Robby Reis – Not a Cookbook

Not a Cookbook is the debut book by Canadian filmmaker and artist Robby Reis.

At first glance, Not a Cookbook appears to be just what its title implies – but beneath the surface lies a layered, collage-style portrait of a restaurant and the family that holds it together. Centered 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, labor, 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 labor required to build and protect something shared and sacred.

Despite its name, Not a Cookbook does offer some treasured family recipes – however, when it comes to a 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.

80 pages, 20.3 x 25.4 cm, spiral bound softcover, TBW Books (Oakland).