If one were to take a guess naming a chef operating in England as one of first ones to receive the ultimate Three Star Status by the Michelin Guide, I would bet very few would know it was the person I’m featuring today. Many might guess or know Marco Pierre…
Treasure Books
The books below are the books I treasure. Some are the ones that stand the ‘test of time’ in some cases or they are the books that entered my hands at the perfect time for where I was with life at that juncture. Perhaps from time to time one will be here that might be a book that would not have the same ability to impact me at this age as they did at the age I read them. I don’t think I’ll comment on them in that way for who knows how they might affect anyone who is inspired to read, (or re-read) them after glancing over my words here about them. My book club is not about the most recent books published. I trust that the New York Times or Kirkus Reviews will bring you plenty in that regard. They are, like I said, the books that I treasure. And some are relatively new to me but they have caused me to treasure already. The first here are long time treasures but as we mosey along look for recent novels, historical books, poetry books and yes … cookbooks.
Category: Treasure Books
A TREASURE BOOK, “JOE BEEF, THE ART OF LIVING”
Even the subtitle is appropriately renegade, ‘A Cookbook of Sorts’. The Canadian trio of authors on this book are David McMillan, Frédéric Morin and Meredith Erickson. Their restaurant has been hailed by many including my occasional travel buddy the great, late Tony Bourdain. You need to go to or be…
“Culture and Cuisine”. The Seeds of Fusion!
I purchased this book at a shop on Fleming Street in Key West in February of 1988. I was part owner of my first restaurant. It was called “MIRA”. I was also in the middle of a huge amount of culinary self-analysis as to what I was going to do…
Treasure Book: The Essential Cooking of Michel Bras
It was not originally on the itinerary at all, but as the months drew closer to our going Charlie came to one of his famously resolute decisions and told Steve Greystone, “We’re going to add in Michel Bras. Norman can’t go to France without dining there!” With that he pulled…
Treasure Book, “The New James Beard”
As I have told the story before the very first cookbook I bought was, “Theory and Practice of Good Cooking” by the one and only James Beard. That was in 1978. Four years later he released, “The New James Beard”. It is of note that his editor was the superb…
CITY CUISINE, A TREASURE BOOK
Way back before the two dynamos named Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger became nationally known as ‘The Too Hot Tamales” they were still somewhere pre-California. I want to go from just memory land here ‘pre Google’. The folks who were affecting the industry had to do it from a…
A TRIO OF SAVEUR COOKBOOKS
A few months ago I covered one of the Saveur books in the series of three. I so loved that particular one I went online and bought the other two. So now I have the trifecta of Saveur America, France and Italy! I believe it was in 1994 that Saveur…
My Treasure Books: James Beard
When people see my cookbook library I don’t think many realize how humbly and singularly it began. But I recall it with crystalline clarity. The year was 1978. I had been cooking for seven years. But … I had not gotten what you would call serious about it as a…
The Science Wizard of Cooking; Harold McGee
During the mid 80’s blossomed a time when almost every serious chef in the land about whispered the genius of the man who wrote the book titled above. While I can’t claim to being a science nut one did not have to be in falling in love with this book…
“PEPPERS” (The HOT kind)! A TREASURE BOOK
I was given this big, lavishly illustrated book for my birthday in July of 1987. It was quite different than most of my books in that this was a fantastic merging of artwork, (done by the author Jean Andrews), food history and recipes. Her painting and drawings are reminiscent of…
The Essentials of Cooking: A Treasure Book
This ‘Treasure Book’ by James Petersen takes on us on a family route more than many. For it was in this book that I helped our son, Justin. Backstory. He grew up in the business as do many of the children of people I share this industry with. He was…
THE SLANTED DOOR; A TREASURE BOOK
Somewhere in the vault or perhaps in the U.M. Collection that is under my name at the Otto G. Richter Library there lies a (as I remember it across the fields of time) a typewritten single page menu on baby blue paper that has the words, “The Slanted Door” at…
JEREMIAH TOWER; MY TREASURE BOOK SERIES
The first time I met him in person I was speechless for a few moments. That is something that doesn’t happen very often. I was thrilled a few years later when I was invited to cook a dinner for the ‘Tenth Anniversary of Food Arts Magazine” at The Plaza Hotel…
GOURMET MAGAZINE TREASURE BOOK
When I was still just coming up in the world of cooking I was, like just about everyone else in those kitchens living (barely) paycheck to paycheck. Traveling abroad was a fantasy land. But I did live in a pretty cool town to ply my trade in. Key West. While…
Tapas; A Treasure Book
In 2004 we opened a sprawling restaurant in Coral Gables. I knew we needed to be quite a bit different than my original restaurant both in concept and price points. This would be a more casual, boisterous place with lunch and dinner as well as a market within the 10K…
Escoffier: A Guide to Haute Cuisine
This book might seem terribly dated to some of the more recent generations. But for those of us seeking an education and an escape route out of being a grunt labor line cook sweating one’s ass off in a Key West, (zero air-conditioning) kitchen it finally occurred to me that…