Culinary Artistry

Jacket Description/Back:
For anyone who believes in the potential for artistry in the realm of food, Culinary Artistry is a must-read. The latest work from James Beard Award-winning authors of Becoming a Chef Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, Culinary Artists is the first book to examine the creative process of culinary composition as it explores the intersection of food, imagination, and taste. Through interviews with more than 30 of America's leading chefs - including Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Gray Kunz, Jean-Louis Palladin, Jeremiah Tower, and Alice Waters - the authors reveal what defines "culinary artists", how and where they find their inspiration, and how they translate that vision to the plate. Readers will discover the language of food, and how culinary artistry manifests itself through all the senses. Through recipes and reminiscences, chefs discuss how they select and pair ingredients, and how flavors are combined into dishes, dishes into menus, and menus into bodies of work that eventually comprise their cuisines. Culinary artistry takes you inside the art of menu planning, where order and presentation are carefully thought out, and shows how leading chefs' menus are painstakingly created. The book also reveals how a menu can communicate a chef's personality and offer opportunities for artistic expression.

Marc Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (p.309-401) and index.;12-up.;Examines the creative process of culinary composition as it explores the intersection of food, imagination, and taste.

Biographical Note:

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are co-authors of a ground-breaking trilogy of books chronicling America's vibrant restaurant culture: Becoming a Chef, Culinary Artistry, and Dining Out. Becoming a Chef won the 1996 James Beard Book Award for Best Writing on food, and the couple awards an annual Becoming a Chef Scholarship with a percentage of the royalties from the book. Dornenburg has cooked professionally in some of the best restaurants on the East Coast, including Arcadia, Judson Grill, and March in New York City; and Biba and the East Coast Grill in Boston. He attended The School for American Chefs, where he studied with Madeleine Kamman. Page, the recipient of the 1997 Melitta Benz Awardá for Women's Achievement, is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (whose alumnae network she heads) and Northwestern University, which named her to the council of 100 (leading alumnae). The couple lives in New York City.

"To this day, if I'm really stuck for a flavor pairing, I will still refer to CULINARY ARTISTRY for its charts of common, and not so common, matches."--Michael Laiskonis, 2007 James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef at Le Bernardin, in Saveur

"My favorite cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRYand El Bulli." --Hung Huynh, winner of "Top Chef" Season 3

"Favorite cookbook? CULINARY ARTISTRY. It's a really great reference book for chefs."--Stephanie Izard, winner of "Top Chef" Season 4

"One of my favorite cookbooks isCULINARY ARTISTRY."--Hosea Rosenberg, winner of "Top Chef" Season 5

"One of 10 must-have cookbooks [of all time]...Gives you insight into how chefs think."--Alison Fryer and Jennifer Grange, in the Toronto Star

"One of six cookbooks every beginner should own."--Nathan Lyon, Real Simple

"CULINARY ARTISTRY offered a groundbreaking approach to the idea of flavor pairings...The book is said to have revolutionized the way leading chefs cook." (WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio)

"For inspiration...Incredibly liberating...A godsend...The one book that regularly makes the commute from office desk to kitchen counter." --Renee Schettler, The Washington Post

"CULINARY ARTISTRY seemed to pull together everything that was missing in my ideology of food....It is a myriad of endless flavour combinations....One particular chapter fascinates me: 'Meet Your Medium.' This chapter encapsulates all that is important to cooking....What I love about this book is the fact that it can give you a framework on which to build your own food style." --John Campbell, executive chef, the Michelin two-star restaurant The Vineyard at Stockcross, Berkshire, England

"CULINARY ARTISTRY is absolutely brilliant. I now recommend it to aspiring mixologists as a key resource for understanding the ideas and theories behind creating unique flavor combinations and generally how to approach the craft as an artisan."--Ryan Magarian, mixologist

"If you want to look like a genius in the kitchen, top picks includeCULINARY ARTISTRY."--Chad Ward, eGullet.org

"When you're in a kitchen where you have lots of cooks coming and going, someone's always dragging their favorite book in and it's dog-eared from use. It's well-known in food circles that CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of those books that people drag along with them or that they hand on to other chefs."--Lucinda Scala Quinn, MSLO Executive Editorial Food Director and host of "EatDrink" on Martha Stewart Living Radio

"When [current French Laundry chef de cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth] first moved up from commis to cook at The French Laundry, John Fraser (today the executive chef of Dovetail in New York City) had recommended that he read CULINARY ARTISTRY. The book features extensive lists of ingredients and other foods they get along with...CULINARY ARTISTRY had gotten him through those menu meetings during his formative years at The French Laundry."--Andrew Friedman, author of Knives at Dawn: America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d'Or Competition

"CULINARY ARTISTRY This is the best reference book I've used."--Scott Giambastiani, executive chef at Google

"Most professional chefs skip cookbooks altogether, but one book you're likely to find well-thumbed on their bookshelves is CULINARY ARTISTRY... 'People always ask me 'What goes good with what?' said chef David Kamen, an instructor at The Culinary Institute of America. 'This is the book to have. It's very helpful.'"--Gemma Tarlach, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Not all spices go well together. An excellent resource for learning about spices and what they complement is CULINARY ARTISTRY."--BBQ master Mike Mills and Amy Mills Tunnicliffe in their 2005 book Peace, Love and Barbecue

"For those with an interest in adding 'kitchen' flavors and creativity to their cocktails, CULINARY ARTISTRY offers an intense introduction that will have you off and running."--Christopher Conatser, mixologist and 2008 winner of the Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition

"One of our favorite research tools that we use when developing recipes for our books (the only diabetic cookbooks to win the James Beard and Julia Child Cookbook Awards) is CULINARY ARTISTRY." --Frances Towner Giedt and Bonnie Sanders Polin, PhD, DIABETIC-LIFESTYLE.COM

"One of the books that I have often recommended to various mixologists across the country has been CULINARY ARTISTRY. It presents the culinary palate in a unique mannerby illustrating the methodology that many of the world's greatest chefs use to approach thinking about what flavors work best with other flavors...I found it refreshing to see it covered so well, especially since mixology specifically IS the art of flavor pairing."--Robert Hess, DrinkBoy.com

"CULINARY ARTISTRY is full of valuable advice for cooking professionals, and I highly recommend it."--Rocco DiSpirito, in his book Flavor