Greg Atkinson has been lauded and profiled nationally for his accomplishments as a chef. But he says that he really cooks to support his writing habit. Both of those attributes come together in this comprehensive cookbook that expresses the culinary styles and ingredients and trends of the whole West Coast. Alaska has amazing seafood—wild salmon, halibut, and black cod. The Northwest native grilling technique of grilling with flavorful wood planks hails from this region. Vancouver, BC, with its international crossroads status, brings amazing East Indian dishes that have been tempered with local ingredients. The Asian cuisine—noodles, roasted duck, and soy sauce and ginger—presents yet another tasty direction to pursue. And on down the coast: the Bay Area offers up a whole array of fresh tastes from the epicenter of sustainable local producers. California also brings forth the Latino influence, one of America’s true indigenous cuisines.
Greg Atkinson is a leading voice in Pacific Northwest Culinary trends. The author of several cookbooks and a lively food commentator, he is regularly featured in radio, television and print.
Atkinson can be heard weekly on "The Beat" on KUOW, Seattle's NPR affiliate. A Certified Culinary Professional (CCP), Greg is active in the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), and has served as Convivium Leader for Slow Food Seattle. He was featured in the 2005 season of the James Beard Award winning PBS series Chefs A'field, and was the host of KCTS Chefs 2006.
Winner of the James Beard Foundation's M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award 2000, and a pair of American Food Journalism Awards in 2005 and 2006, Atkinson is a contributing editor to Food Arts, and he writes the Taste column for Pacific Northwest Magazine, Sunday newsmagazine of The Seattle Times.
He lives west of Seattle, on Bainbridge Island with his wife and two sons on a peaceful acre with a small orchard of century-old apple trees, fig trees, grape vines and an organic flower and vegetable garden.
