot dog next to the words "I love you ... but it's time to say goodbye." Similar visual aids remind us that "the pan is for sticking food into" and "the fork is for sticking into food."
And don't get me started on the "postmodern mango." For thrift-store types who can't abide Manayunk, a recent trip to Goodwill yielded Volum 13 of Family circle's Illustrated Library of Cooking (circa 1972), which runds from "potluck luxury" to "salad days".
The meat-happy book's unintentional humour peaks with diagrams of different animal's anatomies. With some studying, I'll never again confuse a cow's shank with its flank.
Doug Wallen
Feb 2000
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