In 1998, a cozy Greenwich Village café named Peanut Butter & Co. was born—with a menu consisting entirely of peanut butter creations. The restaurant was an instant hit, with features on Good Morning America and Nightline>, and profiles in Time, Newsweek, and the New York Times. People liked their peanut butter so much that it's now available in gourmet shops and grocery stores around the United States. Now proprietor and restaurateur Lee Zalben is spreading the joy of peanut butter with The Peanut Butter & Co. Cookbook. Here are more than 80 gooey recipes for everything from decadent desserts (Four-Layer Peanut Butter–Honey Cake) to delicious, nutritious snacks (Baked Apples with Peanut Butter) and sensational entrées (Peanut Butter Pad Thai). Of course, no peanut butter cookbook would be complete without sandwiches—here are recipes from the traditional (The Lunch Box Special) to the deliciously daring (Peanut Butter BLT). With full-color photographs and tons of quirky statistics, The Peanut Butter & Co. Cookbook is sure to answer every peanut butter craving!
Lee Zalben aka "The Peanut Butter Guy" is the Founder and President of Peanut Butter & Co. based in New York City.
In 1998 Lee opened the Peanut Butter & Co. Sandwich Shop and in 2003 expanded into retail distribution. His line of ten different varieties of all natural peanut butter (Dark Chocolate Dreams, Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, Smooth Operator, etc.) is now sold at over 15,000 supermarkets and natural food stores throughout the US and Canada, including Kroger, Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods.
Lee is a graduate of Vassar College were he majored in Urban Studies. He also erned a master's degree from Pace University.
In addition to running his peanut butter business, he also writes the weekly "That's Nuts" column for the James Beard Award-winning food blog Serious Eats.
