The New American Chef: Cooking with the Best of Flavors and Techniques from Around the World (Hardcover)

by Andrew Dornenburg (Author), Karen Page (Author) "IN THE LATE 1960s, when André Soltner of the four-star restaurant Lutèce in New York City charged $8.95 for fresh Dover sole, it caused a..." (more)
Key Phrases: romesco sauce, thin julienne strips, filo dough, United States, New York City, Rick Bayless (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Dornenburg and Page (Chef's Night Out; Becoming a Chef) collaborate successfully once more, bringing together the international inspirations that today's chefs draw from. As unusual, often imported ingredients become more readily available, the authors believe that "there is an exciting opportunity for experimentation and exercising creativity. On the other hand, experimentation-particularly in the hands of an inexperienced chef-can be disastrous." Dornenburg and Page address this problem by bringing together 10 fundamental international cuisines in one handy volume. Drawing on the knowledge of the leading exponents of each fare, and liberally sprinkling in quotations, they distill these styles, ingredients and techniques into a philosophy that can guide the chef or the inspired home cook to produce authentic results. Whether focusing on Japanese or Moroccan cuisines, the authors call for advice upon the likes of such notables as Paula Wolfert, Rick Bayless and Daniel Boulud, who provide not only their expertise but also their recipes. Each section is divided into the fundamentals, including a culinary map, flavor palette, ingredients and techniques as well as a suggested reading list from cookbook shop notable Nach Waxman, before finishing with several timeless recipes that provide a basic repertoire. Most recipes require a certain level of knowledge and competence, but some, such as the clean-tasting Gazpacho Andaluz and vibrant Chicken Tangine with Prunes, are within reach of any cook. The finished work is deceptively thorough, but it works better as a guide to the values, tastes and methods that form each cuisine than as a recipe book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"...Dornenburg and Page collaborate successfully once more, bringing together the international inspirations that today's chefs draw from." -- Publishers Weekly, July 7, 2003

The best books are written with a crystal-clear purpose in mind, and Beard Award-winning writers Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (BECOMING A CHEF, CHEF'S NIGHT OUT) have really honed in on a crucial subject for THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF.
Their analysis of the current culinary situation hits the nail on the head. "Whereas a young professional cook may have had the opportunity in years past to develop a solid grounding in classic technique (most frequently French) before branching off into multiethnic experimentation, today the same cook has to work from day one with an extraordinarily wide variety of ingredients and techniques," they write. "The widespread availability of international ingredients has outpaced our ability to assimilate them into our daily cooking. This represents both a major opportunity and a major challenge for the New American chef."
Few full service restaurant operators or, especially, restaurant critics would argue against Dornenburg's and Page's thesis.
This book is designed to fill the ever-widening information gap. And while it seems like an impossibly large topic to cover, this clever duo devised a format that distills the essentials of 10 influential cuisines (Chinese, French, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Moroccan, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese) into digestible lessons for the reader.
Each chapter begins with a lengthy profile of a particular country's cuisine, with key fundamentals spelled out via interviews with respected chefs and cookbook authors. Then come recipes (one hundred in all for the book) that enable the reader to tackle the lessons just learned. Dozens of celebrity chefs dot the roster of contributors.
"We've narrowed down the gist of what you need to know about each cuisine in order to retain its spirit in your cooking," Dornenburg and Page say. "In thirty pages per cuisine, we can make you feel like you have just taken an immersion course in that cuisine and our experts will enable you to better reproduce its food and its spirit in your kitchen."
What a godsend. This book will be of value to just about anyone who works in the back of the house or write a menu cooked there. (Restaurant Hospitality, December 2003)

"The New American Chef...explores flavors and techniques in the words of the chefs themselves" —Gael Greene (New York, December 22, 2003)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471363448
• ISBN-13: 978-0471363446
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #134,808 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Global Historical Cuisine American Style & Flair, March 30, 2004

By	rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Andrew and Karen are at it again! After writing excellent, provocative works such as two of my favorites: Becoming a Chef and Culinary Artistry, combine again to research and bring together this impressive volume sketching out the emerging New American Chef. Words like fusion and New World and other concepts seemed to fall short of what they were trying to get at, so this concept: New American Chef showcases ten world cuisines which bring there own philosophies and emphases and ingredients and techniques to these United States to combine with our burgeoning wealth of culinary talent to produce this wonderful new cuisine which this book showcases.

I can remember becoming first interested in high school when taking a date out on that impressive prom meal when gourmet was specific dishes, e.g. Steak Diane, etc. But now, there is such a wide variety of everything, with so many more choices of not only dishes, but cuisine specialty houses and more. This book gets to that. The mixture of cultures and global reach has brought us to this melting pot concept of gourmet. Here there are ten major world cuisines: Chineese, French, Mexican, Indian, Spanish, Moroccan, Italian, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese. Each of these is represented by its approach, similarities and specialties, then a representative recipe sampling.

While there is ample opportunity here to learn more about cuisines I'm already into: French, Moroccan, Italian, Mexican, Chineese, Japanese; there is certainly opportunity here to explore some new cuisine such as Thai, Indian, etc. although I'm not all that enthralled with them in my experience so far.

And just that is the beauty here, one doesn't have to be excited about all ten, or the majority of them. There is so much here to be learned and experimented with. The standards of each are explemfied in all: balance, aroma, harmony, seasonality, etc.

Recipes that caught my attention to make include: Deep-Fried Fillet of Trout(Masu no Agemono); Shrimp in "Crazy Water" (Gamberoni al'Acqua Pazza); Barcelona-Style Flounder with Raisins, Nuts, Lemon Butter and Anise; Cherry Gratin (Gratin aux Cerises); Maine Lobster Tail on Salsify with Pinot Noir Sauce, Vanilla Oil, and Crispy Leeks; Rock Candy-Ginger Short Ribs; Chile-Orange Cold Noodles; Braised Lamb Shanks with Masala Raan;Guajillo-Spiked Pork-and-Potato Tacos (Tacos de Puerco y Papas al Guajillo; Salmon Panang (Grilled Salmon in a Creamy Red Curry Sauce); Quail Bisteeya;Chicken Tajine with Prunes; Couscous Mango Mousse.

Many of the contributors are already great culinary friends and inspirations to millions: Batali, Bayless, Boulud, Feniger, Vongerichten, Wolfert to name a few. I'm sure many of the others will go on to such fame and become regular fixtures in this growing, wonderful world of cuisine.

With each cuisine there is ample background text as well as cookbook and other reference suggestions. No color photos, just the author's usual nice contrasty B&W but with unbelievably good text for chefs both pro and amateur.

This is definitely one to grow and have fun with. It proposes one choose a cuisine direction and then gives advice on that pursuit. An unusual and welcome addition and approach.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A groundbreaking look at 10 influential cuisines., November 8, 2003

By A Customer

Unlike the first reviewer of this book, I had no preconceived notions of what The New American Chef "should" or "shouldn't" be. When I recently picked it up, what I found was a surprisingly fresh and insightful look at the subject of international flavors and techniques and how they are influencing today's (and tomorrow's) idea of American cuisine. This is a tribute to the authors' increasingly well-known reputation for going places no other food writers have gone before (and readers of Culinary Artistry won't have to ask what I mean by that!). By their own admission (on p. xiv), the authors' goal "was not to take a comprehensive, encyclopedic approach to these 10 cuisines...Rather, to share some of the underlying tenets each one has to offer." I've never read another cookbook that took on this challenge, and certainly none has so insightfully.

In The New American Chef, the authors manage to "deconstruct" the underlying essence of each of the 10 cuisines they profile. In other words, what makes Japanese cuisine unique? To the authors, it is the cuisine's extraordinary emphasis on seasonality. What makes Italian cuisine unique? The Italian sensibility when selecting ingredients. And so on through Spanish, French, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese and Moroccan cuisines. Then each chapter underscores that central lesson by providing insights and guidelines and recipes from some of the world's best-respected experts on each of those cuisines (e.g. Mario Batali and Lynne Rossetto Kasper on Italian; Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse, and Hubert Keller on French, etc.). The chapters are not cookie-cutter in structure, obviously, because each chapter focuses on a different aspect of cuisine. So there may not be an emphasis in "the order of a menu" in every single chapter, but that is clearly because it is not an important aspect of certain cuisines (for example, Asian cuisines which are served family-style, rather than as a series of courses). Instead, they take about 30 or 40 pages per cuisine to focus in on what makes it unique, and what lessons the reader can take away from that cuisine to apply in their own kitchens, no matter what they're cooking. And I've already taken away useful lessons on working with spices (the focus of the chapter on India) and with chilies (the focus of the chapter on Mexico).

This book is not perfect. The reproduction of the black & white photos in my copy of the book appeared uneven. And some fascinating topics are touched on so briefly that I would have hoped to read much more about them. But I agree with Union Square Cafe chef Michael Romano's comment on the book's back cover that this is truly a "groundbreaking" book for its unique emphasis on distilling the insights and lessons of an incredible array of leading experts. And I'm consoling my frustrated desire to read more about certain subjects with the incredible suggestions for further reading on each of the 10 cuisines provided at the end of every chapter, which in itself may be worth the price of the book.

I highly recommend this book for the intelligent reader who wants to gain either a broad-brush overview of the principles underlying these 10 particular cuisines, or leading experts' astute insights into how to make your own cooking even more flavorful and technically expert through applying these ideas in your own (professional or home) kitchen.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This years best gift. Even I can entertain with style, December 23, 2003

By	laura day (new york, new york United States) - See all my reviews

I have always been stressed about how to create a meal for guests. The New American Chef has changed my life. Beautiful and varied recipes with simple suggestions on presentation has made me a confident chef (dare I call myself by this name) and entertaining a joy. I gave this book to everyone for the holidays from kids going off to their first apartments, newlyweds, my parents, clients and my eleven year old son (who then asked for a kitchen tool as a holiday gift). We love to try the recipes and the book is written in a way that makes you realize why the cooking channel is true entertainment. It reads like an ambrosia of short stories.