What led you to the panel of experts you selected? Karen: A combination of experience - as we've interviewed many if not most of America's top chefs over the years for our previous books ( Becoming a Chef, The Becoming a Chef Journal, Culinary Artistry, Dining Out, Chef's Night Out, The New American Chef, and What to Drink with What You Eat) - as well as serendipity led us to the chefs we interviewed for The Flavor Bible. I've got a collection of restaurant menus dating back to the 1980s, and for The Flavor Bible we analyzed those dating since 2000. We've also looked at their dishes as singled out by restaurant critics, and deconstructed the elements that seemed to make them work so well.Īndrew: As a former professional chef, I've long been a compulsive menu saver. We've taken notes when dining at their restaurants, in addition to browsing their cookbooks and web sites. How did you put these lists together? Karen: For the past eight years, we've been conducting research and compiling a massive database of how America's leading chefs maximize flavor. Lastly, it's the best way to save money on food: By mid-week when I'm staring at a refrigerator full of leftovers and I need to throw together lunch quickly, I'll pull out one of our favorite organic soups from D'Agostino and jazz it up with whatever's on hand - with The Flavor Bible inspiring me to accent butternut squash soup with bacon and diced apple, and tomato soup with my three Tupperware containers of vegetable leftovers, some cannellini beans, and a little grated Parmesan on top. I've had summer on the brain for so long that I look at salmon and think "corn and tomatoes." But now that it's getting colder, looking up "salmon" in The Flavor Bible will lead me to serving it with lentils with bacon-sherry vinaigrette. ![]() Number two, it's a memory-jogger when I'm low on creative juices in the kitchen. Number one, it's an idea-starter after I come home with lots of different ingredients from the farmer's market or Kalustyan's (our favorite Manhattan spice store on Lexington Avenue near 28th Street). So, with the ease of consulting a thesaurus, you can look up any ingredient, learn or be reminded of what goes with it, and invent a dish on the spot around the combination.Īndrew: As the cook in our family, I find The Flavor Bible plays multiple roles. Essentially, The Flavor Bible is an alphabetical reference of hundreds of ingredients - from apples to zucchini blossoms - along with the herbs, spices and other seasonings that will best enhance their flavor. While The Flavor Bible doesn't contain a single recipe, it offers virtually endless inspiration through suggesting ways to work with a particular ingredient. How is it designed to be used in the home kitchen? Karen: We set out with a very modest goal: We wanted to create the ultimate cookbook. The Flavor Bible is not a cookbook in the traditional sense. Their most recent book, The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs is an incredibly thorough and well-researched reference guide for home and professional cooks alike. They have been married since 1990, write a monthly wine column for The Washington Post, and blog at. ![]() Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg are the authors of eight bestselling books focusing on food and drink, many of which have been winners or finalists for James Beard and/or IACP Cookbook awards.
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