Chefs from North America

New & Featured

Small Bites Big Taste
Rainer Zinngrebe
A veteran of many celebrated international kitchens, Chef Rainer Zinngrebe, from his position as executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton, Cancun, shows the innovative face of Mexican cooking. Some of his more creative dishes create a fusion of Mexican and Indian techniques and flavours. Colour photos. Hardcover, 192 pp. $48.95.

Chanterelle
David Waltuck
For over 20 years, Chanterelle has been an American classic. Chef David Waltuck and his wife Karen gave birth to this New York destination restaurant and now they bring you their recipes. Although the recipes are for the more advanced, the Waltucks do not want to discourage people of any levels from trying out them out. With beautiful photos and an elegant layout, the cookbook is as much a gem as the restaurant. Hardcover, 314 pp. $65.00.

Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes
Bobby Flay, Stephanie Banyas & Sally Jackson
Bobby Flay shows off his true area of expertise with numerous takes on burgers, fries, and shakes that will surely have you reaching for the Tums. With only a few turns through this book, you'll have a hankering for a burger, fries, and maybe a Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake. A great book to have this barbecue season with enough pictures to set off a craving everytime you look though the pages. Hardcover, 160 pp. $30.00.

Pintxos
Gerald Hirigoyen
This chef has two restaurants in San Francisco, now comes his third book of small plates in the basque tradition as the subtitle explains. Primarily first courses this is definitely small plates with panache. Hardcover, 202 pp. $34.95.

Under Pressure
Thomas Keller
Cooking the sous-vide method may not be for everyone, but as with any Keller book, think The French Laundry ($59.95), Bouchon ($59.95) the ideas and presentation are worth it alone, whether you plan to do sous-vide cooking or not. Hardcover, 294 pp. $95.00.

Urban Italian
Andrew Carmellini and Gwen Hyman
With a resume of cooking at Lespinasse, and Cafe Boulud then a year of living, eating and cooking in Italy, Carmellini came back to New York and opened the acclaimed A Voce restaurant. While the usual recipes are here there are countless exquisite variations on ingredients and dishes. His self deprecating and amusing stories of his kitchen life are quite revealing. Hardcover, 311 pp. $38.50.

Osteria
Rick Tramonto with Mary Goodbody
Successful Chicago restaurateur Tramonto has brought the dishes from his popular Osteria di Tramonto, opened in 2006 to our kitchens in this his sixth cookbook. Previous books Tru ($45.95) from the same named restaurant, Amuse-Bouche ($48.95), Fantastico ($44) have all been very popular with the chefs and this one will appeal to both home and professionals alike. Hardcover, 276 pp. $40.

West
Warren Geraghty
One of Vancouver's top chefs and restaurants, winner of Restaurant of the Year four times from Vancouver Magazine. Pacific coast freshness abounds throughout the pages. Wine serving suggestions add to the relaxed atmosphere. Hardcover, 380pp. $38.50.

A Platter of Figs
David Tanis
Simple flavours is an oft overused food descriptor but in this case it is apt. Tanis spends six months of the year as head chef at Chez Panisse and the other six months in Paris. He has assembled 24 menus that capture simplicity and flavour with minimal fuss and ingredients.Hardcover, 294 pp. $39.95.

Nobu Miami: The Party Cookbook
Nobu Matshuisa & Thomas Buckley
With a foreword from not just Daniel Boulud but also Ferran Adria there is a definite mutual admiration society happening! The focus here is on finger foods. The Japanese and South American (Peruvian) influences give the recipes a breath of fresh air to the party scene. Hardcover, 200 pp. $39.95.

Alinea
Grant Achatz
Achatz has redefined the American restaurant and wowed all who have eaten at Alinea in Chicago. In this remarkably affordable book the stunning photography captures the creativity and pioneering mind of Achatz. The food vessels alone are works of art. Hardcover, 396 pp. $56.95.

Olives & Oranges
Sara Jenkins & Mindy Fox
Sara is the daughter of the respected food writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins (Cucina del Sole, $34.95). The younger Jenkins's cuisine is rooted in the family time spent living around the Mediterranean, hence the subtitle "Recipes & Flavor Secrets from Italy, Spain, Cyprus & Beyond". Porchetta, opening this fall, will be Sara's first NYCity restaurant. Hardcover, 372 pp. $39.95.

Italian Grill
Mario Batali
As those old Dominion store commercials said, ”It’s mainly because of the meat.” While the antipasti and vegetable side dishes here do appear delicious, it is the huge hunks of well-seasoned meat that are irresistible. Whether it is spit-roasted prime rib, pork shoulder, veal chops, or leg of lamb, it looks like something you would want to try. Other than the seasoning, the recipes have few ingredients, and require little preparation. Colour photos with most of the recipes. Hardcover, 246 pp. $31.95.

The Granite Club: Capturing the Spirit
Nigel Didcock
The Granite Club Capturing the Spirit is a multifaceted celebration of the venerable Toronto club: a salute to the seasonal rhythm of club life; an opportunity to learn from and be inspired by Chef Nigel Didcock; a thank you from the chef to those who nurtured him in his career and to those who assist him now. From Cobb salad to the gorgeously-plated pan-seared pork tenderloin, Julia Aitken has translated the chef’s recipes, making them accessible to the home cook. The design team of Heather Cooper and Eric Graham has created a package that reflects the polished elegance of the club. Colour photos. Hardcover, 224 pp. $60.00.

Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Bursting onto the New York restaurant scene at Lafayette in the Drake in 1992, Vongerichten has not looked back. While building a culinary empire around the world he still manages to find time to put together a stunning new cookbook. In this new book he pays homage to the wonderful Asian spices that make up his incredibly flavorful dishes. Hardcover, 290 pp. $50.00.

Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen
Gina De Palma
Gina De Palma, pastry chef at Babbo in New York city, brings both classic Italian desserts and favourites from the restaurant to cooks interested in life beyond tiramisu. She gives some background on what constitutes Italian sweets, baking tips, and also anecdotes and history about special desserts and festivals. Colour photographs. Hardcover, 301 pp. $42.00

My Last Supper
Melanie Dunea
Fifty of the world’s great chefs ruminate on the what, where, and with whom of their last meals. While it sounds like the most superficial of concepts, the result is both revealing and deeply touching. Contemplating the end of one’s life brings out the vulnerability in the most bombastic of personalities. Lucky us, we get to sample as each chef  has contributed a recipe. The accompanying portraits, some colour, some black and white, capture the public persona by which the world knows these gifted chefs who range from Montreal’s Martin Picard to the most idolized of contemporary chefs, Ferran Adria. As always, Anthony Bourdain presents the most outrageous front. Hardcover, 216 pp, $45.00.

The Art of Simple Food
Alice Waters with Patricia Curtan, Kelsie Kerr, and Fritz Streiff
It is not overstating the case to say that contemporary American cooking would be very different had Alice Waters and her friends not opened Berkeley’s Chez Panisse in 1971. The Art of Simple Food is a distillation of the eat locally, eat best philosophy that was the focus of Chez Panisse menus from the beginning. The book is divided into two parts: the first, Starting from Scratch, concentrates on lessons and foundation recipes, everything from stocking the pantry to choice of equipment to menu planning. The second half, At the Table, features every day recipes from starters to desserts. With Alice Waters’ recipes, it is the shopping, not the cooking that takes time. In these simple recipes it is the quality of the main ingredient  which dictates the success of the dish. People used to recipes with the ingredients set up in one column with the instructions set out 1, 2, 3 in another, may find they have to pay more attention with a format in which the ingredients are in boldface amongst the instructions. More that just telling us how to cook, Alice Waters demonstrates how a community is built. Line drawings, no photos. Hardcover, 405 pp, $41.95.

A Great American Cook
Jonathan Waxman
Think of the Barefoot Contessa and Foster’s Market taken up a few notches to arrive at Jonathan Waxman’s exalted home cooking. A pioneer of modern American cuisine, Jonathan Waxman did his time in some of the great kitchens of France and with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse before opening the late, great Jams. Now a bi-coastal restaurateur, Waxman’s home cooking includes lobster salad sandwiches, grilled rabbit with roasted tomato salad, and gingerbread with brandied plums. Colour photos. Hardcover, 286 pp. $43.95.

The Young Man & the Sea
David Pasternack & Ed Levine
A veteran of Bouley, Picholine, now ensconced at Esca, David Pasternack surprises with a fish book, his first, that is all about simplicity. Most of the recipes have few ingredients. Even when the ingredient list is longer, the method is uncomplicated. Sections on crudo Italy’s answer to sushi -- fish with pasta, and crispy fish are especially enticing. This is one of the few books that has it all for those who are hesitant about cooking fish: friendly guidance, recipes built on fish and shellfish available from any good North American fishmonger, clean layout and lovely colour photos. Hardcover, 253 pp. $39.95.

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Flavours of Cooper's Cove Guesthouse
Angelo Prosper-Porta
Seasonality and flexibility are the twin engines that drive the menu at Cooper's Cove Guesthouse in Sooke, BC. Although there are given measurements and ingredients in these recipes, they are meant as a guide which you can adapt to your particular season and situation. Among the dishes on which to make your own mark: smoked sablefish and mascarpone pate with warm potato arugula salad; raspberry, fig and white chocolate bread pudding. Self-published and distributed this book is bursting with beautifully styled colour photos. Althougth a visit to the guesthouse is highly recommended, as the setting is breathtaking, the book will admirably stand instead. Hardcover, 266 pp. $49.95.

One Spice, Two Spice
Floyd Cardoz
This new book, perhaps the first of its kind, is from the man responsible for Tabla restaurant in New York. There, and here, he creates a new fusion of American and Indian food that mixes the familiar with the foreign. The recipes focus on seasoning American food with Indian flavours and introducing cooks to the unique and complex tastes of the India, particularly those of Cardoz's Bombay and Goan childhood. Hardcover, 304 pp. $44.95.

Nobu West
Nobu Matsuhisa & Mark Edwards
The newest volume from the genius Japanese-fusion kitchens of Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurant kitchens, this one with a significant contribution from the head chef at Nobu London. The recipes include plenty of fish and seafood, as well as featuring fresh produce. Another feature of this book is that many of the ingredients are more familiar and easier to obtain than those in previous books. Colour photos.Hardcover, 256 pp. $49.95.

Michael Mina: The Cookbook
Michael Mina
With restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas Mina manages to oversee a quietly expanding empire. His trio concept takes a primary ingredient and accessorizes with a trio of accompaniments; followed by three presentations. Visually stunning, but we don't particularly like the faint type and small font used for the text. Hardcover, 256 pp. $65.00.

Chez Jacques
Jacques Pepin
Truffle and pistachio sausage, pate of pheasant and roast chicken are a few of the “favorite things” which Jacques Pepin celebrates in a memoir- cum- distillation of his culinary philosophy. Complimented by gorgeous colour photos and reproductions of Pepin’s artwork, a book which might have been totally self-indulgent combines charm with a reservoir of knowledge from which cooks, amateur or professional may benefit. Hardcover, 271 pp. $54.00, or a boxed limited edition with an original piece of art, $180.00.

Scott Conant's New Italian Cooking
Scott Conant
As chef/owner of New York's Impero and Alto, Scott Conant brings a fresh twist to contemporary Italian cooking with dishes such as spicy whole roasted chicken with orange and rosemary and grilled zucchini with mint and pignoli. Colour photos. Hardcover, 296 pp, $50.00.

Au Pied De Cochon: The Album
Martin Picard
Just when we think that after reading cookbooks every day for the last 23 years we have seen it all, something comes along that makes us absolutely giddy with pleasure. This book from the celebrated Montreal restaurant is such a book. Both the book and the restaurant it chronicles marry traditional Quebecois cuisine to the French brasserie then immerse it in the wild abandon of a medieval feast. Day-in-the-life photos and the Steadman/Searle-esque illustrations of Tom Tassel and Marc Sequin aid and abet the air of unrestrained pleasure. The accompanying DVD reinforces both the sense of revelry and the inherent respect for the ingredients and traditions which inform the cooking of Martin Picard. Hardcover, 191 pp. $74.95. Softcover, $40.00 without accompanying DVD.

Crave
Ludo Lefebvre
From the executive chef at Bastide in L.A. comes this cookbook that emphasizes the joy of cooking and eating food that engages all the senses. With recipes that are relatively simple but absolutely spectacular Lefebvre guides readers not only to fabulous meals but also to the ways professional cooks use their senses to understand cooking processes. 252 pp. $58.95.

Happy in the Kitchen
Michel Richard
Richard certainly likes to have fun but not at the expense of good food! This lavish book has mouth watering photography of even the simplest dishes. Chapter titles show his playfulness Tomatoes: the embarrassed fruit or The Pleasures of Plastic Wrap! Richard is chef/co-owner of Citronelle in Washington, and made that rare leap from pastry chef to chef and we are grateful. Hardcover, 331 pp, $51.95.

America's Best Chefs Cook with Jeremiah Tower
Jeremiah Tower
Companion to the PBS 20 part series that matches Jeremiah Tower, the pioneer of American regional cuisine with 14 James Beard Award winning Chefs. Great cooks, great recipes. 218 pp. $42.99.

Chapeau! Canada Les Grands Chefs
Editors Anton Fercher and Natalie Dufresne
Very much in the mould of the magnificently illustrated Culinary Chronicle books, Chapeau! is a book for chefs who wonder what their colleagues in other parts of the country are up to. Bilingual. Hardcover with slipcase and interactive CD, 447 pp, $199.95.

New American Classics
David Burke
A decade has gone by since Burke's last book, Cooking with David Burke, which was very popular amongst the chefs. Burke is chef and co-owner of davidburke & donatella in New York city. This innovative book will give you the classic recipe and then a contemporary version and finally a second day dish recipe. All very yummy and easy to do. Hardcover, 300 pp, $50.00.

Off Duty
Edited by David Nicholls
Like rockers Bono, Geldoff et al, star chefs are embracing philanthropy with wild abandon - in this case their largesse is aimed at spinal cord injury research. If crab risotto with peas and fennel or slow-roast pork belly with warm new potato salad and smoked bacon runner beans fails to move you, perhaps Nigella reposing in her tub with bubbles to her chin or Susur Lee in tennis whites will! Hardcover, 288 pp, $49.95.

Sunday Suppers at Lucques
Suzanne Goin with Teri Gelber
These seasonal menus built around intensely-flavoured main courses - grilled duck breasts with crème fraiche, roasted grapes and potato-bacon gratin, braised beef short ribs with potato puree, Swiss chard and horseradish cream - are the basis for the family-style Sunday suppers served at Goin's Los Angeles restaurant. Hardcover, 398 pp, $45.95.

Artisanal Cooking
Terrance Brennan & Andrew Friedman
The owner of New York's Picholine and Artisanal demonstrates that the best cooking comes from fine ingredients and a mastery of basic skills. While flavour almost leaps off the page in the main course section, it is Brennan's desserts that show real innovation -- tomato tart with basil ice cream, chocolate soup with orange curd napoleon. Colour photos. Hardcover, 324 pp, $38.99.

Fast Food My Way
Jacques Pépin
Pépin shows that with a few well-chosen ingredients, and perhaps a pressure cooker, good meals can be ours any day of the week. Colour photos. Hardcover, 240 pp, $33.95

Anna & Michael Olson Cook at Home
Anna (star of Sugar) and Michael (Inn in the Twenty, Niagara Fallsview Casino) are food professionals who also love to cook at home. The two share their cooking savvy in seasonal menus built around people, occasions, adventures —even necessity. Colour photos. Softcover, 288 p, $39.95.

Chef at Home
Michael Smith
The Food Network star takes his show off the road right into his Prince Edward Island home. Along with recipes for the hearty dishes he likes to serve to family and friends, Michael Smith tries to impart all the hints the home cook will need to cook without recipes. Colour photos. Softcover, 176 pp, $29.95.

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