Recommendation for my first cookbook

Any recommendations on a first time purchase as an introduction to advanced techniques and plating? I tend to have a short attention span when I buy too many books so I was looking for a single book that I could get to try out some modernist techniques from a world renown Michelin star restaurant in my own kitchen. I also would like something that is pleasing enough to put on my coffee table. I was looking at Eleven Madison Park and Noma. I have also been a big fan of Thomas Keller even though there are more recent publications by other renown chefs. I noticed that the group that published Eleven Madison Park also came out with a new book for the Nomad restaurant in Los Angeles. What would you recommend as a starting point for me or anyone else in my situation?

Find more posts tagged with

What About Tools?

Comments

tshewman

Oy! That's a loaded question. I'm a fan of Noma, but don't have any of their books. EMP is great as is all of Thomas Keller's books though more tarditional. Modernist Cuisine (both versions) would be great as would many others (the fat duck, sea and smoke, mugaritz and alinea - near the top of my list) see http://store.chefsteps.com/collections/cookbooks-we-love

douglas_bd

Depends how deep in the rabbit hole you want to go. Honestly, if you are looking for an introduction, I'd start with some of the classes and recipes here. Learn what you like and what you are willing to do. Jumping into Alinea or EMP can be overwhelming due to the sheer number of components, but they are great resources. I find I tend to use components and techniques rather than reproduce entire dishes from them. If you are interested in the details behind a dish, there's nothing better than fat duck in my mind. But again, it's not a book you can just open up and whip up a meal. There's a serious time and equipment investment for almost every dish. Relae is also very good and a book I'd like to spend more time with. A good intro to some modern techniques that are fairly easy to replicate is mission street food. I don't see it mentioned much, but I really like it. Coi is good for the story behind the dishes, most of which can be tackled at home. Happy in the Kitchen is another good starter that you can easily cook from. Manresa has lots of eye candy, and recipes are more involved but still approachable. Mugaritz, Keller, the list goes on and on.

Jack_Mayer_85396

Happy in the Kitchen is a terrific idea!

tshewman

+one for the fat duck! As is Relae (though not as much on plating but some wonderful ideas). Smoke and Sea also nice, but pictures aren't there if you're looking for more visual stimulation.

douglas_bd

Smoke and Sea is on my list to pick up. I was there last year and have a whole series of photos from their pantry. It was so inspiring. Also, there's a great one star or no star review of the book on Amazon. Basically every complaint the reviewer has is exactly what I was hoping it would be.

tshewman

You are right regarding the reviews. I enjoy the thoughts he creates. I envy your visit. :-)

meichejp

All great suggestions; I'll add Volt Ink. I just recently got back into this book, and the dishes are very accessible for the home cook. Many great ideas for pressure cookers, dehydrators, sous vide, zanthan gum and other basic modernist techniques. The platings are very well done and inspiring (except for the hole punch thing with the piquilin paper in the Octopus dish - so weird). Overall, a great book for modernist techniques that does not require a further investment in special ingredients or equipment.

brian_martin2001

for plating, check this link out: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/books-that-inspire-plating

for modernist and novel techniques, the very first time I looked into the rabbit hole was when I saw an online interview with Nathan Myrhvold: author of Modernist Cuisine. I recommend his book Modernist Cuisine at Home. It has a lot of very useful information, covering a pretty broad array of modernizing traditional techniques, tools, chemicals, etc. Currently, it's on sale on Amazon for just over 100 USD.

I hope you find what you're looking for. Good Luck!