Tasting Club: Gathering Together to Share and Savor Your Favorite Tastes [Hardcover]

Dina Cheney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2006

A complete guide to planning and hosting tasting parties, this book will appeal to everyone who is too busy to throw a dinner party but who loves to entertain, and foodie sophisticates searching for that best olive oil, wine, cheese, or other food and beverage. Tasting combines the growing trend for food appreciation with the popular book-group phenomenon. Introduces the 4 W's of tasting: what, where, when and why, for developing a sensitive and sophisticated palate. Offers 10 different tastings, each focusing on a different food or drink, such as cheese, extra virgin olive oil and chocolate. Each gives practical advice for savoring food in a structured way to understand your palate. A full guide for hosting easy-to-organize tasting sessions with friends, with 'cheat sheets' and taste cards. Tastings are suitable for large events, one-on-one romantic occasions or independent tasting.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gourmands and novices alike can cultivate their palates with this DIY guide to themed tasting parties. Seizing on a growing home entertaining trend, culinary educator Cheney offers 10 different plans for tasting, including the most popular items like wine, chocolate and cheese, to more obscure tasting subjects like honey, tea, balsamic vinegar and apples. In the Basics chapter, Cheney explains how to structure your party using the book and photocopied "tasting grids" that can be distributed to each guest for exploring and recording the experience. She recommends choosing six different variations for a tasting and explains how to set up a table to accommodate the foods as well as palate cleansers and complementary accompaniments. Each of the following chapters is devoted to a single subject, with important background information, such as how and where olive oil is made and how the product is graded in different countries. For every tasting, Cheney has included a menu and recipes for sophisticated, appropriate pairings (wines, radishes and a wild mushroom quiche for an evening French cheese tasting; antipasto platter, vin santo, red grapes and biscotti for a global extra virgin olive oil tasting). Throughout, Cheney proves to be an excellent guide, making her urbane subject matter accessible and her parties both fun and informative. (Sept.)
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About the Author

Dina Cheney, a graduate of Columbia College, Columbia University and the Institute of Culinary Education, is a freelance writer, tasting host, and former cooking teacher. The author of Tasting Club (DK Publishing), Dina writes for a number of local and national publications. Previously, she taught hundreds of students to cook through her business, Cooking by Heart. In this capacity, Dina was featured on Fox 5 News, as well as in The New York Times, the New York Daily News, and more.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (August 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756620597
• ISBN-13: 978-0756620592
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of Tasting Club (DK, 2006) and Williams-Sonoma; New Flavors for Salads (Oxmoor House, 2009), as well as a freelance writer, recipe developer, and tasting host.

I've written over 110 articles and developed recipes for 17 publications, including Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, Everyday with Rachael Ray, Coastal Living, Bon Appétit, iVillage, and The Huffington Post.

An enthusiastic public speaker, I've conducted over 45 tastings and talks nationwide, and--previously--taught over 100 cooking classes through my (former) culinary instruction business, Cooking by Heart.

Over 110 media outlets have covered my work. Just a few include Redbook, Real Simple, Every Day with Rachael Ray, The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Post, "Fox" News in Boston and New York, and NPR.

Before embarking on my career in writing and teaching, I graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University (Anthropology/English Literature) and the Institute of Culinary Education Career program.

I live in Connecticut with my husband, two young sons, and lots of chocolates, teas, and spices. For my thoughts on all things edible, feel free to visit my blog, "Tasting Notes," at www.dinacheney.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Club Treat/Break, September 3, 2006

By 

Georgia O'Keefe "Armchair explorer" (Dobbs Ferry, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tasting Club: Gathering Together to Share and Savor Your Favorite Tastes (Hardcover)

Discovering this jewel of a book is like finding buried treasure. It's filled to the brim with information presented in an entertaining and well-paced manner. I can't believe how much I didn't know -- not just about the ten food categories covered -- but about my own food preferences. Now, after hosting my own chocolate tasting, I know I'll always hold out for the Venezuelan chocolate.

It's gorgeous, the price is right and will make a great gift to bring to a party. Better yet, I think it will create a fun opportunity for a book club break, especially at holiday times when everyone is busy. Having a tasting club meeting -- instead of the usual format -- is an inspired idea!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy two!, September 4, 2006

By 

Christine Legrand (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tasting Club: Gathering Together to Share and Savor Your Favorite Tastes (Hardcover)

You'll love this book! Its both delicious and smart. If you're a novice to the dinner party, its a great alternative - a really fun spin on entertaining. I hope to attend future tastings because I've given this book as both a housewarming and bridal shower gift.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book worth tasting....., September 1, 2006

By 

D. A. Schwartz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tasting Club: Gathering Together to Share and Savor Your Favorite Tastes (Hardcover)

This book is a real treat. How refreshing for an author to teach us how to use our sense of taste and identify the differences in flavors your palate encounters. There was alot of hard work, research & thought put into this book. The author has done a splendid job of enlightening the reader (& tastee) about the many flavors of food that one has never realized. After reading this one, your palate becomes ever more sensory the next time you eat. ENJOY tasting this one.