Jean-Georges - Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION In the years before we agreed to produce this cookbook, I had worked occasionally with Jean-Georges Vongerichten and eaten at his restaurants more times than I could count, so I was prepared for both the brilliance of his food and his pleasant demeanor Yet during our year of cooking together and assembling this book, Jean-Georges never failed to surprise me, with his fierce determination to always get things right, his quick and sparkling wit, his supreme confidence at the stove, and his warmth toward and respect for his employees and fellow workers. For those readers who have not had close encounters with chefs, let me assure you that this is an unusual, if not unique, combination. That same phrase—"unusual, if not unique"—best serves to describe Jean-Georges's food. It's generally agreed among food writers, restaurant critics, and loyal customers that his cooking is highly creative without being weird, and intensely flavorful despite its simplicity. It is sometimes described as "intellectual" food, which implies that a certain understanding of food and cooking is necessary in order to appreciate what Jean-Georges does. This is utter nonsense: Jean-Georges's combinations are novel, brilliant, even startling, but they are instantly appealing to anyone who likes to eat and is willing to sample new flavors. Best yet, Jean-Georges's recipes are readily accessible to the home cook; in fact, most of them are easy. When we agreed to work together, I challenged him to preserve the flavors of his food while making the recipes simple enough for home cooks to prepare. His response at the time was immediate: "We don't have to do anything; the food is easy already,"