Daniel Boulud

Author of Letters to a Young Chef and Daniel: My French Cuisine

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Book Recommendations:

Recommended by Daniel Boulud

James’s book celebrates a subject matter that I find so important to chefs and to cooking in general, and with the voice of a seasoned teacher and coach, it’s accessible to anyone. He covers an impressive range from the basic to the complex, while showing the evolution of sauces across a variety of cuisines. This book is a useful reference for any kitchen. (from Amazon)

The acclaimed authority on sauce making, completely updated and, for the first time, featuring invaluable step-by-step color photographs. Every good cook knows that a great sauce is one of the easiest ways to make an exemplary dish. Since its James Beard Award–winning first edition, James Peterson’s Sauces has remained the go-to reference for professionals and sophisticated home cooks, with nearly 500 recipes and detailed explanations of every kind of sauce. This new edition, published nearly ten years after the previous one, tacks with today’s movement toward lighter, fresher flavors and preparations and modern cooking methods, while also elucidating the classic sauces and techniques that remain a foundation of excellence in the kitchen. The updated, streamlined design also features, for the first time, full-color photos that clearly show these essential sauces at every step—bringing the author’s expertise to life like never before.

Recommended by Daniel Boulud

I don't think that Harold McGee missed a single detail in this absolutely fascinating anthology of the hows, whys, and wherefores of cooking. This book is a treasure trove of useful facts and unusual information and a must for every cook who possesses an inquiring mind. (from Amazon)

An award-winning kitchen classic for over 35 years, and hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn to for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious. For its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking. He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment. On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped birth the inventive culinary movement known as "molecular gastronomy." Though other books have been written about kitchen science, On Food and Cooking remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques. Among the major themes addressed throughout the new edition are: · Traditional and modern methods of food production and their influences on food quality · The great diversity of methods by which people in different places and times have prepared the same ingredients · Tips for selecting the best ingredients and preparing them successfully · The particular substances that give foods their flavors, and that give us pleasure · Our evolving knowledge of the health benefits and risks of foods On Food and Cooking is an invaluable and monumental compendium of basic information about ingredients, cooking methods, and the pleasures of eating. It will delight and fascinate anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or wondered about food.

Recommended by Daniel Boulud

This comprehensive book is a great tool for any student looking to strengthen his or her knowledge of ingredients, flavors, and textures. The opportunity to study and understand the science of these elements is a great advantage to today’s generation of cooks. They should all make use of it! (from Amazon)

One of Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best Food Books of the Year A revolutionary new guide to pairing ingredients, based on a famous chef's groundbreaking research into the chemical basis of flavor As an instructor at one of the world’s top culinary schools, James Briscione thought he knew how to mix and match ingredients. Then he met IBM Watson. Working with the supercomputer to turn big data into delicious recipes, Briscione realized that he (like most chefs) knew next to nothing about why different foods taste good together. That epiphany launched him on a quest to understand the molecular basis of flavor—and it led, in time, to The Flavor Matrix. A groundbreaking ingredient-pairing guide, The Flavor Matrix shows how science can unlock unheard-of possibilities for combining foods into astonishingly inventive dishes. Briscione distills chemical analyses of different ingredients into easy-to-use infographics, and presents mind-blowing recipes that he's created with them. The result of intensive research and incredible creativity in the kitchen, The Flavor Matrix is a must-have for home cooks and professional chefs alike: the only flavor-pairing manual anyone will ever need.