Great Chefs Cook Vegan (Hardcover)

by Linda Long (Author)
Key Phrases: best chef, tomato water, beet chips, New York, James Beard Foundation, Granny Smith (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Unlike any other cookbook, Great Chefs Cook Vegan includes recipes from 25 of today's greatest chefs, including Thomas Keller, Jean-George Vongerichten, Eric Ripert, Charlie Trotter, and many other James Beard award-winning chefs. Each chef section includes a three or four-course vegan meal, complete with mouth-watering photographs of each recipe and much more.


From the Inside Flap
Great Chefs Cook Vegan includes recipes from 25 of the greatest chefs, including Thomas Keller, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud, Charlie Trotter, and many other James Beard Award-winning chefs.
Each chef provides a delicious three- or four-course vegan meal, complete with beautiful photography of mouthwatering dishes like Baby Beet Salad with Pistachio Vinaigrette and Chickpea Fritters, Sweet Pea Ravioli with Sauteed Pea Leaves, Stuffed Baby Bell Peppers with Sunflower Seed Risotto, and Chocolate Cake with a Chocolate Truffle Molten Center.
Now, with instruction from the great chefs themselves, anyone can create a delicious vegan meal that is more appetizing than the standard steamed vegetables and pasta we all envision.
Linda Long has had a lifelong relationship with the food industry and has been a committed vegan for thirty years. She has had a varied career in the academic, corporate, and media communities, with a strong emphasis in fashion, food, and nutritional topics. She writes and has done photographs for vegetarian magazines (Vegetarian Journal, American Vegan, VegNews) and book cover photography for other vegan authors. She is a member of the James Beard Foundation (JBF), International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), Women Chefs and Restaurants (WCR) and the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP).
Author photo 2008 Dan Demetriad
Cover photo: Puree of Sunchoke Soup with Pickled Red Radishes and Country Bread Croutons by Thomas Keller


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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (August 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 142360153X
• ISBN-13: 978-1423601531
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,355 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Chefs Who Elevate Vegan Cuisine, April 21, 2009

By	Dustin G. Rhodes (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When my copy of Great Chefs Cook Vegan by Linda Long arrived in the mail, at first I didn't know what to do with it. Does this hardcover book belong on my coffee table, or alongside my large collection of cookbooks? Surely, this handsome book doesn't belong anywhere near my kitchen, where it would likely suffer from unintentional splatters and spills.

Linda Long's photographs dazzle, blurring the line between food and art seamlessly. I know of no other vegan cookbook that features the sheer abundance of gorgeous color photography, as every recipe gets its own photograph. I spent two days looking at the photographs and reading the essays by the great chefs before deciding what to make first.
The chefs were asked to present their very best and most inventive vegan recipes -- taking into account presentation, flavor, texture, and the health-giving properties of plant-based food. The results are a dream come true.

Each featured chef has a biography page that precedes the recipes. Accompanied by Long's portraits, these are engaging reads on chefs who have trained at some of the world's best culinary schools, then gone on to acclaimed restaurants, earning the top awards in the field. One may ask: Isn't it all at least slightly intimidating? Thankfully, the well-written and instructive recipes smooth out the complexity suggested by the photographs; and the chefs' stellar backgrounds certainly don't make these dishes off-limits to the cook who needs guidance. Although the recipes do presume the reader will have some interest or experience in the kitchen, I found the instructions easy to follow, and I am by no means a talented chef.

The first recipe I decided to make -- mainly because the photo is so striking -- was David Burke's Vegetable Carousel Torte with Pommes Soufflés Filled With Peas. The torte comprises layered fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes, with a sumptuous basil oil. As with every recipe, there are instructions with how to plate and serve the dish. We like this recipe so much, we've reprinted it in Priscilla Feral's new cookbook, The Best of Vegan Cooking.

Chef Joseph Huber's Chocolate Stuffed Michigan French Toast with Rice Krispies served with Peach-Strawberry Compote is probably the longest titled recipe I've ever encountered -- or attempted to make. But, as you might have guessed, this is the final word in French toast, the best I've ever eaten. The recipe calls for making your own bread, but I purchased a fresh loaf of bakery bread and left it out overnight to dry slightly.

The dish is layered, with two slices of toast stuck together by a melted chocolate sauce, then topped with a fruit compote and maple syrup; the Rice Krispies are used as both stuffing and coating, giving the French toast an unexpected texture and bite. This recipe also appears in The Best of Vegan Cooking. Despite the title, the recipe is actually fairly easy and straightforward.

Also easy is the Curried Cauliflower With Currants and Pine Nuts by Chef Cat Cora. The combination of sweet currants with the pungent curried cauliflower is mouth-watering. I consider myself a major cauliflower fan, and this recipe offers a delicious new way to appreciate this nutritious and versatile vegetable. It tasted even better a day after preparation, once the flavors had time to meld.

The Summer Vegetable Pilaf With Carolina Gold Rice by Chef Anne Quatrano is delightful and another dish that's easy to prepare. Seasoned with marjoram, garlic, onion, and sherry vinegar, the vegetables and rice come to life with nuanced flavor. The butter beans make the dish filling. It's a perfect side dish to any meal, or a light meal all unto itself.

There are so many dishes that I want to try: Cat Cora's Kiwi Parfait made my mouth water just looking at it; and just try uttering the name of Charlie Trotter's Warm Venezuelan Chocolate Cake with Merlot-Infused Cherries, Lemon Bergamot, and Chocolate Gelato without an autonomic mouth-watering response. Then there's Dan Barber's Cauliflower Steak with Quinoa, which sounds (and looks) so inventive and lovely... the list is endless.

Great Chefs Cook Vegan is not your everyday, go-to cookbook -- and that's precisely what makes this tome special, completely out of the ordinary. These recipes are the work of artists who've considered the minute details and properties of food. Linda Long has produced a masterpiece.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, beautiful, and delicious, March 23, 2009

By	Boston Book Addict (Boston, Mass.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

What happens when you take 25 top chefs from 13 cities and ask them each to prepare a 3 to 4 course vegan menu? You get Great Chefs Cook Vegan, an exquisite cookbook filled with gorgeous photography and mouth watering recipes. I knew that this book had to come home with me when I flicked through it at a bookstore and found page after page of recipes I wanted to try.

It's worth noting that I am not vegan. However, I've cooked from a great deal of vegan cookbooks over the years because I appreciate the creativity of vegan recipes and the focus on vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. This book taps into both the creativity and whole foods of vegan cooking that I appreciate so much.

The book is organized by chef, rather than ingredient or course, so you get each chef's menu on subsequent pages beginning with a brief chef bio and photo. Linda Long deserves props for getting such an acclaimed and diverse group of chefs together. There is so much variety in their backgrounds and cooking styles and it comes out in the recipes in the book. There were many unique recipes that I hadn't seen elsewhere that combined flavors and textures in new and interesting ways. Among the fantastic recipes I have tried are the Sweet Pea Ravioli which taste like they should contain butter, cream, and cheese! I made them using frozen peas and they were STILL great.

The book is full of elegant recipes that are centered around seasonal, favorful fruits and vegetables. As other reviewers have noted you won't find a lot of 'mock meat' products in the book, but there are some mouthwatering recipes for tofu including Caramelized Silken Tofu "Brulee," Pastrami Tofu, and Crispy Tofu with Sesame Dressing. I don't think, however, that the absense of seitan or other meat substitutes makes the recipes in this book feel like only side dishes. There are many that are substantial and interesting enough to consider a main dish. However, it's still worth noting that the portion sizes are what one would expect from a high end restaurant, so they are petite.

I see this cookbook as one I would pull out for a special occasion or dinner party. Each recipe has many separate components so they are not what I would make for a weeknight meal. However, although they require time to prepare they are not particularly difficult. There were few techniques that the average home cook wouldn't be able to master. You can also easily use a sauce from a dish here or a dressing recipe there if you didn't want to make the whole meal.

There are a few ingredients that are hard to find outside specialty cooking shops,like invert sugar, but most ingredients can easily be found at a store like Whole Foods or a farmer's market.

If this sounds too time consuming and you are looking for more of an everyday cookbook or one that would be good for someone new to veganism I would recommend books like Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, Eat, Drink & Be Vegan: Great Vegan Food for Special and Everyday Celebrations or The Grit Cookbook: World-Wise, Down-Home Recipes. All of these are very approachable and make a good starting point.

Overall if you enjoy cooking fine restaurant quality vegan food and don't mind spending the time it takes to do so, you will love this cookbook. It's great for special occasions and dinner parties for omnivore, vegetarian and vegan guests alike. Highly recommended!

30 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful pictures but beauty here doesn't run deep..., November 27, 2008

By	Vegan Symphony (Smithtown, NY) - See all my reviews

I was excited to get this cookbook and it is indeed breathtaking (photograph-wise, that is...). Otherwise, it contains a lot of difficult to create vegan recipes that mostly seem like side dishes. These great chefs grapple with what vegans eat. There are no recipes that include tempeh at all (a staple for me), a couple that use tofu, and none that use seitan or mochi, but about five recipes for gazpacho..
Beans? These chefs have never heard of them (except for fava beans). Lentils are never mentioned or used.

Need a recipe for cauliflour? Well, you will find many creative recipes here, but any vegan cookbook that has more cauliflour recipes than tempeh recipes (which again are non-existant) has some problems. And the problem is this--these chefs are clueless. They really believe that a vegan eats just vegetable dishes. Going through this cookbook feels liek going to a gourmet restaurant that says it will accomodate vegans and then all you get is a plate of vegetables. Granted that if this cookbook were the menu of a gourmet restaurant that you would get some very creatively cooked vegetables, but that is all that you would get....

This cookbook (again, it is beautiful!) is a big disappointment and in many ways an insult to vegans. Yes, cauliflour is a great vegetable, but why so many recipes for it? Why have four (or was it five) recipes for gazpacho???

I really tried to find a recipe to make, but all seemed like vegetable side dishes....I am disappointed that these chefs couldn't create anything better or more hearty...and disappointed that the editor didn't give them more guidance.

I have given this book one star because despite the aesthetic quality of the book, the content is a real zero.