Cooking: The Quintessential Art (California Studies in Food and Culture) - Hardcover

This, Hervé; Gagnaire, Pierre

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520252950 ISBN 13: 9780520252950

Publisher: University of California Press, 2008

Synopsis

From its intriguing opening question—"How can we reasonably judge a meal?"—to its rewarding conclusion, this beautiful book picks up where Brillat-Savarin left off almost two centuries ago. Hervé This, a cofounder (with the late physicist Nicholas Kurti) of the new approach to studying the scientific basis of cooking known as molecular gastronomy, investigates the question of culinary beauty in a series of playful, lively, and erudite dialogues. Considering the place of cuisine in Western culture, This explores an astonishing variety of topics and elaborates a revolutionary method for judging the art of cooking. Many of the ideas he introduces in this culinary romance are illustrated by dishes created by Pierre Gagnaire, whose engaging commentaries provide rare insights into the creative inspiration of one of the world's foremost chefs. The result is an enthralling, sophisticated, freewheeling dinner party of a book that also makes a powerful case for openness and change in the way we think about food.

About this title

About the Author

Hervé This is Research Chemist at Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique and the author of Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking, among other books. Pierre Gagnaire is chef and owner of many restaurants, including Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire, Paris.

From the Inside Flap

"What we have here is a true work of genius. This should be required reading for everyone interested in gastronomy!"—Chef Charlie Trotter, author of Raw

Reviews

Among the arts, culinary art ranks as one of the least objectively defined, yet it’s one universally enjoyed. In recent years, molecular gastronomy’s deconstructions have forced some deeper thought about taste and its relationship to other senses of smell, sight, touch, and even hearing. To illustrate his theories of taste in classic style, This invents dialogues among characters representing different schools of philosophical thought. He seeks to develop a scholarly aesthetic of taste that can stand up to the same sort of analysis that the visual arts enjoy. French chef Gagnaire applies This’ theory to kitchen practice. The recipes he offers assume command of all the skills required in classical French cooking as well as access to pristinely fresh ingredients, such as foie gras and kidneys. This’ work is an intellectual exercise wholly removed from food-entertainment television. --Mark Knoblauch

Edition details

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520252950
• ISBN 13: 9780520252950
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 366