Chef's Favorite Cookbooks

	Just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed the European Series. I really appreciate the effort that you put into each class, from the menus/recipes to the background pages. It really helps to have the historical reasons behind the cuisine.
—Student of our Summer Cuisine of Europe Series

Recommended Cookbooks: Gabriel's Favorites, for the "Home Chef" or Advanced Cook

Many students have asked about the cookbooks Chef Gabriel reads. We are happy to recommend the following books, which you can purchase directly from this site through Amazon.com.

Please note that the books below are selected VERY carefully. Each one of these volumes is a book we own and use regularly; selection is limited because we truly believe in and back each book.

Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

Gabriel calls this book "the bible." When he had the opportunity to work with author Andrew Dornenburg in Manhattan several years ago, Gabriel asked Dornenburg to autograph his copy. The famous chef commented, pleased, on the fact that Gabriel's copy of his book was well-loved, dog-eared and even highlighted. Gabriel looked back at him and said simply, "I use it."

Culinary Artistry is a book of lists. Want to know what goes with lamb, what are the key flavors of Thai cuisine, or even what ten foods a top chef would take to a desert island? Consult the bible. This is a book of ideas, showing you how to pair foods and providing unlimited avenues for creative cooking. It's truly an inspiration.

Return to Cooking by Eric Ripert and Michael Ruhlman

Gabriel received this book as a gift and at first was fairly amused about family continually giving him cookbooks. His amusement quickly turned to appreciation and respect, however, as he began to leaf through this imposing volume. He's often said since then that this is the first book to truly inspire him in many years (since Culinary Artistry, I think). Author Eric Ripert, a world-renowned chef, missed cooking. Executive chefs have the opportunity to create menus and oversee operations, but rarely actually cook. To write the book, Ripert took a food writer, a photographer, and an illustrator on a culinary journey. Renting houses in four different geographic locations around the world, Ripert simply spent time cooking with the local ingredients while his partners documented everything he did. The resulting book is an amazing dialogue between artists. It contains amazing art and prose, plus truly revolutionary recipes and concepts. This book is a must-have.

The Elements of Taste

We came across this book about two years ago and immediately fell in love. Many cookbooks are simply compilations of recipes, but this book goes much, much further. Authors Grey Kunz and Peter Kaminsky point out that—as opposed to that of wine—there is no real language for talking about the flavors of food and the sensations of food tastes; their book establishes such a language. In so doing, Kunz and Kaminsky describe with startling hit-home accuracy the characteristics of various food items: for example, "pushing" (such as salt); "pulling,— (such as lemon); "bulby" (such as onions), and eleven others. The empathetic descriptions of these very subjective concepts are amazing. The book does contain some fantastic recipes, too, each highlighting one or more of these 14 "elements of taste." We very highly recommend this book for cooks who are learning to build flavors, create recipes, and truly understand what makes a dish work.

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