Thai chef’s cookbook Cooking With Poo flops due to unfortunate title.
By Our Farming Correspondent (intern): Ivor Traktor
WATERSTONES, LONDON – Thai chef Saiyuud Diwong—affectionately known as “Poo”—has seen sales of her once-celebrated cookbook Cooking With Poo go decidedly off the boil.
The book, whose title refers to Diwong’s nickname (meaning “crab” in Thai), was expected to sell like hot Thai fish cakes. Instead, it’s languishing on bookshop shelves, as bemused shoppers take one look at the cover and promptly decide they’ve lost their appetite.
Winner of the 2011 Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year, Cooking With Poo initially garnered international attention for its unintentional toilet humour. “We thought the name might cause a few giggles,” said a spokesperson for Diwong’s publisher, “but we didn’t anticipate people assuming it was… well, literal.”
Don’t lick the spoon
Diwong, who rose to fame running a community cooking school in Bangkok’s Khlong Toey slum and has even cooked alongside Jamie Oliver, insists the title remains “a source of pride.” “My name is Poo,” she told Thai media, “and I cook. It’s really quite simple.”
However, sales have dropped sharply since the latest reprint hit Western supermarkets, where photos of smiling shoppers holding the book have become the latest meme under the hashtag #NoThanksChef.
Marketing experts suggest a rebrand may be necessary. “Maybe Cooking with Crab would have been a safer bet,” said one PR consultant, “though admittedly less viral.”
Despite the slump, Diwong remains upbeat. “People laugh, but laughter is good for digestion,” she said. “Besides, my recipes are delicious—whatever people think they’re cooking with.”
As one Thai reviewer put it: “It’s not what it sounds like. But try explaining that to someone who just burst out laughing in the cookbook aisle.”
Meanwhile: Woman finds rare white dog poo while holidaying in Suffolk
