Chef Books are Hot in 2017

February 7, 2017 by
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Chef books are one of my many weaknesses when it comes to cookbooks. There are some great titles being published this year and today I’ll share a few that I’m excited about. These types of titles bring to me the experience of dining out. Like most people, we don’t have the opportunity to travel as much as we would like to – and don’t often get to eat at some of the big name restaurants. Having a little peek into this realm in cookbook form is enough for me. Please remember, if you are going to pre-order any of these titles, using our BUY BOOK button helps support our indexing efforts and is much appreciated.
 
MUNCHIES: Late-Night Eats from the World’s Best Chefs by JJ Goode and Helen Hollyman and Editors of MUNCHIES brings the hugely popular show Chef’s Night Out (on VICE Media’s food website, MUNCHIES) to the page with snapshots of food culture in cities around the world, plus tall tales and fuzzy recollections from 65 of the world’s top chefs, including Anthony Bourdain, Dominique Crenn, David Chang, Danny Bowien, Wylie Dufresne, Inaki Aizpitarte, and Enrique Olvera, among others. Really looking forward to this title coming in October from Ten Speed Press.
 

The Chef and the Slow Cooker by Hugh Acheson brings 100 recipes to show readers how an appliance generally relegated to convenience cooking can open up a whole new culinary world. In this title coming in October from Clarkson Potter, Acheson celebrates fresh recipes with a chef’s twist, dishes like brisket with soy, orange, ginger, and star anise, or pork shoulder braised in milk with fennel and raisins. The exciting part of this book is that the chef demonstrates what a slow cooker can really do, things like poaching and holding eggs at the perfect temperature for your brunch party, or for making easy duck confit, or for the simplest stocks and richest overnight ramen broth. I have to admit I seldom use the slow cooker but with recipes and ideas from a master – I may have to dust that baby off.


Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques by Kristen Kish and Meredith Erickson brings recipes that are surprising yet refined, taking the expected-an ingredient or a technique, for example-and using it in a new way to make dishes that are unique and irresistible. She sears avocado and pairs it with brined shrimp flavored with coriander and ginger. A broth laced with pancetta and parmesan is boosted with roasted mushrooms and farro for an earthy, soulful dish. Caramelized honey, which is sweet, smoky, and slightly bitter, is spiked with chiles and lemon and served with fried chicken thighs. The results are delicious, inspiring, and definitely worth trying at home. Kristen was a favorite on Top Chef and I’m happy to see this book coming from Clarkson Potter this October.

Project 258: Making Dinner at Fish & Game by Zak Pelaccio and Peter Barrett is being released next month and celebrates Fish & Game, a popular Hudson Valley restaurant. The book is in a word – stunning. It presents an enticing selection of seasonal recipes, profiles of key producers who supply the restaurant, and insight into the processes behind Pelaccio’s restaurant. The chef and his staff handcraft many staple ingredients, including fish sauce, vinegars, maple syrup, and prosciutto and explains how the methods and techniques practiced at Fish & Game can be applied to the food that grows wherever you live. I was pleasantly surprised by the exciting and varied recipes this book provides along with the gorgeous photographs. Beautiful enough to be a coffee table book but approachable enough to be used in our kitchens everyday. 
 
sketch by Mourad Mazouz and Pierre Gagnaire celebrates the unique meeting place in the centre of London created by the authors. The converted 18th-century building in Mayfair is an opulent, zany maze with treasures to be discovered in every room. A mad hatter’s fantasy comes alive in the enchanted woodland Glade tearoom. Eccentric tasty tricks abound in the Parlour patisserie. The kitsch Gallery bistro fills you with gorgeous nosh. Chic pre-dinner cocktails in the urbane East Bar prepare you for the Michelin magic unleashed in the vibrant Lecture Room & Library. Whether you want a tearoom, bistro, restaurant, bar or nightclub, sketch has the best to offer. Now these myriad food, drink and entertainment styles are captured in a book – the phantasmagoric compendium of all things Sketch. Unique cuisine is at its heart. World-renowned three-Michelin-star chef Pierre Gagnaire showcases the best 85 recipes from Sketch’s kaleidoscopic menus. Interlaced with the recipes are histories and art from the wonderful gastrodome. This title is coming in September from Absolute Press.


So Good: 100 Recipes from My Kitchen to Yours by Richard Blais from Houghton Mifflin shares how the Top Chef cooks at home when the cameras are off.  Elevated homestyle recipes and personal stories which invite you behind the scenes and into his own kitchen for the first time are shared. Some recipes might look familiar, like spaghetti and meatballs, but have a secret, flavor-boosting ingredient, and others feature clever but unexpected techniques, like his fried chicken which is first marinated in pickle juice (I do that all the time!). These are creative recipes that anyone can make and are sure to excite, from Seabass with Ginger Beer and Bok Choy to Jerked Spatchcock Chicken and Plantains, making this this the book Blais fans have been waiting for – and we only have to wait until May.

 

Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant by Dan Hunter is the debut book from the celebrated award-winning pioneer of modern Australian food. In the countryside outside Melbourne, Hunter has transformed a rustic farmhouse into the award-winning Brae, one of Australia’s most exciting dining destinations. Brae attracts diners from around the world with its fine-dining approach to hyper-local cuisine. This book is set to be released in April in the UK and US by Phaidon. Please remember Eat Your Book members receive 30% off Phaidon titles when using the link provided.

 

Other titles that should be on your radar are:
Myers + Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery by Joanne Chang
Federal Donuts: The (Partially) True Spectacular Story by Michael Solomonov, Steven Cook, Tom Henneman, Bob Logue and Felicia D’Ambrosio  
Pok Pok Drinking Food of Thailand by Andy Ricker and JJ Goode  
wd~50: A Restaurant by Wylie Dufresne and Peter Meehan
 
Which books are you excited about from this list? Please leave a comment and let me know. More previews will be coming soon.
Category: Book News

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4 Comments

  • TrishaCP  on  February 7, 2017

    The Hugh Acheson book sounds great- that is definitely going on my wishlist.

  • Rinshin  on  February 7, 2017

    I'm of 50/50 feeling on chef's cookbooks. Some if geared towards home cooking are generally great and have lots of good pointers but there are others that are visually beautiful but incredibly hard to cook with because of ingredients being used or taking huge amounts of time. I did not think twice about 3 days of baking prep to make one single cake following one of BA's desserts back in the late 70's but now I just can't see myself taking that kind of time on one recipe.

  • Mrs. L  on  February 9, 2017

    The new Richard Blais and the Jacques Pépin. I pretty much own everything Jacques and I like Richards style.

  • Smokeydoke  on  February 9, 2017

    Honestly, I'm looking forward to Myers + Chang the most.
    Her recipes work! Gotta love a chef who writes recipes that always work and taste great.

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