CULINARY ARTISTRY
by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
Photography by James Bergin and Jessica Zane
(John Wiley & Sons; 1996)
One of the “Best Cookbooks of All Time”
—Food & Wine (March 2015)
One of the “Top 10 Must-Have Cookbooks”
—Southern Living cookbook editor Sarah Gleim (2014)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY offered a groundbreaking approach to the idea of flavor pairings and garnered astounding sales of more than 100,000 copies; the book is said to have revolutionized the way leading chefs cook, including Chicago’s Grant Achatz of Alinea, who claims it is his most-used cookbook.”
—WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio
A century after Escoffier’s and Fannie Farmer’s books codified cuisine, CULINARY ARTISTRY (1996) was a turning point for restoring creativity to chefs as the first book to codify the art of culinary composition and flavor compatibility, which freed readers to compose their own flavors, dishes and cuisines.
As the first known reference book of compatible flavors, CULINARY ARTISTRY has informed and influenced the creative efforts of cooks on virtually every continent. It has been cited as the favorite cookbook of countless home cooks and professional chefs — including numerous James Beard Award, “Top Chef” and Bocuse d’Or contestants and winners — as well as dietitians and mixologists.
Called “a landmark book” by Cornell University, CULINARY ARTISTRY was described by Vancouver’s Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks as having “a cult following,” by “Chopped Canada” as one of 18 must-own cookbooks, and by Toronto’s Cookbook Store as one of the 10 must-have cookbooks of the past 25 years. In 2014, Southern Living cookbook editor Sarah Gleim named CULINARY ARTISTRY (and THE FLAVOR BIBLE) among the “Top 10 Must-Have Cookbooks.”
You’ll find fans of CULINARY ARTISTRY all around the world, including:
Australia/East:
“Q. What is your most useful cookbook? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Nicholas Wong, chef, Cho Cho San, Sydney
Australia/South:
“Favourite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Lachlan Colwill, chef, Grace the Establishment (Adelaide), who was named South Australia’s Best Chef – 2010
Bali:
“Epic. One that started it all.”
—Chef Will Goldfarb, director of the pastry program at KU DE TA and identified in Lisa Abend’s book The Sorcerer’s Apprentices as one of the finest chefs in the world to pass through the El Bulli kitchen
Brazil:
“A book list that I judge essential to those who love gastronomy: 1) The Professional Chef; 2) The French Laundry; 3) On Food and Cooking; 4) CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Flavio Vitari, professional chef and columnist, Correio do Brasil
Canada:
“Favourite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Lynn Crawford, one of Canada’s best known celebrity chefs and an award-nominated cookbook author
Chile:
“A must-have, because of the flavor combinations and the interesting opinions on food shared by many chefs interviewed by the authors.”
—Carlos Garcia, professional chef in Santiago
England:
“CULINARY ARTISTRY…seemed to pull together everything that was missing in my ideology of food.”
—Michelin two-star chef John Campbell
“My most-used cookbook is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It keeps you in season and is a memory jogger for flavour buddies. A simple and easy to use guide to food and flavour pairings.”—OXO Tower Restaurant Chef Jeremy Bloor
France:
“A book on culinary creativity, with super-handy lists of ‘flavor pals’.”
—Clotilde Dusoulier, ChocolateAndZucchini.com (Paris)
Germany:
“Reading a good cookbook — for example, CULINARY ARTISTRY — can be as entertaining as reading a good novel.”
—Martin Fenner, Clinical Fellow in Oncology, Hannover Medical School
India:
“Anoop Prakash, managing director of Harley-Davidson India…swears by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s book CULINARY ARTISTRY, which focuses on flavour combinations.”
—Rudraneil Sengupta, LiveMint.com/The Wall Street Journal
Ireland:
“My current favourites…CULINARY ARTISTRY. There are very few books that give readers a glimpse of how chefs develop their dishes. This book is one of the few to explore this. I’d recommend it to anyone wishing to learn about the creative process…A hidden foodie gem.”
—Mary Carney, chef and winner of MasterChef
Korea:
“CULINARY ARTISTRY [is] an amazing book for anyone…interested [in] cooking. It’s [a] bible for flavour and taste….Please read it. It will show you all the way through regarding cooking.”
—Edward Kwon, chef-owner of three restaurants in Seoul, and host of TV’s Yes, Chef
The Netherlands:
“Searching for and grasping successful flavor pairings has naturally been on the mind of many a chef. Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page inventoried tasty food combinations in their seminal book CULINARY ARTISTRY, for which they interviewed top U.S. chefs.”
—Maurits de Klepper, PhD, finalist on Top Chef: Young Professionals and co-author, Die Hollandische Küche
Norway:
“A book which I’ve found to be very useful when combining flavours is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It is the most comprehensive book about flavour pairing that I’m aware of, and I would say it is indispensible for someone who likes to cook without a cookbook.”
—Martin Lersch, PhD in organometallic chemistry, on blog.khymos.org
Panama:
“CULINARY ARTISTRY is on my (and many cooks’) list of favorite books because of the flavor matching reference guide.”
—Elena Hernandez, owner, Academia de Artes Culinarias
Singapore:
“One of the best culinary books that I have read…It reinforced what I have always felt was important to me as a chef, and created a better understanding, awareness and appreciation for my craft.“
—Desmond Foo, professional chef
South Africa:
“Every foodie and chef should own CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—Nadia Roux, chef, Webersburg Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
Sweden:
“Here’s a book that I’ve read several copies of, [as] it keeps falling apart [from use]…CULINARY ARTISTRY [is] perfect when looking for gastronomic marriages and food creators’ thoughts about building perfect dishes from scratch.”
—Erik Videgard, on the Swedish culinary blog Det Godaste
Thailand:
“The best cookbook I’ve ever read.”
—John D. Lee, a chef in Thailand who has opened and run three successful restaurants in the northern city of Chiang Mai
Turkey:
“Thank you very much for writing such an inspiring book. One of the best….”
—Murat Bozok, the head of Murat Bozok’s Kitchen in Istanbul, who previously cooked in the global kitchens of chefs Pierre Gagnaire, Angela Hartnett, Gordon Ramsay, and Joel Robuchon
United States/East:
“Among all the ‘cookbooks’ in my collection, CULINARY ARTISTRY may well be the most beaten and battered…To this day, if I’m really stuck for a flavor pairing, I will still refer to CULINARY ARTISTRY for its charts of common, and not so common, matches.”
—Michael Laiskonis, 2007 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Pastry Chef (NYC)
United States/Midwest:
“Most used cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.”
—Grant Achatz of Alinea, in the November 2006 issue of Chicago magazine, a month after Alinea was named America’s #1 restaurant in Gourmet magazine
United States/South:
“CULINARY ARTISTRY is a great cookbook for everyone, but a revolutionary one for professional chefs…After almost 15 years of having my dog-eared copy, I still use it to spark my creativity. This is another core book in any cook’s kitchen.”
—Hugh Acheson, noted chef-restaurateur and Top Chef judge
United States/West:
“Q. Favorite Cookbook? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY….It’s full of charts, and it has famous chefs’ recipes in it. It lists ingredients and gives you possibilities for other flavors that go with those ingredients. And it tells you how these chefs think about ingredients.”
—Michael Voltaggio, chef-owner of LA’s Ink, and winner of Season 6 of Top Chef
“CULINARY ARTISTRY is a book with a ‘cult’ following.”
—Barbara-jo McIntosh, Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks in Vancouver, Canada (May 2004)
Really? Well, only if you believe the comments of these readers:
“[CULINARY ARTISTRY] is the one book I would choose to save if our house were on fire….I simply can’t live without it.”
“[CULINARY ARTISTRY] is a masterpiece.”
“The bible.” “The Holy Grail of Cookbooks.”
“Best book about food ever written, in a three-way tie with McGee ‘On Food and Cooking’ and Escoffier.”
“CULINARY ARTISTRY…seemed to pull together everything that was missing in my ideology of food…[The chapter] ‘Meet Your Medium’ encapsulates all that is important to cooking.”
“At the risk of gushing, I really do put CULINARY ARTISTRY
in the same category as Dostoevsky and Hemingway.”“CULINARY ARTISTRY is an amazing book. Haven’t read anything like it before. It’s as eye-opening as Masse und Macht [by Elias Canetti, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize for Literature].”
Many chefs and cooks around the world have cited CULINARY ARTISTRY as the single most valuable reference book in their kitchens — in part, for its dozens of pages of listings of flavor matches, which indicate the herbs, spices and other flavorings that best enhance or complement various foods, from apples to zucchini, and from beef to venison.
CULINARY ARTISTRY is also the first book to examine the creative process of culinary composition as it explores the intersection of food, imagination and taste. Through interviews with more than 30 of America’s leading chefs — including Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Jeremiah Tower, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Alice Waters — the authors reveal what defines “culinary artists,” how and where they find their inspiration, and how they translate that vision to the plate.
It has largely been the passionate word-of-mouth praise of avid cooks — professionals and amateurs alike — over the past two decades that has continued to interest new readers in CULINARY ARTISTRY to this day.
“For anyone who believes in the potential for artistry in the realm of food, CULINARY ARTISTRY is a must-read. Well written and fascinating, this book is stuffed full of practical advice and inspiring concepts.”
—A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books (San Francisco)
“Most used cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.”
—Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea, in the November 2006 issue of Chicago magazine, a month after Alinea was named America’s #1 restaurant in Gourmet magazine
“CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is a great cookbook for everyone, but a revolutionary one for professional chefs. This is a book that teaches the foundational knowledge of flavor pairings every cook should learn, how to develop your own ideas with the resources you have and understanding the creative components of cooking. For example, if you have venison loin, Dornenburg and Page explain that it often served in the fall with apples, cherries, red currants, juniper berries, or mushrooms and that it would be smart to grill, braise, roast or sauté it. I can’t even fathom how long it took them to think the whole book through; it’s so thorough. So when I walk through the fridges early tomorrow morning and say, ‘Geez, what should I do with all that swiss chard and that case of local eggs?’ CULINARY ARTISTRY is the inspirational guide that can show me the way! After almost 15 years of having my dog-eared copy, I still use it to spark my creativity. This is another core book in any cook’s kitchen.”
—Hugh Acheson, chef/partner in Empire State South, Five & Ten and The National (Athens, GA) and four-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee, on Hugh Cooks Food
“I’ve been threatening to do this for a while but the current situation no exciting new CDs, Thanksgiving approaching seems like the right time to list my favorite cookbooks. My life does revolve around what’s for dinner and my wife is a cookbook collector, so I spend more time than I probably should considering them. Here are some that I go back to the most….CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This does not contain recipes but rather has lists of food affinities. So if you have some leeks that need to be used up, you can find what goes with them and develop some ideas from that. For an improvisational cook like me it’s tremendously useful.”
—Steve Adams, composer and saxophonist for Rova (which Downbeat called ‘one of the most daring ensembles of any instrumentation to emerge in recent years’) on ROVA.ORG (November / December 2008)
“Cookbook Store cookin’ after 25 years. For 25 years, dozens of food celebs have come to Toronto’s The Cookbook Store to shill their wares, and manager Alison Fryer and her sidekick Jennifer Grange have seen it all….Because Fryer and Grange personally source and read many of the 6,000-odd titles they have in stock at any one time, The Cookbook Store is a unique resource, offering British books that haven’t been Americanized and U.S. books that haven’t been changed for overseas markets….Top 10 Cookbooks: Alison Fryer and Jennifer Grange pick their top 10 must-haves: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Gives you an insight into how chefs think.”
—Julia Aitken, TORONTO STAR (June 16, 2008)
“Q. Your go to food resource is… A. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—Nathan Anda, chef, Red Apron Butchery in Washington, DC, as quoted on STARCHEFS.COM (2014)
“Words of inspiration: “I’m really happy with how my [first] cookbook — Small Bites, Big Nights — turned out. The photography is so great that it inspires readers to try the recipes. I personally love a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Although it’s not really a cookbook, it’s so interesting. They put a bunch of leading chefs together and had them pair up ingredients, vegetables, sauces and meats in different ways. It’s just a great reference book to get your brain clicking — a good way to jump-start things.”
—Govind Armstrong, chef, as quoted in Ocean Drive magazine (November 2007)
“Five Favorite Culinary Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY: I can’t believe my good fortune in happening upon this book so early in my career (before culinary school even). I think I actually bought it at Book Shop Santa Cruz, and it remains with me to this day. CULINARY ARTISTRY encourages the reader to embrace cooking as an art form. It gently guided me away from recipes, and gave me confidence in developing dishes through instinct and thoughtful composition. The ingredient lists and collection of menus are amazing resources, and a wonderful staring point to begin the exploration and development of personal culinary style. Each day as I reflect on the experience of our customers at The Penny, I gain new respect for Dornenburg and Page who profoundly understand the intricacies of creating a cohesive gastronomic adventure. What is that saying? ‘God is in the details.’”
—Chef Kendra L. Baker of The Penny Ice Creamery in Santa Cruz, as told to Bookshop Santa Cruz (Spring 2011)
Redemption’s Story: If the world is not the result of a cosmic accident, but it really was created, the implications are staggering. Why is that so? For starters because it means that the universe with its surfeit of beauty is the way it is because there is an Artist. Which means of course that the universe is merely reflecting the personality of the Artist. Think about that. It also means that his ‘art’ covers a lot of territory. For example, on the dedication leaf of their book CULINARY ARTISTRY, authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page write, ‘For the original Creator — architect, artist, author, composer, designer, and mastermind of it all.’ Their artistry shows a deep appreciation for the Creator and for people….So, how do Dornenburg and Page put this understanding to work? They understand that putting a fish sign on a menu doesn’t make the food good. Rather, when a Christian makes food, it ought to look and taste terrific. It should be excellent in every way. They demonstrate this in their cooking as well as writing which their receiving the 1996 James Beard Book Award for Best Writing on Food recognized. T-Bone Burnett, the singer-songwriter of the 80’s who went on to produce Counting Crows, put it this way, ‘A bricklayer’s job is to build a good wall that will stand against the wind and rain. Writing JESUS on it isn’t going to help it withstand the storms.’ Often we keepers of the story of redemption forget that God is on a mission to redeem the universe, and that means the entire world and all we do in it (whether a cooktop, keyboard, classroom or practice) is a potential canvas for redemption. The Original Creator is doing something much bigger and more holistic than we think when we consider ‘the church’ or ‘my job.’ And that should change the way we think about everything.”
—Stephen Baldwin, pastor, Providence Presbyterian Church (Concord, North Carolina) in THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (November 15, 2004)
“7 Books Every Chef Knows About That Will Make You A Better Cook: Here is something that might surprise you. Chefs don’t read cookbooks…That being said, that doesn’t mean we aren’t constantly studying to try to improve our craft. Learning to cook by recipes is like learning to read by memorization you’ll be able to recognize words but for the most part won’t know what to do with them. The following will introduce you to the true secret of becoming a great cook: technique, science and inspiration….1. Larousse Gastronomique (Prosper Montagne). 2. Le Guide Culinaire (Auguste Escoffier). 3. CULINARY ARTISTRY (Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page). 4. THE FLAVOR BIBLE (Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg). 5. Sauces (James Peterson). 6. Ratio (Michael Ruhlman). 7. Molecular Gastronomy (Herve This).”
—Frank Barajas, San Diego restaurant chef, FoodiesBlock.com (April 19, 2011)
“Since penning the modern foodie classic CULINARY ARTISTRY — the first-ever book on the subject of flavour affinities — these award-winning writers have chosen to push their breadth of knowledge even further by entering the complex world of food and beverage pairing. In their new book, What to Drink with What You Eat, Dornenburg and Page examine how wine, beer, spirits, coffee, and tea pair with every cuisine, dish, and ingredient imaginable.”
—Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks, Vancouver
“Top 10 Tips for Home Chefs….10. Use cook books often, all chefs do! There are some great cook books out there, in particular CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This book emphasizes cooking with the seasons as well as simplicity. It has great recipes as well as diagrams for the seasonality of products and great flavor combinations that are easy to comprehend.”
—Mark Beaupre, executive chef, JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes on SheKnows.com (July 2008)
Chef du jour: Alfonso Fonseca, Executive chef, Signature Room Grille; 6401 Purchase Drive, Woodridge (at Seven Bridges) How I got here: I came to Chicago from Mexico when I was 9 or 10 years old. I got my first job in a restaurant when I was 15 scooping ice cream for DB Kaplan’s in Water Tower Place. Why I like cooking: Food is like a never-ending book. The more you cook, the more you learn. I like to absorb knowledge like a sponge and then put it together in great food. Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It gives you different ingredients for each season and recipes to go with them. It also reprints some really old menus to show the evolution of food from 1960 to now.”
—Laura Bianchi, DAILY HERALD (December 31, 2003)
“Chef Du Jour: Cliff Ostrowski, Executive Chef, Windows, Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center (IL). Favorite cookbook: The one that inspires me most is a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. The authors chose specific foods, like veal, and then asked world-famous chefs to name their favorite ingredients to pair with that food. If you’re a chef, the plate is your palate and ingredients are your colors. This book helps you coordinate the colors.”
—Laura Bianchi, DAILY HERALD (November 12, 2003)
“Favorite cookbook? CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Jennifer Biesty, Season 4 contestant, ‘Top Chef’ on Bravo TV (and executive chef of COCO500) (May 2008)
“Q. What is your favorite cookbook and why? A. A cookbook called CULINARY ARTISTRY has for me become kind of a go-to book for knowledge, recipes, and inspiration.”
—Dallas Bisshopp, Chef de Partie at Rockpool (Sydney, Australia), ButterOnTheEndive.ca (July 17, 2008)
“I have tons of cookbooks, food narratives and other food-lovers’ staples in my office pantry (otherwise known as a bookshelf). But the one I almost always have right here on my (brand new, extra-large, heat-seeking) desk is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, the prolific James Beard Award-winning husband-and-wife writing team. I have a bunch of their other books and have enjoyed them all, but CULINARY ARTISTRY is a personal favorite because frankly, it helps me make dough, and I’m not talking about the kind you bake. When I’m doing recipe development, this book is where I always start my research. It brilliantly offers up classic food pairings, so that when I get an assignment to devise a butternut squash recipe (or four, as I did recently), it tells me that squash goes well with cheddar cheese, curry, pears and sage, among other ingredients. In other words, it tells me just what I need to know.”
—Betsy Block of NPR.org and MamaCooks.com (October 24, 2006
“One of my favorite books having to do with food is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It’s almost like a Bible in a hotel room; there’s a copy in every kitchen. It contains recipes simple to read and easy to follow, also ingredient pairings that anyone from novice to professional cook can use.”
—Joe Boudreau, chef, Havana South, Portland, ME in the Portland Press Herald (March 2011)
“Another great achievement in exposing cooking as an art, and the passion behind it.”
—Daniel Boulud, chef-owner, Cafe Boulud, db Bistro Moderne and Restaurant Daniel (NYC)
The 15 contestants in the 2007 season of Bravo’s “Top Chef” debuting June 13th were polled on their three favorite cookbooks, and those mentioned most frequently were:
1) The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller (with four mentions),
2) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (with three mentions), and
3) El Bulli by Ferran Adria, and On Food & Cooking by Harold McGee (with two mentions each).—Bravo’s Top Chef (June 2007)
“Tasty Reads/Five Indispensable Books for the Home Chef: It would be wonderful if we all could walk into the kitchens of the world’s talented chefs and learn everything they know. Since we can’t, the next best thing is to read their instructions forever captured in the form of the written word. Cookbooks can be very helpful for the home cook and the professional chef alike. However, if you want to be able to open your refrigerator and whip up a five star-worthy dish at home, you should understand how each and every ingredient works. Here’s a list of five books for foodies and home cooks that will add depth and understanding to your time spent in the kitchen and with food in general. That said, let’s read! CULINARY ARTISTRY, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. A useful tool in menu planning, CULINARY ARTISTRY arms you with the basics of flavor profiling (which is totally legal, I swear) as well as a primer in cooking seasonally. Blurbs from world-renowned chefs add professional insight into what makes up the core of the cooking world. If you want your four-course dinner party to flow in flavor, reference this book. It leaves a map of the food world at your fingertips.”
—Katherine Brodie, CREATIVE LOAFING: TAMPA BAY (April 21, 2011)
Secrets from Ciudad Chef Joanne Bondy. Chef Joanne Bondy’s restaurant, Ciudad, exploded onto Dallas culinary scene in 2001, earning a spot on Esquire’s list of 20 Best New Restaurants in America. Bondy’s recipes have been published in numerous cookbooks, and she has appeared on the Food Network, the CBS Early Show, and several PBS documentaries. We sat down with the renowned chef to learn her cooking secrets, where she likes to dine, and the foods she’s ashamed to love…Favorite cookbook: I collect cookbooks. My favorite, the one I give to very curious cooks, is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It’s hard to find but contains simple references to pairing flavors, technique, and creativity.”
—Roger Brooks, D Magazine (May/June 2006)
“Interview with Chef Anthony Amoroso. Michael Mina | Las Vegas….AB: What are your favorite cookbooks? AA: CULINARY ARTISTRY. Karen [Page] and Andrew [Dornenburg] speak more to us than the mainstream.”
—Antoinette Bruno, STARCHEFS.COM
“Interview with Chef Brian Rae. RM Seafood | Las Vegas….Seeking more experience in a culinary city, Rae was tempted to Las Vegas. He joined the opening team for Rick Moonen’s first Vegas restaurant, RM Seafood, as sous chef. After a year, Moonen promoted Rae to chef de cuisine of the fine dining arm of the two-in-one restaurant. Under Moonen, Rae has continued his extensive training in seafood, with a focus on sustainability, and further developed his ingredient-driven sensibility….AB: What are your favorite cookbooks? BR: CULINARY ARTISTRY [by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page]. The pages are falling out, I use it so much.”
—Antoinette Bruno, STARCHEFS.COM (December 2008)
Interview with Chef Jason Travi of La Terza in Los Angeles:
“AB: What are your favorite cookbooks?
JT: Visually, I like Michel Bras’ cookbook. For utilization, I like CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It interviews all these famous chefs. It asks them what their favorite ingredients are, what goes with what, and it has interviews and signature dishes.”—Antoinette Bruno, STARCHEFS.COM (May 2006)
“Chef de Cuisine Josh Johnson of KAI at Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa: Favorite cookbook and why: CULINARY ARTISTRY. I find it really helpful for making menus because it lists many ingredients in one book. There are so many great ingredients in the world. Sometimes, if I haven’t used a particular item in a while, and it’s nice to be reminded of it.”
—Nikki Buchanan, PHOENIX NEW TIMES (January 15, 2013)
Australia’s Up-and-Coming Cooks Take Time to Share Their Culinary Philosophy: Peter Kelly, 26, Alchemy Restaurant and Bar (Brisbane); Signature dish: Eucalypt smoked ocean trout with crème fraîche and salad of micro mache, lemon balm and finger lime; Toughest part of the job: The constant search for the best and freshest produce; Favourite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg [sic].”
—Greg Callaghan, THE AUSTRALIAN (April 24, 2010)
“I came across this book about six years ago when I was on a gastronomic tour of New York…I bought a number of books, but the one that stood out was CULINARY ARTISTRY. It seemed to pull together everything that was missing in my ideology of food….It is a myriad of endless flavour combinations….One particular chapter fascinates me: ‘Meet Your Medium.’ This chapter encapsulates all that is important to cooking….What I love about this book is the fact that it can give you a framework on which to build your own food style and, as a result, it’s permanently on loan to my entire brigade!”
—John Campbell, executive chef, the Michelin two-starred restaurant The Vineyard at Stockcross, Berkshire, England, and author of FORMULAS FOR FLAVOUR, who has been cited as one of ‘Britain’s brightest hopes’ as heir to British culinary legends Jamie Oliver and Marco Pierre White (2003)
“Food Pros Reveal Their Favorite Cookbooks. Some cookbooks can do more than teach — they can change lives. Food professionals often credit cookbooks among their greatest influences — and still rely on them for inspiration and ideas….Here, [Joanne] Chang and four other culinary luminaries share their favorite cookbooks…Jeremy Fox, chef and partner of Ubuntu restaurant in Napa Valley and an F&W Best New Chef 2008. His pick: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. ‘When I first started cooking [in the late 1990s], this book was really helpful to me in learning about seasonality and flavor combinations. In the beginning, I didn’t know what fruits and vegetables grew during what time of year, and what flavors went well together in a dish. I still refer to it every once in a while if I have ingredients in the kitchen that I don’t know what to do with.”
—Emily Carrus, FOOD & WINE magazine
“This week we introduce a new column called ‘Kitchen Bible,’ where chefs reveal their most treasured and inspirational cookbook.” The first selection? “CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—CATERER.COM (August 7, 2003)
Who: Josh Wolfe. What: Executive Chef. Where: COAST Restaurant, 1257 Hamilton St., Vancouver….What’s the one cookbook you can’t live without? ‘CULINARY ARTISTRY. It’s not so much a cookbook as it is the best food reference guide around.’”
—Chef’s Special, VANCOUVER.COM (March 7, 2008)
“My five essential cookbooks that I could not live without….3) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. In some ways, this is literally the kitchen bible to me. It’s not a cookbook per se, but a book of theory and techniques about composing flavors, dishes and menus and complimentary ingredient lists. I find the latter particularly useful because in alphabetical order, Dornenburg and Page, painstakingly list ingredients and cooking techniques and other ingredients that go well with them. There are a large handful of recipes that showcases what constitutes ‘composing’ a meal. Think of this as your kitchen encyclopedia, dictionary, and thesaurus, all rolled into one.”
—Wm. Christman, …BUT THE DEVIL SENDS THE COOKS (January 18, 2009)
“It was Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, the famed French politician, gourmet and author of The Physiology of Taste, who exclaimed, ‘I consider the invention of a new dish, to whet our appetite and prolong our pleasure, to be far more interesting an event than the discovery of a new star.’ Although astronomers would doubtless disagree, those who appreciate the effort and imagination involved in creating a tasty new dish certainly wouldn’t. ‘Its starting point, or reference point, can be anything,’ say Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, authors of CULINARY ARTISTRY. ‘It might stem from the request of a customer to satisfy a particular craving. Or from the arrival of the season’s first bounty of produce, of wine which demands a dish that celebrates it. Or from a chef who may wish to experiment with a particular technique, in a dish that employs it. A dish can be created to achieve any of these ends, and at its best may achieve many ends at once.’… Practicality also plays a big role. ‘One of the major realities facing cooks throughout time is that it’s a rare thing that a cook gets to create in a vacuum,’ said chef Chris Schlesinger of the East Coast Grill in Cambridge, Mass., in CULINARY ARTISTRY. ‘I go into the walk-in refrigerator in the morning, and I look at what I have and what I need to use. Then I’ll call up my purveyors who will tell me that leeks are looking great, for example, or that striped bass season just started. So I’m never starting from a blank sheet of paper I’m always starting from something. I have all these things to which I need to apply my experience and knowledge in order to tie them together.’… Jimmy Schmidt, chef/owner of the Rattlesnake Club in Detroit, counseled in CULINARY ARTISTRY against overdoing a certain dish. ‘You often think up dishes in your head,’ he said. ‘And with ingredients some people think, `Well, if one’s good, two’s better, three’s great, four’s terrific and five is fantastic.’ And I don’t necessarily agree. I think that the flavors have to tie together. I don’t think your palate tastes them all individually. When you drink a glass of wine, you’re tasting all the wine. You’re tasting one flavor even though it’s made up of multiple components. Likewise, with a dish, the flavors should come together to create a hybrid image. So you need to use supporting flavors to make that work.’ ”
—Laurann Claridge, HOUSTON CHRONICLE
“The bible….CULINARY ARTISTRY is a book of lists. Want to know what goes with lamb, what are the key flavors of Thai cuisine, or even what ten foods a top chef would take to a desert island? Consult the bible. This is a book of ideas, showing you how to pair foods and providing unlimited avenues for creative cooking. It’s truly an inspiration.”
—Gabriel Claycamp, instructor and co-owner, Culinary Communion Cooking School in Seattle
“5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe. Around these parts, we talk a heck of a lot about the notion of ‘scorpacciata’ a term that means consuming large amounts of a particular local ingredient while it’s in season. We do our best to eat that way as often as we can, but Blackberry Farm’s executive chef Joseph Lenn really puts his money where his guests’ mouths are, serving multi-course meals, made from seasonal, farm-fresh products and produce, grown just a few feet away from his kitchen. Here’s how he keeps things fresh on the farm, all year ’round….3. Research It. Search online for tips – such as at a local university’s agricultural websites – for people that live down South, The University of Georgia has great resources. This will provide tips such as seasonality, how-to and overall advice. Local Harvest is also a good resource as it lists small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources from all around the country. CULINARY ARTISTRY is a fantastic reference book that discusses seasonality, ingredients and what pairs well together.”
—CNN’s EATOCRACY.COM (September 19, 2011)
“Five stars: I generally use recipes as suggestions rather than as a road map to a finished dish. Therefore, my most oft-used cookbook is one that has something far more valuable. CULINARY ARTISTRY has, in addition to wonderful recipes, superbly useful LISTS of things that go with a named ingredient. The ingredients spices, fruits, vegetables, etc. are listed alphabetically and each has a list of all of the varying things that are used together with that ingredient. I like that it gives the classic combinations in, as I recall, boldface type, yet still lists some of the more unusual pairings as well. The lists are also great when I’m looking to pair things I already have in the house, rather than go out in search of a missing ingredient from a recipe. I have gotten more inspiration from this book than I have from any of my nearly (more than? I’m still cataloging) 1000 cookbooks. This book is a treasure!”
—Barb J. Cohan, pastry chef at Paloma Fine Dining in Philadelphia, on LIBRARYTHING.COM (May 28, 2008)
“Nimbus owners bring diverse visions to creative menu choices. Josh Silverman was raised a vegetarian in Seattle and Bellingham and James Winberg was raised a carnivore in northern Minnesota. Despite their differences, Winberg said the two are ‘culinary soulmates.’ James Winberg….Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page….Josh Silverman….Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page:”
—Ericka Pizzillo Cohen, BELLINGHAM HERALD (December 12, 2006)
“While working as a sound engineer for recording companies in California, David Peterson never dreamed he would work in a restaurant….Peterson, 38, is now the head chef at three of the businesses operated by Bellingham restaurateur Brian Tines: Main Street Bar and Grill, Fairhaven Pub and Martini Bar, and Big Fat Fish Co. The Bellingham resident talked to The Herald recently about his food favorites: Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It describes foods that pair well together.”
—Ericka Pizzillo Cohen, BELLINGHAM HERALD (March 16, 2006)
“On the Shelves of the Professionals: Home cooks and gluttons for food photography aren’t the only people who benefit from a great cookbook. Many of the country’s best chefs rely on caches of cookbooks to derive continual inspiration and to relearn vital lessons of the kitchen. SAVEUR reached out to a handful of professional chefs and writers to find out which cookbooks have been stained with wine and oil and earmarked with copious notes…Michael Laiskonis, pastry chef, Le Bernardin, New York City: CULINARY ARTISTRY and THE FLAVOR BIBLE by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. Among all the ‘cookbooks’ in my collection, CULINARY ARTISTRY may well be the most beaten and battered. What Page and Dornenburg catalogued in these volumes are the building blocks used in dishes, and it’s basically a reference guide to what goes well with what. More than simply helping to generate ideas and flavor combinations, the books also address, from a chef’s perspective, how and why these marriages work. THE FLAVOR BIBLE, their latest book, builds upon the first and tracks our evolution in that ten-year interim. Every time I glance at these books, I see something new.”
—Alexandra Collins, Saveur (March 2009)
“This week, Columbus Underground is taking a look at some of the amazing young talent in the kitchens of your favorite local restaurants…Joshua DiBari is currently the sous chef at Z Cucina. Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page…Lara Ranello is Kitchen Manager at the Surly Girl Saloon. Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY. It is really great for learning flavor profiles. I am constantly reaching for it…Angela Theado is a passionately driven 28-year-old Columbus State graduate with a lot of experience in various kitchens in Columbus…currently working in the kitchen at Alana’s Food and Wine. Favorite cookbook: The Food Lover’s Companion, CULINARY ARTISTRY….”
—COLUMBUSUNDERGROUND.COM (July 21, 2009)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY was the book that first inspired me to be a chef and still does. Thanks!”
—Lachlan Colwill, named South Australia’s best chef in 2010 (February 23, 2012)
“Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s THE FLAVOR BIBLE will help get you started on flavor composition…For those with an interest in adding ‘kitchen’ flavors and creativity to their cocktails, CULINARY ARTISTRY offers an intense introduction that will have you off and running.”
—Christopher Conatser, mixologist, Delaware Cafe in Kansas City and 2008 winner of the Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition (2008)
“Accomplished cook Roger Radius of Oakland loves this time of year because of all the root vegetables and cool-weather fruits, such as persimmons and apples….Favorite cookbook: The book he relies on the most is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. He says it is a thesaurus of food ingredients and their complements…. ”
—THE CONTRA COSTA TIMES (December 1, 2004)
“A classic since its publication in 1996. The authors interviewed 30 top American chefs Gray Kunz, Rick Bayless, the Jean-Louis Palladin, and Alice Waters among them — to discover the sources of their inspiration. For us mere mortals, the food matches section is invaluable.”
—The Cookbook Store / Toronto
“Curator’s Choice Cookbooks. Cookbooks make great holiday gifts for beginning and experienced cooks alike. We’ll unveil the COPIA curator’s favorites, and demonstrate a recipe from one of these books for a taste of what’s inside:
– Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan (William Morrow)
– Cooking One on One by John Ash (Clarkson Potter)
– CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (Van Nostrand Reinhold)….”—COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts (November 2004)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg [sic]: This landmark book explores the roots of creativity and the creative process. The authors have interviewed more than 30 of America’s leading chefs and thoroughly analyzed their cuisines and personal styles. The interviews offer fascinating and revealing discussions on the enhancement of flavors, the development of new dishes, and the principles behind each chef’s menu, with actual recipes and menus supplied. A unique perspective is just as critical to the success of a chef as it is to any artist.”
—Cornell University Hotel Catalog (2003-04)
“Like many chefs, Rachael Levine gained a love of food from the family kitchen and garden. In college, she began working her way up from a dishwasher position at a now-defunct Woodland brewhouse to later become the executive chef at R.H. Phillips Winery in Esparto, where she helped develop the winery’s hospitality program. That spirit of community still imbues both her current position as executive chef for Woodland-based Nugget Markets, and her home life in the Sacramento Valley….What are your favorite cookbooks? We have a local cookbook author, Georgeanne Brennan; she and I are on the executive board of Slow Food Yolo. I’ve known her for a number of years and I celebrate what she does; some of my favorite things are written by her. But my favorite, favorite cookbook is not so much a cookbook but more of a reference tool, called CULINARY ARTISTRY. It’s brilliant. Every new head chef that we bring here — when we have somebody new — I have them read it.”
—Ana Cotham, SOLANO magazine (May 2009)
“Ever since I posted on my profile that I am a chef, I have received several messages asking how to improve a certain dish or do I have a good recipe for insert your protein here. I am happy to oblige and always do….There are several books about food complementing each other but this is my favorite and most chefs I know have this at work to help our brain farts (short term memory loss: walk to the store room and think ‘what in the hell did I come here for?’). The book is titled CULINARY ARTISTRY and do not let the cover fool you. It does have great info from excellent chefs with some recipes but the important part throughout the book there are food complements. Hundreds and seasonal. Let’s assume you are cooking turkey. Look up turkey and there will be a list of herbs, seasonings, vegetables, and meats that go well with the turkey. I recommend it highly.”
—Cousin Eddie, BODYBUILDING.COM (October 25, 2008)
I’ve just finished reading CULINARY ARTISTRY and I wanted to take a minute to say thank you. I especially enjoyed the chapter on ‘The Chef as Artist.’ As someone who has studied music most of my life, I understood perfectly the similarities between these two disciplines. I was also struck by how faithfully you transcribed Mark Miller’s ideas. As his assistant, I see how much time he spends talking with reporters who, when you read their pieces, haven’t understood a bit of what he’s said. No wonder he’s such a big fan of yours.”
—Michael Craig, assistant to James Beard Award-winning chef Mark Miller
“The organic buffet at the launch party for Anna Getty’s new cookbook, Easy Green Organic, gave a taste of the enticing recipes using organic foods that make you itchy to jump in the kitchen and prep her flavorful dishes…Culled from her family recipes and inspired by a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY, Anna Getty has perfected 100 recipes using local, organic and sustainably harvested ingredients she shares in Easy Green Organic...An active environmentalist, her point is that eating well is good for our health and for the planet.”
—Roberta Cruger, Living/GreenFood, TREEHUGGER.COM (April 14, 2010)
“Andrew Dornenburg and his wife, Karen, wrote the one book I would choose to save (well before the cats) if our house were on fire. It’s called CULINARY ARTISTRY and it’s very hard to find but I simply can’t live without it. It is about the theory of cooking, rather than recipes. I credit this book with beginning my culinary journey in the way I credit A Conscious Life with my spiritual journey.”
—Julie Cucchi, Princeton alumna and co-founder, www.98pt6.com, a brand expression agency (March 14, 2004)
Chef David Trubenbach at Asador on Sourcing Locally and Grass on the Side…Q. Do you have any recommended reading for the burgeoning chef or home cook? A. A huge influence on me is the book CULINARY ARTISTRY [by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page]. It has really helped me in learning what foods go together. I give this book to anyone that expresses interest in learning about food. It’s great for even the home cook, for looking in the fridge and seeing what you have then pairing things together. It’s great for times when you need ideas for things. It’s also how we came up with a lot of our fusions. We combine things, play with it, test it.”
—Lauren Drewes Daniels, DALLAS OBSERVER (February 29, 2012)
“Asheville Chef Profile: Jason Roy. The Lexington Avenue Brewery chef talks about life in and outside the kitchen…Favorite cookbook: In my generation, everybody really likes CULINARY ARTISTRY. It basically opened up people’s eyes to seasonality, so it would probably be my go-to book if I need inspiration. I generally don’t use cookbooks, though. I like to be creative.”
—Sam DeGrave, ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES (September 7, 2012)
“Favorite cookbooks: Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck; CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page; and Kitchen Confidential (a cooks’ book) by Anthony Bourdain.”
—Dave Dennis, chef at Matador Cantina, as interviewed by Anne Marie Panoringan in the OC WEEKLY (June 7, 2011)
“I’ve ordered copies of CULINARY ARTISTRY for all the cooks in our kitchen. It will truly be a pleasure to present them with what I believe to be one of the most relevant books for aspiring chefs.”
—Traci Des Jardins, chef, Jardiniere (San Francisco)
“I was in the San Francisco bookstore A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books during a lunch break from jury duty when a youngish man asked one of the store employees about a particular book. I always eavesdrop in the store, because the store employees are avid book readers with really good and insightful recommendations. The book in question had to do with the restaurant business (as the California Culinary Academy is nearby, perhaps the customer was a student). The bookstore employee answered the specfic question and then said, ‘Have you read Dornenburg and Page’s books? They are the best there are for the restaurant industry. I love their books.’ At that point, another woman chimed in, ‘Did they write the book CHEF’S NIGHT OUT?’ And the store employee said, ‘Oh, yes — everyone has that. But read this book — it’s their best,’ pulling down CULINARY ARTISTRY from the shelf. In any event, it was a breathtaking moment of pure admiration, and I thought you should know about it.”
—Terri Dial, President and CEO, Wells Fargo Bank
“Which flavors go best together? CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is full of valuable advice for cooking professionals, and I highly recommend it. Food pairings are and have always been the most elusive culinary information I know of…I remember begging my CIA instructors for published resources. Unfortunately, CULINARY ARTISTRY didn’t exist at the time.”
—Rocco DiSpirito in his book FLAVOR, p. 27 (Holidays 2003)
“2 essential books for modern chefs: CULINARY ARTISTRY, and THE FLAVOR BIBLE.”
—Tom Doyle, head chef, Bijou Rathgar in Dublin, Ireland, via @DOYLECHEF on Twitter (April 30, 2012)
“Andrew and Karen have given us a new lens for appreciating great food. This imaginative and well-researched work is a welcome approach to looking at the architecture of food. CULINARY ARTISTRY shows that chefs with the gift also make a contribution to the art of life. With this book, many will open to the inspiration and awe that can come from experiencing the work of a true artist.”
—Roger F. Duffy, partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
“A book on culinary creativity, with super-handy lists of ‘flavor pals’.”
—Clotilde Dusoulier, ChocolateAndZucchini.com
“CULINARY ARTISTRY is not just a book — it’s a transcendental experience. It opens a whole new level of considering the culinary field in much the same way that partaking of the artistry of a great chef transcends the ordinary restaurant experience. I was fascinated by the ingredients lists showing what goes with what and when, based on the candid reflections of our finest chefs. Buy this book, take it home, and savor every page!”
—Sara Duvall, executive producer of the hit movie Fried Green Tomatoes
“Karen and Andrew have picked up their share of coveted James Beard awards for previous books…CULINARY ARTISTRY is still revered by chefs.”
—Ron Eade, OTTAWA CITIZEN (April 14, 2012)
CULINARY ARTISTRY is among the books named (by chefs such as Jeff Keenliside of Fire and Water in Vancouver) in EAT’s survey of British Columbian chefs’ favorite cookbooks.
—EAT (November/December 2004)
“When it came out in 1996, CULINARY ARTISTRY [by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg] was revolutionary. Ostensibly a multi-format exploration at what makes a great chef, its recipes and brief interviews with 30 or so prominent culinary figures fell by the side next to the book’s extraordinary heart: An alphabetical listing of ingredients, each annotated with the season in which it was best, the smartest ways to prepare it, and — revolutionary — a list of other ingredients with which it plays nice. The chefs who were polled to make the list read like a who’s who of late twentieth century culinaria: Alice Waters, Jasper White, Norman Van Aiken, Jean-Georges Vongerichten.”
—EATMEDAILY.COM (March 19, 2009)
“If you want to look like a genius in the kitchen, top picks include Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—eGullet.com
“When MatthewB asked the collected minds of eGullet to help him on the next step in mastering the art of cooking without a recipe, he was inundated with suggestions. The names that kept popping up include Jacques Pepin’s Complete Techniques for a thorough grounding in the basics, CULINARY ARTISTRY for an advanced course in flavors and flavor combinations, and Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertolli.”
—eGullet.com (September 5, 2003)
“Anyone who cooks who’s not using CULINARY ARTISTRY is either new to this business, or not in it!”
—Ken Fair, Draeger’s Cooking School (March 12, 2004)
“Reading a good cookbook for example, CULINARY ARTISTRY — can be as entertaining as reading a good novel.“
—Martin Fenner, Clinical Fellow in Oncology, Hannover Medical School in Germany (December 2008)
“[p. 23] In their wonderful book CULINARY ARTISTRY, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page provide a table with three hypothetical categories of chefs (see below)….[p. 505] For help with ‘bouncing’ (free associating) flavors, I strongly recommend CULINARY ARTISTRY, which Grant [Achatz] named his ‘most-used cookbook’ a month after Alinea was picked as the #1 restaurant in the U.S. by Gourmet magazine.”
—Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Chef, the #2 bestselling book on Amazon.com (November 20, 2012)
“One of the best culinary books that I have read…It reinforced what I have always felt was important to me as a chef, and created a better understanding, awareness and appreciation for my craft.“
—Desmond Foo, professional chef in Singapore
“What books do chefs consult for inspiration? Not all of the good gift cookbooks are new ones. Some of the best are classics, the stars of Christmases past (in some cases, Christmases way in the past). For ideas, we turned to some of the Bay Area’s top chefs. After all, professionals are probably the biggest consumers of cookbooks, maintaining large libraries that they thumb through to spark inspiration or learn about different approaches to cooking….Chef Howard Bulka of Marche in Menlo Park: Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, CULINARY ARTISTRY ($29.95). An excellent aid for professional chefs, including charts of ‘food matches made in heaven.'”
—www.Foodservice.com (December 9, 2003)
CULINARY ARTISTRY is mentioned as the favorite book of one of America’s Best New Chefs: Will Packwood of Emilia’s in Austin, Texas.
—FOOD & WINE magazine (July 2001)
“I have two amazing guests with me on the line from New York City: We have Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, and even though you can’t tell by the names, they are a husband and wife team, two of a dozen people who are considered international culinary luminaries. They’ve written a slew of books. I found out about you first through my husband, who’s a chef. He carries CULINARY ARTISTRY book you wrote around everywhere — he loves it.”
—Laurie Forster, The Sipping Point on WBAL-AM RADIO (February 25, 2012)
“I have come to rely on a few cookbooks, truly deep and well-researched books that never fail. I have collected many, over 150 in my home kitchen alone. If I had to choose a few they would be Larousse Gastronomique, The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller, On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page, and Food by Waverly Root.”
—Chef John Foster, who heads the culinary program at Sullivan University, Kentucky Forward (October 24, 2011)
“[Chef Timothy Hollingsworth] also treated himself to a copy of the new work by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, THE FLAVOR BIBLE, which brought back memories…When he first moved up from commis to cook at The French Laundry, John Fraser (today the executive chef of Dovetail in New York City) had recommended that he read one of the authors’ earlier collaborations, CULINARY ARTISTRY. The book features extensive lists of ingredients and other foods they get along with. Hollingsworth, who was then starting to participate in those nightly menu meetings, spent his wee hours studying those lists so that he’d look like he knew what he was doing in the meetings when fellow cooks with finely honored palates and improvisational talent turned to him and said, ‘What to you want to run?’….Hollingsworth broke out his copy of THE FLAVOR BIBLE, the new book by Dornenburg and Page, whose earlier CULINARY ARTISTRY had gotten him through those menu meetings during his formative years at The French Laundry. He thumbed it to death that night, looking up possible accompaniments for caviar, for cod, for scallops, and for any number of ingredients, both assigned and elective, that he had been grappling with. He stayed up until three in the morning like that, filling his head with new ideas, sketching them in his notebook, getting ready for the next day, a day in which if nothing else he would cook from the heart.”
—Andrew Friedman, Knives at Dawn: America’s Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d’Or Competition (pp. 131 and 143-144) (December 1, 2009)
“Overseeing the burgeoning Dos Caminos empire, Corporate Executive Chef and devotee of regional Mexican cuisines Ivy Stark doesn’t seem like she would ever have the time to travel, to delve into the peoples and study food cultures of the world….Chef Stark is a vigilant and devoted food lover. She has so many cookbooks in her apartment she has no place to put them anymore. She keeps…Dornenburg and Page at her fingertips. She recommends CULINARY ARTISTRY to ‘ … to every chef-sous chef-learning chef.’ The most important thing is ‘to learn about flavor. I got that (book) when I was a young chef and I’ve been reading it ever since.’ She still uses it today as a resource.”
—Tami Ganeles-Weiser, CHEFSCONNECTION.COM (November 2012)
“A must-have, because of the flavor combinations and the interesting opinions on food shared by many chefs interviewed by the authors.”
—Carlos Garcia, professional chef in Santiago, Chile
“San Franciscans have Jon Gasparini to thank for the city’s cocktail revolution. Opening 15 Romolo in 1998, he was ahead of the artisan cocktail curve, using local ingredients and homemade tinctures long before the word “mixology” entered the modern SF vocabulary. Spreading his perfectly crafted drinks to more neighborhoods with Rosewood and Rye, he expanded his empire even further with Rye On The Road bespoke cocktail catering (a Sōsh event favorite) in 2007. While you anxiously await the opening of his new bar concept in 2013, check out his favorite places to eat, drink and be merry. Q. Where do you get your inspiration for an exciting new cocktail? A. I love starting with cookbooks. THE FLAVOR BIBLE and CULINARY ARTISTRY are great sources for simple flavor pairings and recipe ideas. Then off to the bars!”
—Jon Gasparini, as quoted in THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK / SOSH.com (November 8, 2012)
“I have to admit, as much as my feminist side is well marked, there are several dishes that men do better. Get to the absurdity of submitting myself to this rule unconscious and when I want to eat a dish that I described in my imaginary list as chef for a man, I’m behind my friends ask that cooks and do it for me. In the book CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, there is a table with the emotional connotations of various foods, in which the steaks or fillets appear as ‘masculine.'”
—Gazeta do Pova (auto-translated from Portuguese by Google) (November 28, 2009)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY: This is the best reference book I’ve used. It has an extensive chart that shows exactly when fruits, vegetables, and meats are at their peak. Sticking to the seasons ensures that food is at its best flavor, price, and, most important, nutritional value.”
—Scott Giambastiani, executive chef at Cafe-7 and Cafe Moma, serving organic meals to thousands of employees at Google in Mountain View, CA, as quoted in PREVENTION (March 2007)
“One of our favorite research tools that we use when developing recipes for our books (the only diabetic cookbooks to win the James Beard and Julia Child Cookbook Awards) is CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Frances Towner Giedt and Bonnie Sanders Polin, PhD, DIABETIC-LIFESTYLE.COM
“Epic. One that started it all.”
—Chef Will Goldfarb (@WillGoldfarb), director of the pastry program at KU DE TA in Bali and identified in Lisa Abend’s bookThe Sorcerer’s Apprentices as one of the finest chefs in the world to pass through the El Bulli kitchen, via Twitter (October 5, 2011)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY — what a great find that is! I also bought one to take to Jeff, my son. He was extremely pleased with that gift [and] says he refers to it often.”
—Roxanne Goldman, avid home cook in Cape Town, on CuisineAtHome.com (April 7, 2007)
“A huge fan of your books, CULINARY ARTISTRY is my bible. We at met @ Gilbert’s in Lake Geneva 4yrs ago!”
—Milwaukee chef Jason Gorman (@ChefJasonGorman), via Twitter (November 10, 2009)
“Q. What are your top five favorite cookbooks? A. Larousse Gastronomique, Simply French, Jean-Louis’ Cooking with the Seasons, CULINARY ARTISTRY, The Fat Duck.”
—Scott Gottlich, chef/owner of Bijoux and chef/partner at The Second Floor, as interviewed by Jenny Block in DALLAS OBSERVER (July 7, 2011)
“If there is ever a book every cook should have on his or her bookshelf, it is CULINARY ARTISTRY. Although it has been published way back in 1996, its contents are timeless. The authors have gone through great lengths to compile a comprehensive list of food and flavour pairings. So if you are confident in your cooking and would like to start experimenting with different flavours and create your own recipes, buy this book!”
—GREEDYGOURMET.COM
“Chef Quinn Hatfield co-owns and manages this eponymous establishment [Hatfield’s in Los Angeles] with his wife Karen. Hatfield’s was one of Bon Appetit magazine’s Best New Restaurants in 2010 and has a Michelin star…Q. What book most influences your food, cookbook or otherwise? A. Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY.
“Chef and owner David Katz has made use of his Moroccan Jewish upbringing to build his personal culinaria. One of Esquire magazine’s Best New Restaurants of 2009, Mémé is already a Philadelphia phenom…Q. What book most influences your food, cookbook or otherwise? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.
“Michael Peterson attended the Culinary Institute of America, as well as Paris’s Le Grenadine, before returning to his place of origin in northern Michigan. He is now the executive chef (and co-owner, with his wife Rebecca) of both Lulu’s and Siren Hall [in Elk Rapids, MI]…Q. What book most influences your food, cookbook or otherwise? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—Marissa Guggiana, OFF THE MENU: Staff Meals from America’s Top Restaurants (October 11, 2011)
“Today we continue our talk with Don Saunders, chef of the new In Season restaurant in south Minneapolis….Q. What are your favorite cookbooks? A. My favorite cookbook is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It’s less of a cookbook and more of a reference book. They talk a lot about ingredients and flavor combination and stuff like that.”
—Lisa Gulya, MINNEAPOLIS CITY PAGES (November 25, 2010)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY is an amazing book. Haven’t read anything like it before. It’s as eye-opening as Masse und Macht [by Elias Canetti, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize for Literature].” [He also cited it as one of the world’s best cookbooks: “for inspiration the tables are amazing.”]
—Christian Bernhard Hagen, artist and writer, University of Copenhagen – Geological Institute (Denmark)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY highly recommended in seminar @catersource today.”
—Chef David Harris (@ChefDave999), via Twitter (March 9, 2010)
“20 top chefs share their picks for the best cookbooks that taught them the ropes….A book Quinn and I both refer to constantly is CULINARY ARTISTRY. Not so much a cookbook, but a great reference source for seasonality and ingredients that go great together. Certainly a staple for chefs, but a great book for the home cook to add to their collection.”
—Karen & Quinn Hatfield, via LifestyleMirror.com (July 18, 2013)
“Most useful cookbooks? French Laundry and also CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Thomas Heinrich, Australian chef, as quoted in The Journal of the Australian Kangaroo Industry (October 2006)
“The Holy Grail of Cookbooks….For the record…if I had to give up all but one cookbook, I’d keep CULINARY ARTISTRY very few recipes, but inspiration on every page!”
—Jason Herbert, CHOW.com (September 26, 2006)
“After the success of CULINARY ARTISTRY, which is on my (and MANY cooks’) list of favorite books because of the flavor matching reference guide, Andrew and Karen have done the same in WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT by teaching us how to pair food with the perfect drink.”
—Elena Hernandez, International Chair, International Association of Culinary Professionals’ Global News Blog (October 16, 2006)
“The art of the true mixologist doesn’t stop at the glass. Cocktails are a cuisine, and as such can, and should, participate with the other culinary arts as much as possible. One of the books that I have often recommended to various mixologists across the country has been CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It presents the culinary palate in a unique manner by illustrating the methodology that many of the world’s greatest chefs use to approach thinking about what flavors work best with other flavors. While flavors are obviously important in cooking, the art of ‘pairing’ flavors is rarely given the attention it deserves. Which is why I found it refreshing to see it covered so well, especially since mixology specifically IS the art of flavor pairing.”
—Robert Hess, DrinkBoy.com (October 16, 2006)
“Food is my playground, and it’s the biggest I’ve ever seen….CULINARY ARTISTRY: For any cook/chef that wants a detailed, exceptionally brilliant reference on food combination, seasonal ingredients, and philosophy of cuisine and a new kitchen companion, this book fits the bill. I love this book so much I have two copies plus, I have bought the book for other people as a gift. I have seen some greatly celebrated chefs use this book as a daily reference. If you are considering buying this book, stop, and just get it. Trust me, it’s worth it.”
—EJ Hodgkinson, chef, Foodsville.com (September 2008)
“Favorite cookbooks: On the Line, by Eric Ripert and CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. The latter is a book I often give as a gift, just because it’s an all around great reference guide.”
—Kate Horton, chef of Black Pearl in Denver, as interviewed by Lori Midson in WESTWORD (March 4, 2010)
“Exclusive Interview with Season 4 ‘Top Chef’ winner Stephanie Izard….Ok, now what is your favorite book or cookbook? I would have to say CULINARY ARTISTRY. It’s a really great reference book for chefs….”
—Rose Huber, On a Lobster Placemat blog (February 23, 2009)
“MasterChef winner Mary Carney: My Favourite Cookbooks: My love affair with cookbooks began as a child. I used to sit on the counter beside by mum as she made the dinner, engrossed in her copy of ‘Mrs Beeton’s Guide’. However, it wasn’t until I moved to London that I developed my own collection, spending my lunch break sitting in the local bookshop absorbing as much information as I could from the world’s chefs. The following are my current favourites…CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. There are very few books that give readers a glimpse of how chefs develop their dishes. This book, published in 1996, is one of the few to explore this talent. It is not an ordinary cookbook; it is a reference book which explains how to juggle and contrast flavours, how to balance dishes and menus and how to inspire diners with visual presentation. It is an illuminating and intriguing read. I’d recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn about the creative process. It’s not glossy or colourful but it is a hidden foodie gem.”
—INDEPEDENT (in Ireland) (November 22, 2011)
“Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page go where no culinary writers have gone before, exploring what inspires great chefs to create new flavor combinations, dishes, and menus….Insights about the development of flavors, dishes and menus are gleaned from interviews with more than 30 of America’s leading chefs. Dornenburg and Page document why the time has finally come for the culinary arts to take their rightful place among the arts. The major sections of the book include The Chef as Artist, Meet Your Medium, Composing Flavors, Composing a Dish, Composing a Menu, Evolving a Cuisine, and Culinary Art as Communion. Throughout the book, fascinating reference charts on classic flavor and ingredient combinations are included that are invaluable to any cook. Also featured are recipes and menus contributed by leading chefs as examples of their unique styles of cuisine, as well as ten ingredients and three cooking techniques that are nearest and dearest to the chefs’ hearts, not to mention cuisines.”
—INTERNATIONAL COOKBOOK REVIEW
“This week, we are getting back to the basics. If you have always wanted to complete your at-home culinary education or know somebody who wants to learn to cook, this will lead you to some of our favorite teaching cookbooks. You will find both new books and classics, each designed to instill the lessons needed to become a great cook….CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page: I love reading restaurant menus. Part of the charm of going out to eat is to see how chefs creatively string together ingredients and techniques to form an eloquently worded dish. If it seems like something you could never possible make at home, think again. In order to pair spices and foods, you do not have to be born into a family of famous cooks or enroll in your local cooking school. You can learn that culinary intuition with the help of James Beard Award-winning authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. In CULINARY ARTISTRY, Dornenburg and Page break down the basics of creating menus, matching foods, and composing flavors. In a section titled ‘Flavor Cliques,’ they identify popular herb combinations like the bouquet garni of bay leaf, parsley, and thyme, and the mirepoix of carrot, celery, and onion. The mystery of fine cooking is unraveled on the pages of CULINARY ARTISTRY so that you can introduce ingenuity into your cooking at home.”
—Jessica’s Biscuit e-Newsletter (March 3, 2005)
“Introducing ‘Top Chef Canada’ Competitor [and eventual runner-up] Connie DeSousa: As you know with Top Chef Canada premiering Monday, April 11th 9pmET/10pmPT, we’ve decided get to know the 16 TCC competitors a little better. Today we’re getting to know Connie DeSousa. She’s the Co-Executive Chef and Co-Owner of CHARCUT Roast House in Calgary (I’m dying to go to this place having read the rave reviews!)….FNC: Fave cookbook authors? CD: Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg co-wrote one of my favorite cookbooks called CULINARY ARTISTRY. This go-to book insightfully reminds and encourages culinarians how best to pair ingredients and flavour profiles like no other I have read. It is a gift to chefs.”
—Catherine Jheon, FoodNetwork.ca (April 1, 2011)
“My Most Creative Food Books: My hat is eternally off to Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg for their literary/culinary works of art, THE FLAVOR BIBLE, CULINARY ARTISTRY and WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT. All three of the books are compilations of centuries of culinary mastery, all broken down into layman’s language so that the average person can get into the mind of a chef. They represent creativity at its genesis.”
—Joan, IAMLIVINGRAW.COM (December 5, 2011)
“Q & A with chef Kevin Lendrumbai [the 35-year-old chef of Il Portico….Favorite] Cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is a book I recommend for cooks. It has a lot of excellent information and philosophies of renowned chefs.”
—Sally Johnston, EDMONTON SUN (June 21, 2006)
“Check out CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page for some pointers on tantalizing flavor combinations. Sure, mint and lamb are classic partners, but try mint with black beans, lentils, tomatoes or mushrooms. Lemon and poppy seeds are a no-brainer, but consider lemon with chocolate or cardamom next time.”
—Carolyn Jung, CONTRA COSTA TIMES (September 25, 2002)
“When a kitchen flue blaze forces the closing of your landmark restaurant for more than two months for repairs, what’s a chef to do? In the case of Jim Stump, fight fire with fire. The March 22 accident shut the doors at A.P. Stump’s, an elegant New American cuisine restaurant in downtown San Jose….[N]ow they can concentrate on redoing the menus without the distractions of running a busy restaurant at the same time. Hunched over Stump’s dining table, they’ve been poring through The French Laundry Cookbook, Art Culinaire, CULINARY ARTISTRY, and cookbooks by Chicago chef Charlie Trotter. They’ve tossed around ideas, refined them, cooked them and refined them some more.”
—Carolyn Jung, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS (May 28, 2003)
“Dimitrios Jimmy Adamopoulos, chef and managing partner, Grecians Greek & Italian Bistro in Gallatin…Please tell us your favorites in the following categories: ingredient, tool, book. Ingredient: Quality salt and cracked black pepper. The importance of salt and pepper is sometimes undervalued. Tool: A good quality, sharp chef’s knife. Book: CULINARY ARTISTRY (by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, Wiley, 1996). It’s a great book for referencing different flavor profiles.”
—Jennifer Justus, THE TENNESSEAN (February 29, 2012)
CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page might be the best book ever!”
—David Kaplan (@DEKMinn), on Twitter (December 26, 2010)
“The first chef featured on Hendersonville Epicurean is Executive Chef Rob Keener of Flight Wood Grill and Wine Bar, Hendersonville, NC. HE: What’s your favorite cookbook? Chef Keener: CULINARY ARTISTRY (paperback) by Andrew Dornenburg [sic].”
—Rob Keener, executive chef of Flight Wood Grill and Wine Bar in HENDERSONVILLE EPICUREAN (February 5, 2008)
“Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen is an exhaustive reference on nearly every ingredient imaginable….This book has become my primary food reference, along with the CIA’s The Professional Chef and Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY. For a less intensive and certainly more entertaining food science book check out Robert L. Wolke’s What Einsten Told His Cook.
—Garrett Kern, host, Garrett’s Table (October 21, 2008)
Chef Dave Martin, Executive Chef/Consultant & Instructor, Private clients, The French Culinary Institute, and The Culinary Loft…What is your signature dish? Dave’s Black Truffle Mac ‘n’ Cheese, made famous in Napa on the first season of Bravo’s “Top Chef”…My favorite cookbook is: CULINARY ARTISTRY — it’s a must-have for any culinary library.”
—KITCHIT.COM (August 3, 2012)
“In this ambitious guidebook to the current state of culinary art in American restaurants, the authors offer a comprehensive flavor catalog of comestibles that constitutes a palate-pleasing palette of the spectrum of gustatory stimuli. They flesh out long lists with reflections and observations on the craft of cooking by some of the world’s most illustrious chefs, both historical and contemporary. These philosophical ruminations give the up-and-coming chef an understanding of the evolution of taste in the past half century by comparing the classic tastes of France’s Fernand Point with the tastes of current celebrity chefs, such as Alice Waters and Rick Bayless. Although short on prescription (hence, the paucity of recipes), the book is exhaustive in its rosters of flavor complements….A reference tool for serious chefs and die-hard foodies.”
—Mark Knoblauch, BOOKLIST
“CULINARY ARTISTRY [is] one of my favorite books about food, a book which falls halfway between a conventional cookbook and a reference manual of taste. The award-winning authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page have consulted with dozens of top chefs and put together a culinary resource that touches on many different areas of food preparation: what tastes go together, how to construct a balanced menu, and reflections from chefs on what makes food great. Most useful, I think, is the near-encyclopedic flavor catalog — a list of practically every foodstuff under the sun, and a list of flavors that complement each one (many of them non-traditional). And unlike many normal’ cookbooks, this one encourages creativity and improvisation instead of reeling them in.”
—Melissa Kronenthal, TRAVELERSLUNCHBOX.COM (December 2005)
“A great achievement. I hope that CULINARY ARTISTRY serves as a role model for years to come.”
—Gray Kunz, former chef, Lespinasse (NYC)
“Here’s what some of the best chefs in town have to say. When Olav Peterson, chef and co-owner of Bittersweet, applied for his first catering job at eighteen, he needed a good hollandaise recipe, so he turned to one of his mom’s cookbooks: Colorado Cache. ‘I made it and it turned out great,’ says Peterson. ‘Then I refrigerated it, and of course it broke. I still threw it on the fish and I still got the job,’ he marvels. As he got more into his career, he turned to Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook, El Bulli and Noma. But the book he calls his bible is CULINARY ARTISTRY. ‘Mine is so beat up now,’ he says, ‘the pages are falling out’.”
—Gretchen Kurtz, WESTWORD (February 8, 2013)
“20 Questions with Chef Chris Maher of Momentitas de la Vida….Q. What is your favorite cookbook? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—LA COCINITA, New Mexico’s premier food, arts and lifestyle magazine (April 2002)
“I entered my first restaurant kitchen in 1995, not long before BECOMING A CHEF appeared. It was an amazing ally at the time, and it helped solidify my passions and my goals. Just as I had acquired the basic skills and then having gained the confidence to think on my own, I found CULINARY ARTISTRY (and just as it has been a reference of mine all these years, I’ve seen more than a few tattered copies in kitchens all over the country!). It seems as if the progress and evolution of your writing has eerily mirrored my own development as a chef.”
—Michael Laiskonis, pastry chef, Le Bernardin (New York City) and formerly of Tribute (Farmington Hills, MI)
“It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it can be really frustrating. Perhaps you could call it the culinary equivalent of ‘writer’s block’. I’m confronted with an ingredient or a specific assignment and nothing comes. Sometimes my heart just isn’t in it, or there’s time pressure, or I’m simply distracted by a million other facets of daily work life. Usually, though, I think it’s because there might be so many possible ways to approach an idea, that it can be difficult to focus in on only one. But honestly, in the realm of problems, that’s a pretty good one to have!…To this day, if I’m really stuck for a flavor pairing, I will still refer to Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg’s CULINARY ARTISTRY for its charts of common, and not so common, matches….”
—Michael Laiskonis, 2007 James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef, Notes from the Kitchen on TYPEPAD.COM (June 16, 2008)
“…CULINARY ARTISTRY, the first known reference on flavor compatibility and culinary composition.”
—LA PAPILLOTE, the student newspaper of The Culinary Institute of America (March 3, 2006)
“This is a masterpiece.”
—Martin Laprise, author and professional chef for more than 20 years throughout Canada and the Caribbean
“For pro-level reference, Chisholm and her team point to a beat-up copy of Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY (1996), which, beside its inspiring how-to-be-a-chef content, includes a handy flavour-matching table. ‘It really speeds up the work.’ Rhonda Viani, pastry chef extraordinaire at West, also revisits ‘those great flavour maps’ in CULINARY ARTISTRY ‘to spark an idea then see where it leads’.”
—Andre Lariviere, THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, Canada’s largest urban weekly (February 17, 2005)
“Chef Jennifer Shiparski, better known today as Jennifer Bartolotta, was working in her father’s Pentwater, Michigan, business, the Nickerson Inn, in 1995….Today, with a more serious focus on balanced meals and a following of the food pyramid, young people are looking to learn more about foods, their purchase and preparation. Bartolotta, who conducts seminars on the topic, suggests the book CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. The book, she says, goes ‘outside the box’ of most cookbooks and gives detailed, multiple ways of preparing foods.”
—Filomena Lea, TODAY’S WISCONSIN WOMAN (July 2006)
“I want to talk about the best cookbook I’ve ever read. The book is called CULINARY ARTISTRY and it helped me become a better cook! Now I’ve been a cookbook junky for years, and I’ve read thousands, literally thousands, of cookbooks. CULINARY ARTISTRY isn’t really a traditional cookbook; it’s more of a cooking resource book, and instead of recipes, it has food matches that aim to free you from recipes…My copy is incredibly dog-eared. I must have read this book cover to cover 50 times! I really recommend this book for anyone who already has a bit of confidence in the kitchen, and wants to step out a little bit and try something new. You’ll really enjoy coming up with your own unique dishes!”
—John D. Lee, chef in Thailand who has opened and run three successful restaurants in the northern city of Chiang Mai (May 4, 2007)
“Two important books for sketching out a notion of what convivial practice might entail: 1) The Practice of Everyday Life Volume 2: Living & Cooking – Michel de Certeau, Luce Giard, and Pierre Mayol. 2) CULINARY ARTISTRY – Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. The latter book is one of the most thoughtful discussions of cooking to be found in a non-academic press publication. It begins with a discussion of whether cooking is a trade, a craft, or an art. The book uses a rather dated idea of what ‘art’ is, but it is still useful. CULINARY ARTISTRY treats cooking as an artistic practice — from providing palettes of flavors, theories of menu construction, flavor composition, and the process of composing a dish. There are times that more rigor and a more sophisticated understanding of what contemporary art practices actually are would be nice, but given its popular press ambitions, this is not really its responsibility. The Practice of Everyday Life Volume 2 proves a nice theoretical companion to Dornenburg and Page’s book. Its second half, ‘Doing-Cooking’ investigates a variety of culinary practices. The book is a ‘practical’ extension of de Certeau’s Practice of Everyday Life Vol 1 in which he offers ways to think about ordinary and everyday practices as moments of creative resistance and engagement. Cooking, in the second volume, serves as an example of the ‘…creative cunning in the undefined whirlwind of everyday practices…’ What I am calling convivial practice is really just a broadened application of Giard’s ‘doing-cooking.’ It is the terrain that LeisureArts seeks to operate within. We cook because it is a practice that is intricately social, mundane, and a field of pleasures. To quote Giard: ‘…[re:cooking] manipulating ordinary things make one use intelligence, a subtle intelligence full of nuances and strokes of genius, a light and lively intelligence that can be perceived without exhibiting itself, in short, a very ordinary intelligence’.”
—LEISUREARTS.BLOGSPORT.COM, DilettanteVentures control room (March 2006)
“I adore CULINARY ARTISTRY, as does every chef I know.”
—Justin Leone, sommelier, Alinea (Chicago)
“SD: What’s your favorite cookbook? Levi Carter, executive chef, Clover House Restaurant: CULINARY ARTISTRY [by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page]. It’s not exactly a cookbook. It’s got really good pairings and lists of the 10 best things to pair with different items. It’s what I use most often. It allows you to be more creative than just following a recipe.”
—Alice Levitt, SEVEN DAYS in Vermont (March 16, 2011)
“The intersection between art and food is a dynamic place to be.
On March 2nd we finally get to work with our renowned neighbors, [chef] Rob Evans and Nancy Pugh at Hugo’s [in Portland, Maine]. Rob has put together a menu of five courses for a Dinner of Five Cookbooks. The cookbooks include: The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook by Patrick O’Connell; The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller; CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page; The Devil in the Kitchen by Marco Pierre White; Baking with Julia by Julia Child; and El Bulli by Ferran Adria, Juli Stoler and Albert Adria. Yes, I know that is more than five cookbooks, but he’s a chef, that’s his prerogative.”—Samantha Lindgren, RABELAIS BOOKS BLOG (February 23, 2008)
“This book gives everyday people a guide to what chefs know by instinct: Got a melon or a strawberry that doesn’t have the intensity you had hoped? A little kirsch liquor will make it sweeter. Most people now know that basil complements tomatoes, but most don’t think of orange and sweet potatoes or honey and grapefruit, although these are the combinations you probably (unknowingly) enjoy in your favorite restaurants.”
—Margaret Littman, BODY & MORE (2004)
“Welcome to the first installment of Local Choice ‘Dish’ of the Month, featuring recommendations from our team for some of the newest and best tools, products, and resources to help make your kitchen, cupboard, refrigerator and plates amazing. This month, we’re highlighting one of Chef Jeremy’s favorite cookbooks, CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. With reference information, recipes, and insights from these renowned chefs, CULINARY ARTISTRY serves a dual purpose as both a reference and an inspiration for kitchen creativity. Jeremy loves this book because he can look up a specific ingredient, like chicken, and find an entire flavor profile built around it. A ‘chef’s secret’ kept on the bookshelves of many restaurants, the book is also a great resource for home chefs.”
—Local Choice Produce Market in Portland, Oregon (November 6, 2012)
“Rayah Long comes from a family of entrepreneurs and restaurant owners from Dallas, Texas, where she herself studied Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management at the Art Institute. She earned her first opportunity as a sous chef at the age of 15 while participating in restaurant and culinary arts classes at Business Careers High School here in San Antonio. What started as a means for learning classic cooking techniques like her grandmother — while at the same time avoiding physical education classes — became a passion she has pursued ever since. Throughout her culinary career, she has been inspired by the book CULINARY ARTISTRY and chefs such as Charlie Trotter, Steven Pyles and Thomas Keller.”
—Rayah Long, chef, Ciao in San Antonio (February 6, 2012)
“Cookbooks I have read, but until this summer never had I ever read a book about cooking. CULINARY ARTISTRY is such a book. Sure, it’s got recipes, anecdotes and handy-dandy kitchen tips up the wazoo, but its scope extends far beyond average cookbook fare. Dornenburg and Page explore food and cooking at its most fundamental levels, primarily through interviews with world-class chefs. What is the role of a chef: Laborer, or artist? What makes a dish great? How should you approach composing great food? How do you present it? These are questions that every aspiring chef needs to ask themselves, and CULINARY ARTISTRY provides the answers. I’ve realized that too many people try to become good cooks (me included) without establishing a foundation to build upon. Thanks to this book, I’m building my foundation. First of all, seasonality is huge, something I’ve only just begun to grasp. I’ve heard the benefits of cooking with the seasons, but never subscribed to the practice. But now it’s so obvious that seasonality is why the strawberry piña coladas I made last November were so terrible. And seasonality is why the dishes I’ve been making lately, like gazpacho, have been so good. It truly does make a difference. Seasonality is just the beginning. I truly have not given much thought to how I think about flavor. Some of the chefs interviewed in this book think about it in terms of music. That blew my mind…it makes perfect sense to think about taste in terms of crescendos, harmonies, expositions and cadences. Moreover, it pays to think about how those melodies may interact. Norman Van Aken says: “Soy is this kind of kind of smoky, bluesy note, and balsamic is a brighter, melodic, sort of intensely sweet note, Why do these two notes work together in chordal harmony?” Basically, this book has been a game-changing read. I highly recommend it.”
—Erik Lorenzsonn, SouthCommonSpoon.com
“Chef Profile: O’Leary’s Seafood chef Josh Brown keeps things personal….Q. What is your favorite cookbook? A. Well, I read cookbooks like others read the paper: daily and thoroughly. I can’t say that I have a favorite, although I can cite three cookbooks that have inspired or influenced me. Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook (Keller, Heller & Jones, Artisan, 1999) shows how a brilliant chef treats his food with creativity, respect and innovation. Michel Richard’s Happy In the Kitchen, the Craft of Cooking, the Art of Eating (Richard, Artisan, 2006) reveals how Richard, a world famous celebrity restaurateur [Richard owns Citronelle in DC] steps out of the culinary box with delightful creations, but still makes everything come together deliciously on the plate. I have found the book CULINARY ARTISTRY (Dornenburg & Page, Wiley, 1996) to be a great teaching tool that I refer to when exploring combinations of new or different flavors.”
—Diana Love, CHESAPEAKE BAY FLAVOR (2007)
“By far, one of the most loved books on cooking in my house is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. The book explores cooking in a way that makes it a constant point of reference for meal planning and recipe creation. One of my favorite sections of CULINARY ARTISTRY is the section in the middle that helps match flavors so that you get combinations that taste great together. Robin seems to have a gift for these food pairings and rattles them off when I blindly ask what goes with [insert any food here], but I’m blundering when it comes to matching flavors beyond the most rudimentary combinations.”
—Jake Ludington, DailyMunch.com (9/27/2008)
“Six Cookbooks Every Beginner Should Own. Want to learn how to cook ― but first you’ve gotta figure out how to boil water? Try these volumes ― hand-picked by REAL SIMPLE. REAL LIFE. food expert Nathan Lyon: 1) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Says Nathan, ‘This book encompasses what I feel most home cooks want to know, which is ‘How do I use the ingredients I already have in my kitchen, and what do I pair with those foods?’ I take it with me everywhere.'”
—Nathan Lyon, REAL SIMPLE (November 17, 2008)
“Your book CULINARY ARTISTRY is absolutely brilliant. I now recommend it to aspiring mixlogists as a key resource for understanding the ideas and theories behind creating unique flavor combinations and generally how to approach the craft as an artisan. I found when I replaced the word ‘chef’ with ‘mixologist,’ it especially spoke volumes to me.”
—Ryan Magarian, Professional Mixologist
“Chef Recipe and Interview: Yellowstone’s Jim Chapman. Q. How many cookbooks do you have? How many do you actually use? A. About 150 cookbooks. I use 35-40 regularly. Most used are CULINARY ARTISTRY, The New Professional Chef, Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire, and The Art and Science of Culinary Preparation.”
—Beverly Magley, editor, MONTANA (June 2006)
“Interview with ‘Top Chef’ winner Hosea Rosenberg….Q. What cookbooks would you recommend every home cook own? A. Anything by Jacques [Pepin], Madeline Kamman, Lidia Bastianich, Julia Child, Rick Bayless… the list goes on. It depends on what you are wanting to cook. One of my favorite books is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.”
—MAN OVER BOARD (December 29, 2009)
“In the Gentile household, a shared love of cooking takes a caterer and his son on a quest for the top chef, the best utensil, the finest recipe and the perfect class….Father’s Day Cookbooks: Larry Gentile’s cookbook collection starts in the kitchen, continues into the den and ends God knows where. Still, he always appreciates a cookbook for Father’s Day. If Dad is a culinary enthusiast, Larry suggests: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (John Wiley & Sons, $29.95): ‘Great for understanding the creative process of a chef and an excellent reference for which ingredients work well together in a dish.'”
—Erica Marcus, NEWSDAY (February 17, 2004)
“I just stumbled upon your website, and I just wanted to say thank you! Especially for CULINARY ARTISTRY; it is my bible. I use almost every day. As the chef of a small kitchen with no one to bounce ideas off of, it comes in very handy. I would also have to say that you helped my career grow….Once again, thank you for sharing your knowledge with the rest of the world.”
—Joe Marcus, executive chef, West Bank Cafe in NYC (July 2006)
“In the book CULINARY ARTISTRY, authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page suggest that professional cooks fall into three categories. First there are the trade cooks, those who flip johnnycakes, replenish steam tables and plunge frozen Tater Tots into fry baskets. Their job is to turn tables quickly and fill their customers’ stomachs to bursting. Next come the well-trained, accomplished chefs who view cooking as a craft. Their dishes appeal to all five senses, but taste is paramount. The last category is composed of chefs who consider themselves culinary artists, with food as their medium. These are the Thomas Kellers and Daniel Bouluds of the world, for whom every plate becomes a resplendent palette and every dish makes an esoteric cultural statement. Dill and most other St. Louis chefs, for that matter belongs to the second category, those who place diners’ gratification before their own hunger for transcendent self-expression. But in the end, pleasing customers by masterfully plying the craft of cooking might be a more satisfying means of expression than arranging sublime ingredients in elaborate configurations. After all, with food as the raw material, even the cleverest creation will soon be toppled like a fragile house of cards.”
—Melissa Martin, RIVERFRONT TIMES (2001)
“If I was stranded in a deserted kitchen with only one book, CULINARY ARTISTRY would be it. With few recipes and not a single colour photograph, this fascinating book unlocks the secrets of what ingredients go well with others. If you’re stumped by how to use up all that squash from the garden, CULINARY ARTISTRY will tell you all the ingredients that go well with squash, or squid, or any other food you’d like to cook. What’s more, it includes seasoning matches that will inspire you to use those pantry items you bought for a specific recipe — and never used again. You might be tempted to dust off that bottle of pomegranate syrup and put those remaining caraway seeds to good use.”
—Denise Marchessault, FRENCHMINT.CA (January 27, 2013)
“The women at The Gingersnap Bakery, in Phoenix, will be sorry to lose their intern, Patrick Diehl, come spring. ‘Although he will be leaving us eventually, we all know that he will go far in whatever field he chooses,’ writes Gingersnap manager Jennifer Johnson, who nominated Diehl for ‘Cook of the Week.’ Favorite cookbook: Favorite titles include Sweet Seasons: Fabulous Restaurant Desserts Made Simple by Richard Leach, The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, and The Anatomy of a Dish by Diane Forley and Catherine Young.”
—Margaret McCormick, SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD (October 30, 2005)
“Best Brainstorming Book. As I am brainstorming new menu items for the fall dessert menu at Emeril’s Delmonico, I have yet again pulled my trusty old copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY from my bookshelves. This book has been an inspiration to me since its publication in 1996. My copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY was given to me by a dear friend in the beginning of my culinary career; it is signed, ‘Cook, Eat, Share, Live!!’ by the authors (Dornenburg and Page). I have yet to stop following their advice. It isn’t their advice that is most inspiring for me, but the content of the book itself. It is jam-packed (pun intended?!), with many menu items from famous chefs, flavor combination indexes for every ingredient imaginable, anecdotes from chefs on signature dish item composition, theories on flavor pairings, and even biographies on many of the contributing chefs. I use it to jog my brain for new ideas and to help me think outside of the box when pairing different flavors. Many times, I find myself coming up with flavor combinations that are not listed in the book; I like to jot my ideas down in the book’s index for future reference. CULINARY ARTISTRY is an essential guide for any professional chef, and a wealth of knowledge for any aspiring chef or home gourmet. Of all the cookbooks I own, this is the one that I reference most. I hope you find it as stimulating and enjoyable as I have over the years!”
—Jenny McCoy, pastry chef, Emeril’s Delmonico in New Orleans on EMERILS.COM (October 5, 2007)
“Round two with Paul Nagan, exec chef of Zink Kitchen + Bar….Q. What was the last cookbook you bought, and what recipes are you cooking from it? A. My go-to cookbooks are CULINARY ARTISTRY and THE FLAVOR BIBLE.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (January 31, 2013)
“Interview with Joe Troupe, executive chef of Lucky Pie Pizza & Tap House in Denver…One book that every chef should read: CULINARY ARTISTRY changed my life. A chef gave it to me for my 21st birthday, and while I didn’t realize it at the time, it’s a book that every chef should own. It simplifies much bigger concepts for someone who’s just starting out, and it teaches the foundations of cooking in a don’t-run-before-you-can-walk sort of way.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (April 5, 2012)
“Interview with Jeremy Kittelson, executive chef of Ambria: Q. One book that every chef should read? A. There are two, really: On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee, and CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Both have been essential in my career, and I use them constantly. These are the two books I always recommend to aspiring chefs and home cooks. Understanding ingredients and food pairings is paramount to creating great food. Creativity, on the other hand, will only carry you so far.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (February 23, 2012)
“Round two with Dana Rodriguez, exec chef of Bistro Vendome… One book that every chef should read: I love and highly recommend — CULINARY ARTISTRY, which helps us all understand how to combine flavors that we may have never thought about.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (December 22, 2011)
“Brad Arguello, exec chef of the Über Sausage, on the hotness of Ashton Kutcher and the merits of mustard…One book that every chef should read: CULINARY ARTISTRY. It helps you pair different ingredients together so you can create your own twist on meals rather than following recipes.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (September 14, 2011)
“‘I love food more than just about anyone I know certainly more than most people, and even more than most chefs.’ Jenna Johansen, the chef/co-owner of dish, one of the Vail Valley’s most highly regarded restaurants, is sitting at her bar, noshing on soups, salads and sweetbreads…Q. One book that every chef should read? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY and THE FLAVOR BIBLE. Since I don’t often cook from recipes, the ingredient lists in these books help guide me when I need a little inspiration. It’s like having a posse of brilliant chefs at your beck and call.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (April 28, 2011)
“This is part two of Lori Midson’s interview with Paul Reilly, executive chef of Encore….Favorite cookbooks: James Beard’s American Cookery, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY, and James Peterson’s Fish & Shellfish.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (September 17, 2009)
“Chef and Tell with Brian Laird of Barolo Grill….Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. I use it on a day-to-day basis. It’s not a book of recipes, but a reference book, and a great place to look for ideas when I’m having a brain freeze. I also love the French Laundry cookbooks.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (November 19, 2009)
“Chef and Tell with James Rugile of Venue….Favorite cookbook: I really appreciate The French Laundry Cookbook. It stands the test of time and is still a great reference for me from time to time. I also really enjoy CULINARY ARTISTRY, and every other book by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (November 26, 2009)
“Chef and Tell with Goose Sorensen of Solera….Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. When I’m having a creativity block, I can open that book and it gets my brain going. It’s a fantastic reference guide for chefs.”
—Lori Midson, WESTWORD (December 24, 2009)
“My #1 go-to culinary book is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.”
—Nikki Miller-Ka, cooking instructor in North Carolina; on NIK SNACKS (August 5, 2008)
“Not all spices go well together. An excellent resource for learning about spices and what they complement is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—— Mike Mills and Amy Mills Tunnicliffe in their 2005 book PEACE, LOVE AND BARBECUE
“Cook the Books: Titles that local chefs turn to time and again for inspiration….#4) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Viewed as a strong reference guide for choosing and pairing ingredients.”
—— March 2015 cover story in MILWAUKEE MAGAZINE
“Recently I received an email from reader Lisa asking for help. She fried some fresh tuna steaks and since it is quite a meaty fish thought a Hollandaise sauce will compliment it nicely, but unfortunately didn’t. What to do? This is a very good question. If there is ever a book every cook should have on his or her bookshelf, it is CULINARY ARTISTRY. Although it has been published way back in 1996, its contents are timeless. The authors have gone through great lengths to compile a comprehensive list of food and flavour pairings. So if you are confident in your cooking and would like to start experimenting with different flavours and create your own recipes, buy this book! According to CULINARY ARTISTRY, the best ingredients to pair tuna with are: black and white beans, chives, garlic, ginger, lemon, lime, olive oil, onions, black pepper, sesame, soy sauce and tomatoes.”
—Michelle Minnaar, GREEDYGOURMET.COM (August 6, 2008)
“One of Cody’s Best Cookbooks of the year.”
—Vigi Molfino, cookbook buyer, Cody’s Bookstore (Berkeley)
“Chef Hettie Bresnan is the Sous Pastry Chef of Bouchon Bakery, Las Vegas. I recently had the opportunity to interview this amazing chef and here’s what she had to say….Q. What 5 cookbooks would you recommend every home cook own? A. Baking with Julia, La Brea Cookbook, Four Seasons, CULINARY ARTISTRY, and The Making of a Pastry Chef.”
—MONA’S TUMMY (December 28, 2009)
“Over the years I have amassed quite a library of cookbooks. Some of them have been invaluable sources of information and inspiration while some have been good for not much but the pictures (and a couple have only been good for lighting the BBQ). I think that they are still an indispensable tool for any chef, home gourmet or student. I thought that today I would share some of my favourite and most trusted cookbooks with you….House’s Top 5: #5) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is an instant classic. It’s actually one of those types of books that you can just sit down with and read. It takes you through the seasons, explaining what’s seasonal and putting groups of food into flavour pairings that are incredible. It’s truly a book of inspiration. A sister book called BECOMING A CHEF is a real-life look at what it takes for those of you considering ‘chef’ as a career choice.”
—Richard Moorey, THE CHRONICLE-JOURNAL (Ontario) (March 23, 2005)
“Gifts with good taste: It’s a glittering holiday season on the cookbook shelves. Some of the nation’s biggest star chefs have produced their first volumes, and big-name authors have brand-new offerings….Man (or woman) does not cook by recipes alone, and that’s why we need books like CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Dornenburg and Page’s Becoming A Chef won the 1996 James Beard Book Award for Best Writing on Food, and their new one continues in the same inspirational vein. CULINARY ARTISTRY explores the creative process of cooking by talking with top chefs about how they combine flavors and approach creating edible works of art. Anyone who loves food cook or not will be intrigued by the discussions of where chefs find inspiration and the meaning of style in cooking. There are only a handful of recipes per se, but the book includes extensive lists of flavor matches and contrasts to inspire experimentation.”
—Debbie Moose, THE NEWS & OBSERVER
“Cookbooks of the pros. So I know yesterday I said that cookbooks do not necessarily make the best presents since a lot of them are bad. I stand by that statement but I also know not many (any?) people care what the heck I think and are going to go right ahead and buy cookbooks anyways. If you’re going to buy some, might as well buy the best. To find out which cookbooks top chefs and food authorities use, I called up several that are in our local area and asked them what cookbook they’d recommend. The first person I called was restaurant magnate Rob Dalzell was working at his restaurant 1924 Main. ‘A good book for home and a good reference book is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dorenenburg,’ Dalzell said after taking a second to remember the author. ‘It lists all of the components that go with an ingredient like say, apples. It will list 20 things that go with apples. A lot of people don’t have that education and know what is what…Because the restaurant is always trying out new dishes I’ll check it out if I, say, have turnips to see what it recommends.’
Colby Garrelts of Bluestem also named CULINARY ARTISTRY as a book he uses….”—Owen Morris, FAT CITY (December 10, 2008)
“Q & A with Sarah Mouw: Q. What is your favorite book and what are you currently listening to on your iPod? A. The Bible is my favorite book. A close second is a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY that inspires my love of creating food. These days, I’m listening to a lot of sermons by John Piper on my iPod.”
—Sarah Mouw, 2003 graduate of Gordon College (2010)
“Most-used cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY. The second day of class at The French Culinary Institute, chef-instructor Henri Viain with his beautiful French accent announced to the class CULINARY ARTISTRY is a must-have cookbook if we were serious about our cooking. We all looked at each other; the next day we all own a copy. Well, you can see I need a new copy pretty soon, and I thank chef Henri every and each day for sharing.”
—Adriana Mullen, AdrianaMullenPhotographyBlog.com (January 15, 2011)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY chronicles the creative process of culinary composition and explores the architecture of flavors, dishes and menus.”
—NATIONAL CULINARY REVIEW
“Most influential book: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. A book that is as much about executing the creative process as it is about cooking.”
—Joey Nerenberg, president, Infusion Culinary Inc., as quoted by Liz Wiedemann in the San Diego Business Journal (April 9, 2007)
“My wife tells people that she failed Boiling Water 101. That’s fine with me, because like many other men, and especially those of us in the event business, I love to cook. I also enjoy reading about it. Not cookbooks, but stories about cooking and people who cook. So with Father’s Day in mind I have assembled a list of my favorites, any of which would make a terrific gift….There are two reference books that are never far from my reach. Can’t figure out what spices to use on the Lamb Loin? CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page will get you out of that pickle; there is no better tool for creating dishes and menus.”
—Richard Newton, wedding planner, Atelier Weddings on WEDDINGACES.COM (June 19, 2009)
“Recipes are guides not rules….Once you’ve kicked the recipe habit, flip through CULINARY ARTISTRY, a book that explores how chefs create dishes. My favorite section? Lists of ingredients that go well together, compiled from various chefs. Under ‘trout,’ for example, you see 27 ingredients to pair with this fish. You can make an almond and brown-butter sauce, or one of garlic, horseradish and cream. Is there a recipe for either dish? No. But knowing what you now know, you don’t need one. So put away the measuring spoons. Keep inventing and testing. And oh, yes, one more thing: always, always trust your own taste.”
“2007 Best New Chef Award Profile: Sean O’Brien, Myth, San Francisco….Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page. ‘It’s been out for about 10 years. I use it as a guide to find classic combinations — when I’m designing a new menu and I want to figure out what pairs well with plums, it’s a good reference.'”
—Sean O’Brien, chef, Myth (San Francisco), as quoted in FOOD & WINE (July 2007)
“A major achievement.”
—Patrick O’Connell, chef-owner, The Inn at Little Washington (Virginia)
“In the book BECOMING A CHEF, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page analyze the process by which an accumulation of technical expertise gradually frees a chef to improvise and invent. In their follow-up book CULINARY ARTISTRY, which will be published in October, they dissect what it is about a chef’s cooking that yields a distinctive style. They study how the composition of flavors and textures can build a dish and finally how the composition of dishes can build a menu. Page and Dornenburg provide food and flavor pairings as a kind of steppingstone for the recipe-dependent cook, who should know (and maybe does) that a chicken, say, will go well with bacon, basil, brandy, cream, garlic, ginger, mustard, orange, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, tomatoes, truffles or wine. Their hope is that once you know the scales, you will be able to compose a symphony.”
—Molly O’Neill, THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
“Local pros let you in on the cookbooks they cherish…. Everyone’s got a favorite unsung cookbook. Here are some from culinarily inclined Oregonians: Kelvin Gurr, chef instructor of Western Culinary Institute’s restaurant, Bleu: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (1996) — ‘The ultimate single-dish or whole-menu-building reference. Information about seasonally available ingredients and classic combinations in food pairing. Answers what goes well with anything, from pigs’ ears to pineapple. A full spectrum of pairings helps break the ‘chef’s block’ or build a meal out of your refrigerated leftovers that don’t clash.'”
—THE OREGONIAN (February 28, 2006)
“Sweet+salty satisfaction: Traditional or gourmet, the PB&J has come a long way…Classed-up PB&J finger sandwiches have appeared at fancy-schmancy fund-raisers in New York City, said Karen Page, an observer of American dining and co-author of numerous culinary books with her husband, chef Andrew Dornenburg. ‘It makes people laugh,’ Page said of the notion of well-heeled New Yorkers sipping champagne and nibbling these gooey tidbits. But what is it that happens when peanut butter meets jelly? Why have they worked so well together for so long? They are what Page calls ‘classic flavor pals’ — a theme in the couple’s book CULINARY ARTISTRY, considered something of a dining bible with its listing of ‘flavor matches’ and input from all-star chefs such as Daniel Boulud, Rick Bayless and Alice Waters on winning flavor combinations.”
—Vikki Ortiz and Jan Uebelherr, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL (March 31, 2006)
“By 2008, Chef Eric Gruber, youthful and energetic, had already accumulated quite a pedigree. He had made stops in Scottsdale, Ariz., Seattle, San Diego and Santa Fe, N.M.; won praise at culinary institutes and country clubs; and impressed in the kitchens of four-star hotels. When he relocated with his family to McCall in fall 2008 to take the helm at Shore Lodge, he brought an assumption of excellence with him….The chef knows his palette well and keeps his edge by continuing to do his homework, evidenced at least in part by the copy of Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s indispensable work CULINARY ARTISTRY on Gruber’s desk, its pages thumbed, footnoted and the spine barely holding together.”
—Rick Overton, IDAHO STATESMAN (February 18, 2011)
“Name: Isaac M. Pacheco. Present Employment: Chef de Cuisine – The Peabody Hotel Group in Orlando, Florida. Favorite cookbook? Alinea by Grant Achatz, CULINARY ARTISTRY and THE FLAVOR BIBLE by Andrew Dornenburg [sic].”
—American Culinary Federation – Central Florida Chapter (May 14, 2012)
“Books I continue to refer back to [are] On Food and Cooking, THE FLAVOR BIBLE, CULINARY ARTISTRY, The Professional Chef. These books have a ton of content, information and answers to basic cooking questions and flavor combinations. They’ve given me a sort of freedom — a better understanding of what goes on when you’re cooking and what goes on when you’re eating.”
—Will Packwood, celebrated Austin chef, as quoted in EDIBLE AUSTIN
“[CULINARY ARTISTRY] is the book you go to when you find something really good at a market and want to make up a dish that features it. Its also the book you go to when you are a cook and you want to convince yourself you’re an artist. Best book about food ever written, in a three way tie with McGee On Food and Cooking and Escoffier. [Five Stars]”
—Nick Padilla of New York City on GOODREADS.COM (February 14, 2008)
“My Favorite Cookbook: Believe it or not I actually have a ton of cookbooks, and some of them I still use today. I love The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller or The Common Grill by Graig Common, but my all time favorite is CULINARY ARTISTRY. I believe every at home cook or novice cook with the slightest bit of culinary creativity, and I do mean slight, should purchase this book. So what does CULINARY ARTISTRY do that others do not? It takes just about every food item that you can think of, sirloin steak, fennel, oranges, the list goes on, and let’s you know what that particular item goes well with and in what season! Before recipe websites and food algorithms that let you know what to make with the ingredients you have, there was this book. Every chef on earth, no matter who it is, will tell you how much they appreciate this book.”
—Billy Parisi, Chef/Producer/Host, BillyParisi.com (October 16, 2012)
“Heading up the restaurant [Shorty’s Steakhouse in Garrett] kitchen is Cory Wells, 27, of Auburn….Q. When did you start cooking? A. Five or 6 years old. In junior high, I’d have a sleepover and cook for all the guys.Q. What’s your favorite cookbook? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY….Q. How many cookbooks do you have? A. Fifty to 60 cookbooks…I want a book that teaches, not tells you, what to do.”
—Diana Parker, THE (FT. WAYNE, IN) JOURNAL-GAZETTE (December 9, 2009)
“Just when you thought you’ve read enough culinary memoirs and single-subject studies on every esoteric food topic imaginable comes Knives at Dawn, Andrew Friedman’s sharp, insider account of America’s quest to win the Bocuse d’Or the epicurean equivalent of the World Cup, held biannually in Lyon, France….French Laundry chef Timothy Hollingsworth and his commis, Adina Guest, continued to work their grueling day jobs over three-and-a-half months of intense training, and set the bar for future U.S. brigades. Hollingsworth loves cookbooks and it was fun to see my favorite husband-and-wife food writing team, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, name-checked as Hollingsworth first immersed himself in their kitchen classic, CULINARY ARTISTRY, when he first started at TFL, and later turned to THE FLAVOR BIBLE for inspiration during training.”
—Brad Thomas Parsons, AL DENTE, AMAZON.COM (December 4, 2009)
“Dornenburg/Page/CULINARY ARTISTRY: ‘The Chefs Bible’ — A great tool on how to think, breathe, eat and sleep food! The building block of all chefs!!!”
—Michael Pataran & Carissa Prokopowich, MSN.com (April 2006)
“…Later, I asked chef Randy King about his cooking philosophy. ‘Tastes, textures and temperatures,’ he replied, getting as excited to talk about entrées as hipster guitarists get discussing boutique distortion pedals. His creativity was further revealed when I spied him culling inspiration from CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Ryan Peck, BOISE WEEKLY (July 20, 2005)
“Holiday Gift Guide: Cookbook Edition. A very cool and different kind of cookbook is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page. It’s a concept reference book for creating your own recipes or food combinations. They’ve interviewed scores of chefs and distilled their creative thinking and experience. At its core are reference lists such as foods in season, food matches, seasoning matches, flavor combinations that define the cuisines of countries of the world, seasonal combinations. You can look up an ingredient and find a few dozen other foods and spices and techniques that work with it.”
—John Pinkerton, THE ATLANTIC Blog posting (December 12, 2008)
“Grilling the Chef: Chef: Aaron Millon. Age: 35. Restaurant: Restaurant Phoebe. Location: Montpelier…SD: Which two cookbooks should every home cook own? AM: Madeleine Kamman’s The Making of a Cook and probably Jacques Pepin’s Complete Techniques, which is getting outdated but is still a great reference book. Every chef should have BECOMING A CHEF, by [Andrew] Dornenburg and [Karen] Page, and should also have their CULINARY ARTISTRY close by. It’s kind of about the process: Once you have basic tools and skills, how do you take it a step farther and learn about flavors and what they do when they’re combined? How do you develop that skill?'”
—Suzanne Podhaizer, SEVEN DAYS: Vermont’s Independent Voice (July 9, 2008)
“[Med Bistro chef] Jonathan Hawks began his cooking career at a young age working in various restaurants throughout the Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia area….Q: What mistakes do you see home cooks make? A: I think the biggest advice I would give to people learning to cook at home is to be adventurous. Following a recipe is a good start, but putting your own creative twist on a recipe has a very satisfying aspect to it. Sure, it can go the other way and be terrible, but you will never know unless you try. Q: What’s your favorite cookbook? A: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It was the first book I ever read about cooking.”
—Angel Powell, THE POST AND COURIER (December 3, 2009)
“When you’re in a kitchen where you have lots of cooks coming and going, someone’s always dragging their favorite book in and it’s dog-eared from use. It’s sort of well-known in food circles that CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of those books that people drag along with them or that they hand on to other chefs.”
—Lucinda Scala Quinn, MSLO Executive Editorial Food Director and host of EATDRINK on MARTHA STEWART LIVING RADIO (October 2, 2008)
Name: Suzy Giraldo. Home: Rancho Mirage; originally from Laguna Beach. Occupation: Private Cordon Bleu master chef and owner of Suzy Gourmet. Proudest accomplishment: Passing the state board exams at the Cordon Bleu with the highest score…Treasured book: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. ‘It’s a great source on how to pair flavors.’”
—Sue Rappaport, THE DESERT SUN (April 29, 2009)
Q: What is your favorite cookbook? A: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Page and Dornenburg.”
—Michael Reining, Executive Sous Chef, Postrio at The Prescott Hotel in San Francisco (November 2012)
“… Desperate to grab something that had a cover and enough pages to keep me occupied, I stuffed CULINARY ARTISTRY into my backpack before running out the door at 4:30am to catch my flight. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is the book our chef at CIA recommended as a reference for combining ingredients. While most people buy this book for lists of ingredients that go well together, its true heart is the philosophical discussion on cooking. Is cooking a trade, a craft, or an art? That’s the question the authors are trying to answer by interviewing today’s leading chefs. Their premise is that food is a physical experience that has an ability to move us emotionally. Isn’t that what art is?….Reading CULINARY ARTISTRY felt like discussing these topics over tea with Daniel Boulud, Joyce Goldstein, Alice Waters, and other great chefs. The usual questions came back to me. What am I trying to do with food? Why am I doing it? I never expected that the answer would come to me in midair between Boston and San Francisco. I always thought it would happen in the kitchen with the sweet smell of caramelizing onions or a whisper of a gently simmering soup. But instead it happened on a United flight 6307. Life is funny that way.”
—Helen Rennie, Carnegie Mellon alumna, BEYONGSALMON.BLOGSPOT.COM (June 4, 2006)
The Best Culinary Reference Book: I feel like every chef has their go to books for recipe guides and cooking reminders. Here is my list, what is yours? The #1 book of all time: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Awesome for reminding you of seasons and winning flavor and food combination, best book for building menus.”
—Robbie Rensel, Houston chef and CIA alumnus, on CHEFTALK.COM (March 25, 2013)
“I’ve owned the book CULINARY ARTISTRY for over 4 years now, preaching it to anyone interested in taking cooking more seriously. It was authored by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, and published in 1996….However, I had a hard time recommending unless I knew someone was VERY serious. Possible because I find it much more theoretical…I personally LOVE CULINARY ARTISTRY, and it sits in my room on my book shelf. If I am planning full menus, or looking for an interesting read, or interested in chef’s dishes, etc, I pull [it] down. It is a beautiful book, beautiful rough edges, and soft-covered.”
—Matt Reyolds, architect and photographer
“10 Questions with Chefs…Ian Begg, Cafe Majestic, San Francisco….What are your favorite cookbooks? CULINARY ARTISTRY….One [section] lists one ingredient and then what works with it, like, say, carrots go with cumin, and then what goes with that …the other has interviews with great chefs about their food.”
—Susan Dyer Reynolds, Northside San Francisco (April 8, 2008)
“Holly Dion honed her craft working with Steven Marsella at the Gatehouse for eight years and at Cheeky Monkey in Newport. She also was head chef at Eclectic Grille….Favorite cookbook? CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page; not so much a cookbook but a reference guide filled with artistic knowledge.”
—RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY (November 2004)
“Q. List your three favorite cookbooks. A. CULINARY ARTISTRY, The French Laundry, Cooking by Hand.”
—Geoff Rhyne, sous chef, FIG (Charleston, SC)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY receives Honorable Mention as one of the year’s best culinary reference books….[It] offers insights into creative cooking.”
—William Rice, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“Q. Do you have a favorite cooking show or book? A. I work so much I don’t have time to watch cooking shows. The book I like is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It talks about flavor pairings. It’s a good reference book. It’s not a cookbook. It’s just saying here are foods that pair well together. I don’t really follow recipes. I just look at the main ingredients. One look at a lasagne: OK I can make it my own from there. I think the home cook over-complicates what cooking is. Just do it.”
—Erik Rickard, executive chef of Brix Wine Bistro, in the OMAHA WORLD HERALD (July 14, 2011)
“The Chef’s Library is a series in which we ask chefs around town to tell us about their favorite cookbooks. Today, we talk to Andrew Kirschner, chef at Tar & Roses….’Another book that I love for very different reasons is CULINARY ARTISTRY and the follow-up book THE FLAVOR BIBLE by [Karen Page and] Andrew Dornenburg. Both these books are a regular resource for me in creating new dishes at the restaurant. With thousands of ingredients to choose from to create any one dish, these books are constant go-to’s when trying to think up pairings and flavors. These books are also great for home cooks looking to expand their repertoires and play with new ingredients.”
—Besha Rodell, LA WEEKLY (February 5, 2013)
“The Chef’s Library is a series in which we ask chefs around town to tell us about their favorite cookbooks. Today, we talk to Michael Voltaggio, chef and owner of ink. When he answers the phone, Michael Voltaggio is somewhere on the East Coast, cooking at an event with chefs from all over the world. You can hear the clash and chaos of the kitchen in the background, and Voltaggio shouts out: ‘Hey guys! What’s the name of that book? The one with all the charts, and you can look up an ingredient and it’ll tell you all the flavors that go with it?’ He pauses for a second, then says ‘CULINARY ARTISTRY! That’s it!’ Voltaggio says the book, written by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, served as inspiration to him as an up and coming chef, because it gave a number of options for flavor combinations for all kinds of ingredients. ‘It’s full of charts, and it has famous chefs’ recipes in it. It lists ingredients and gives you possibilities for other flavors that go with those ingredients. And it tells you how these chefs think about ingredients.'”
—Besha Rodell, LA WEEKLY (October 23, 2012)
“Balancing sweet and savory spices takes some practice and testing, but after you find that perfect pair, you’ll surely start getting the hang of it. One of my favorite books to reference on this subject is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It’ll take you by the hand and guide you to flavor pairings, leading you to new discoveries and old favorites.”
—Marnely Rodriguez, MarcusSamuelsson.com (February 22, 2012)
“…I would also marry that gift with CULINARY ARTISTRY, which is an older book of theirs, which is matching foods with herbs and spices…These two books are excellent.”
“Lachlan Colwill is executive chef at Adelaide’s Grace the Establishment…Favourite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—Michelle Rowe, THE AUSTRALIAN (May 14, 2011)
“I was given the CULINARY ARTISTRY book as a gift when I worked in a cookware shop in London. It is such a fantastic book, I’d be lost without it.”
—Alex Rushmer, professional writer and amateur chef in the U.K. (January 28, 2009)
Book of the Month: CULINARY ARTISTRY. My book recommendation this month is for the person who doesn’t like to follow recipes, but sometimes needs inspiration on what foods pair well together. Written by the same authors who published my previously recommended book WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT, Page and Dornenburg don’t include many recipes in this book; instead you find many suggestions on what foods pair well and which cuisines use which flavors. For example, assume I am stumped as to what I should make for dinner. I look in my kitchen and see that I have some leeks to use up. Opening the book to leeks, I am given recommendations on which foods go well or extremely well with leeks: bacon, beets, Gruyere, peas, etc. Along with this list is a suggested list of ways to cook your leek: boil, braise, puree, steam or stew. I may decide to braise my leeks and serve them as a salad with bacon and truffle oil or perhaps make a Gruyere-leek quiche. I find this book particularly helpful when making sauces and soups or working with a new ingredient. One of my favorite tips from this book was the suggestion to pair lime juice and mango. I rarely eat a mango without a little lime now…maybe a dash of salt. It is the perfect marrying of flavors. The book is broken up into many sections that provide great reading entertainment as well: Sample Menus, Dish and Menu Composition, and thoughts by well-known chefs throughout. My favorites include the bits where chefs are asked what they would make if they were on a deserted island and could only bring 10 ingredients…their rationale behind each is very entertaining.”
—Rachael Rydbeck, COOKING WITH RACHAEL (October 8, 2008)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY is sitting about three feet away from me right now. It is a fantastic book, and I refer to it all the time. It is one of my favorites! It would be an honor to help you.”
—Audrey Saunders, cited in NEW YORK magazine’s ‘Best of New York’ issue as a ‘Cocktail Genius’ (July 2005)
“Sites We Love: Today’s site we love is Lemon Fire Brigade, where photographer and food stylist Sarah Bolla shows off her mouth-watering recipes with beautiful and striking images. Inspired by the geometry and color palette of ingredients, Sarah’s dishes are creative in both flavor and presentation. Here’s what she has to say about her site…What are your favorite food and cooking resources? I’ve always been a food magazine person, attracted to the array of recipes and visuals. My mom had subscriptions to so many at one point and never threw out a single issue, so I had a pretty solid collection to dig into. In my early college years, I really started snipping my way through those, making photo books of my favorite pictures and recipes. I’d spend days at a time collecting and pasting away, realizing that I thought a lot about food. The books are neat to have. I still reference my old clippings with a new eye and understanding with each glance. As far as books, my essentials are Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking and Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—SAVEUR.COM (October 11, 2012)
“FLAVOR MATCHMAKING: Some cooks look to books not for precise ingredients and specific instructions, but for inspiration. I’ve got a book for those cooks. It’s the loftily named CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (1996), also the authors of the better known BECOMING A CHEF. It’s not a cookbook per se. Nor is it a treatise on the techniques every cook ought to know. And it’s certainly not a collection of culinary prose. It’s more a style manual for those who need to find out if a certain something will go with another certain something. The most relevant information is found in the aptly named section ‘Matches Made In Heaven.’ Arranged alphabetically, the list comprises about 328 ingredients and seasonings and, for each ingredient listed, the authors provide several complementary flavors. It may not come as any surprise that the entries under beef ribs read ginger, horseradish, mustard, potatoes, tomatoes. But it is incredibly liberating, when in a chicken rut, to alight on the appropriate page and find 57 compatible ingredients for a plain old hen. When the vegetable bin is overflowing with leafy greens or I’m flummoxed over a side dish for a dinner party, I consider it a godsend to flip through the pages and decide on mustard with the greens and walnuts with the watercress. And it’s inspiring to be reminded in the midst of Thanksgiving chaos that perhaps that pear dish needs a sprinkling of black pepper rather than a drizzle of honey. As with any reference work, it’s not the entire book I value so much as a particular page or two in a desperate moment. The balance of the book’s 426 pages are chapters on composing a dish and a menu, complete with advice from restaurant chefs. I confess I haven’t read the book cover to cover. And I doubt I ever will. But it’s nevertheless the one book that regularly makes the commute from office desk to kitchen counter.”
—Renee Schettler, THE WASHINGTON POST (November 23, 2003)
“‘Great meals, like great music, have a rhythm and harmony all their own.’ Escoffier? Fisher? Emeril? Nope. That’s Karen Page, writing about cooking as art — or, more specifically, the artistry of pairing flavors, textures, and aromas to create a transcendent sensual experience. Chefs, she says, are like composers. Instead of using tone, rhythm, and tempo to create an aesthetic whole, they combine ingredients, preparations, and presentations to transport us from our daily ho-hum to a beautifully scored Sensual Elsewhere. You’ve been there. You’ve had those gonzo-fabulous meals that induce eye-rolling fits of pleasure. That’s where a great chef can take you. And guess what? You can DIY it, too. Start by getting yourself a copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY, the excellent book by Page and chef/partner-in-life Andrew Dornenburg, which is both a meditation on taste and a how-to guide for pairing, say, anchovies with sage. Pumpkin with mace. Happiness with joy.”
—Lisa Schiffman, host of TUTTIFOODIE.COM
“Interview with executive chef David Schmidt of L’Auberge de Sedona…Q. Do you have a favorite cookbook or reference guide? Chef David: I like many cookbooks and my favorite reference guides are CULINARY ARTISTRY and Larousse Gastronomique.”
—David Schmidt, as interviewed by Taryn Jeffries in PHOENIXBITES.COM (July 25, 2011)
“Back near Thanksgiving, my friend Tom reminded me of a book I had bought a while before, but hadn’t much looked at since (this occasionally happens with food books; I have enough that not all are as well-read as I would like). The book was CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. I re-examined it, and it is now a common reference. The front portion of the book tries to answer the question ‘Is Food Art?’ The authors collected opinions from chefs around the world, and tried to assemble them into a greater whole. They don’t come down on any one particular side of the issue, but instead they provide more fodder for debate. It’s a tough question, to be sure. I tend to be in the ‘for the most part no, but every now and then yes’ camp. But the bulk of the book has you thinking about how food works and how one should think about preparing it, and it is this that I turn to again and again these days. In particular, the book features an extensive flavor pairing chart that showcases ingredients that various chefs have found to work well together. There are often names of dishes from different chefs, and every now and then recipes, but for the most part it’s about giving you the information about good flavor pairings and letting you work from there….Other sections are illuminating. Contrasting courses in a menu (note how at that same dinner party I went from spicy to earthy and back to spicy a few times). How chefs have evolved over time. Sample menus that have worked well. There’s lots of good information here, and I discover new items every time I open the book. For you serious cooks who want to break free of recipes and do your own thing, I think CULINARY ARTISTRY is a great reference.”
—Derrick Schneider, AN OBSESSION WITH FOOD (March 14, 2004)
“One book that every chef should read? It used to be called CULINARY ARTISTRY [by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page]. They released an expanded edition. BECOMING A CHEF is a fabulous book that had a lasting impression on me. Maybe THE FLAVOR BIBLE. They take an ingredient like chicken and then look at different preparations and seasons. And then there’s a list of all these ingredients that go with it. I look at it every time I sit down to write a menu. I’ve gone through several copies. Let’s say you start with chicken, and it says pistachios go with chicken. So then I look up pistachios and see basil. And suddenly, I’ve got an idea for a roasted-chicken dish. I bounce back and forth and cross-reference. It’s such a cool tool. I don’t know if everybody uses it that way, but I love it. ”
—Todd Schulte, chef at Happy Gillis Cafe & Hangout and the Genessee Royale Bistro in Kansas City, as interviewed by Jonathan Bender for THE PITCH (March 17, 2011)
“Fascinating…A philosophy book on the culinary arts.”
“Synesthesia and Sensory Resources: CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Multi-media artist Dan Schwarzlose on EAT YOUR WORDS (April 2008)
“Q&A with Chef Jesse Schenker of Recette in NYC….Q. For my personal curiosity, I have read that you have a collection of cookbooks, do you have a favorite book or one [that] influenced you strongly? A. 1) CULINARY ARTISTRY; it’s just a great tool for flavor combinations and seasonal ingredients. It always helps spark my creative process.”
—Scoffier Magazine, Cahier Food & Gastronomy (January 6, 2011)
“…CULINARY ARTISTRY is an outstanding book written by James Beard Award-winning authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, and is one of the best books I have ever read. It explores the creative side of a culinary composition, and gives so much information, but in an easy and fun layout.”
—Jon Sekulovski, COMMON CHOPSTICKS (May 22, 2008)
“On a steamy August afternoon in New Delhi, Anoop Prakash, managing director of Harley-Davidson India, allows himself the luxury of a cold glass of Stella Artois beer in the middle of a working day….Outside work, Prakash and his wife Gita, who have been married for 10 years and have two daughters, are devoted to good food. When the couple go on holiday, they plan their itinerary around meals. Their favourite culinary holiday was in Madrid, Spain, around five years ago, and they swear by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s book CULINARY ARTISTRY, which focuses on flavour combinations.”
—Rudraneil Sengupta, LIVEMINT.COM / The Wall Street Journal (September 2, 2011)
“The one book I find I cannot live without is Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg’s THE FLAVOR BIBLE…Nearly every chef I know has either it, or Page and Dornenburg’s earlier CULINARY ARTISTRY. I own both.”
—Hank Shaw, award-winning blogger at HUNTER ANGLER GARDENER COOK (December 9, 2009)
“My favorite two cookbooks are 1) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page, and 2) Sauces by James Peterson.”
—Keith Shay, amateur chef and wine collector
“A wealth of information.”
—Lindsey Shere, pastry chef, Chez Panisse
“Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo are the chefs behind the highly-acclaimed Los Angeles restaurant Animal, as well as their newly opened second restaurant in the city, Son of a Gun. Since Animal first opened, the pair have been named Best New Chefs of 2009 by Food & Wine magazine, and were featured in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and The New York Times…CB: Okay. Do you guys have any specific cookbooks that you want more people to know about? Jon Shook: My go-to book is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It’s Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. They also did THE FLAVOR BIBLE, which I have. They did BECOMING A CHEF, too. They’re good books.”
—THECOOKBOOKBLOG.COM (August 16, 2011)
“Give the Gift of Inspiration: That is why ever since I reached the position of a chef I have made a holiday tradition of giving each of my key people a cookbook. It started with two sous chefs who worked with me some eight years ago, and it has now grown to a list of eight key chefs who help to make our businesses tick and make my life a lot more manageable. Now this isn’t a matter of heading to the nearest book store and grabbing eight copies of whatever’s on the discount rack. I take this ritual to heart and make a point of spending the time to hand pick a book for each chef, based on where I feel they are at in their career, what their interests are, and where I feel they can best grow as a chef. The goal is to inspire each of them to reach for something more, and continue to develop their skills….It is with that mindset that I share with you some of my classic favourite cookbooks, as well as some new favourites…Some Classics I Can’t Live Without: The French Laundry Cookbook, CULINARY ARTISTRY, Jamie’s Kitchen…CULINARY ARTISTRY is a very unique book. There are very few recipes shared. Rather it is a collection of ingredients and their best pairings. I have used this time and time again when it comes to creating new dishes, scrolling from page to page, considering what flavours will work best with which, and then building great dishes using my fundamental skills.”
—Paul Shufelt, EDMONTON SUN (December 19, 2011)
Todd Schulte’s Roasted Butternut Squash Soup With Apple-Bacon Marmalade…Q. Where do you get inspiration for your holiday menu? A. I start plowing through all the magazines that have turkeys on the front of them. I like the produce that time of year. I can’t put marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes. I’m not saying it doesn’t have its place, but I like doing different applications with sweet potatoes, or greens, or whatever. My favorite book of all time is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It’s a fabulous book. And then they have a book called WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT. Amazing. The two of them are front and center on my book shelf.”
—Jill Wendholt Silva, KANSAS CITY STAR (November 14, 2012)
“Several weeks ago my son suggested I get a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page (1996, ITP International Publishing). It was ranked as one of the top culinary books of the year, and can be conveniently purchased in paperback. I always listen closely to cooking-related suggestions from my son, Josh Silvers, because he is the chef/owner of the renowned restaurant Syrah in Santa Rosa. Josh suggested I read CULINARY ARTISTRY because he knows that I have been a cookbook collector for many years and no longer follow a recipe. I may use several recipes to create a concept of a particular dish and that’s what CULINARY ARTISTRY is all about….This is a book designed for the cook who never wants to follow a recipe but would like guidance on what he can do with a dish, pulling from a variety of different ingredients and seasonings. It is a book that belongs in every cook’s library, especially those who want to take their skills to the next level. What an inspiring read for anyone who takes pleasure in the preparation and consumption of gastronomic delights.”
—Don Silvers, KITCHEN DESIGN WITH COOKING IN MIND (May 25, 2007)
“The Culinary Fool is Kevin Hoffer’s two-year-old catering business, based in Dundas. His time as one of the head chefs at the University of Toronto’s Erindale campus prepared him for any type of party thrown at him. With 12 years experience behind him, a pantry full of Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines, and his favourite reference book CULINARY ARTISTRY always within reach, Hoffer says, ‘I can’t envision doing anything else.”
—Katrina Simmons, THE (HAMILTON, ONT.) SPECTATOR (May 6, 2005)
“At the risk of gushing, I really do put CULINARY ARTISTRY in the same category as Dostoevsky and Hemingway.”
—Wendy Sinclair, Columbia University alumna (February 2005)
“The books we ran through on the show, all highly recommended: The instructional ‘foody guru’ book CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—Cam Smith, Matt Steadman, Allan Campion and Maria Tsihlakis, ‘Eat It!’ (Australia) (eatit.com.au) (December 12, 2004)
“A terrific resource is a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. I have this book and use it almost daily as a reference for questions like ‘what spice goes with this ingredient,’ or, ‘does this herb or spice go well with the others I have used in this recipe?’ It also addresses things like what herbs and spices characterize food from a specific country or cuisine, when fruits and vegetables are at their peak season and gives tips from famous chefs like Alice Waters, Charlie Palmer and Nancy Silverton.”
—Lisa Smith, columnist, NEIGHBORHOOD CO-OP (Southern Illinois’ Community-Owned Natural Food Market) (July 2003)
“Culinary Bibles: 5 Non-Cookbooks Every Cook Must Own: 1. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This book is a must-have reference material in any chef’s arsenal. It comes in handy every time I am working on new menu items or specials. The format of the book is an alphabetical listing of ingredients with a group of complementing flavors listed for each. It also contains various tasting menus and individual dishes from the nation’s top chefs.”
—SoHearty.com (March 9, 2011)
“Favorite books: Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, THE FLAVOR BIBLE and CULINARY ARTISTRY (Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg), and Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha.”
—Austin chef Brad Sorensen, THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR, FoodNetwork.com
“A good cookbook has to get you excited….While I was thinking about this topic, I decided to ask some of the chefs at The Chopping Block for their favorites. Since they’ve all been cooking for years, I figured they’d have some in their arsenal that would be worth revisiting again and again. I also thought readers might be curious to see what inspires some of the creative minds at The Chopping Block. Maybe you’ll find your new favorite cookbook in one of these suggestions! Carrie Bradley loves CULINARY ARTISTRY. This useful reference has interviews with chefs, focusing on discussions about flavor combinations and seasonal ingredients. Carrie says it’s great inspiration for composing new dishes.”
—Kate Soto, THECHOPPINGBLOG.COM (March 21, 2012)
“Creativity, knowledge are key ingredients to creating menus: A common joke among menu developers is that if they take one menu item from a competitor, it’s stealing; if they take two, it’s research. But according to chef and restaurateur Aaron Noveshen, the key to devising a unique menu that customers will crave involves more than scrutinizing competitors and trends. …Noveshen shared his successful menu-developing philosophies at ‘Creating Food Products Your Customers Will Crave,’ a seminar presented during the 84th annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show here May 17-20…. Food books that Noveshen said had been particularly helpful to him were CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, The Elements of Taste by noted chef Gray Kunz and others, and chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman’s Simple to Spectacular.”
—Amy Spector, NATION’S RESTAURANT NEWS (June 9, 2003)
“I’ve read both CULINARY ARTISTRY and BECOMING A CHEF this past year, which is the year I really got into cooking. I want to tell you how fantastic they were as insights into the food industry, especially with the theme that it takes a passion for food, and not necessarily technical skills, to make a good chef. You really showed me how to respect simple ingredients and how to love cooking food just for the joy of losing yourself for three hours while cooking something new. Great books!”
—Michael Stachowsky, Co-President, Engineers without Borders, YorkU Chapter (February 2008)
“Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page have set me free. They dropped by the test kitchen recently with their new book CULINARY ARTISTRY and liberated me from slavishly following a cookbook recipe ever again. The sequel to 1995’s James Beard Award-winner BECOMING A CHEF, this fat volume offers limitless ways to compose dishes using the idea of food matches and menu plans from 30 of America’s top chefs.”
—Patty Stearns, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS
“If you’re thinking about the culinary field or are a cook or a chef, then you must read… Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Stu Stein, RESTAURANTS & INSTITUTIONS (July 2006)
“Most cooks can easily recite several classic flavor pairings: lamb and rosemary, tomatoes and basil, apples and cinnamon. But when we wish to be more adventurous in the kitchen, and possibly even develop our own recipes, what principles ought to guide us?….Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, authors of the classic handbook on flavor pairing, CULINARY ARTISTRY, recently published a new book that builds on their earlier work….”
—BALTIMORE EXAMINER (January 21, 2009)
“…Fired up by his new job, Stowell immersed himself in food books. A favorite was Andrew Dornenburg’s just-published CULINARY ARTISTRY, which introduced to him the idea of seasonal cooking. He learned that lamb is most tender in the spring and that oysters are best in the winter, when the waters in which they’re found are coldest.”
“To get started, Brand bombarded de la Torre with dozens of questions in advance. On the day of their get-together, he brought two pages of answers and a copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Designed to help the recipe-dependent navigate the how, why and when of meal preparation, the book doesn’t just explain what to do with, say, asparagus; it details many different ways to prepare asparagus grilled as a side dish, pureed in soup, tossed in a salad with shrimp and a lemon vinaigrette.”
—Ellen Sweets, DENVER POST (October 1, 2003)
“The grapefruit bitters experiment begins. I’d been keen on the idea of trying to make grapefruit bitters for a while, but seeing a recipe in the Times ‘ article on bitters a couple of weeks ago inspired me to give it a whirl. The recipe was based on grapefruit peel and the bitter white pith, with only coriander as a background flavor, steeped in Everclear. I tried to think of some other complementary flavors as I prepared the ingredients, and consulted the handy-dandy flavor compatibility chart in Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s excellent book CULINARY ARTISTRY. That chart, dozens of pages long, is absolutely indispensible in my kitchen (and apparently in the kitchens of many professional chefs as well), listing compatible flavor match combinations between myriad ingredients.”
—Chuck Taggart, GumboPages.com (February 6, 2006)
“For everyone who didn’t grow up on a farm or doesn’t feel ‘as one’ with the earth’s schedule, and who thinks, ‘if it’s at the store, it must be in season,’ I unconditionally recommend the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. I mentioned this in my last article, but a lot of people wrote to ask about it specifically. One afternoon at the library won’t cut it with this book this is a definite buy. It tells when different fruits, vegetables, fish, etc. are in season, and how to make them taste good without the expense of a culinary school education. It will save your family a load of money, and greatly improve your own creativity with food and flavors.”
—Liz Tarditi, chef, TODAY’S GOURMET and columnist, WWW.STRETCHER.COM
“Do your research for right flavor formulas: Interested in turning your next meal into an experiment in the science of flavor? Ensure palate-pleasing results by doing a little research first: Most professional chefs skip cookbooks altogether, but one book you’re likely to find well-thumbed on their bookshelves is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (Wiley, 1996). The classic culinary roadmap to Tastyland includes recipes but focuses on suggested flavor pairings. “People always ask me ‘What goes good with what?’ said chef David Kamen, an instructor at The Culinary Institute of America. This is the book to have. It’s very helpful.”
—Gemma Tarlach, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL (August 18, 2009)
“CULINARY ARTISTRY has been my bible (small b), but loving THE FLAVOR BIBLE.”
—Chef Tasso (@ChefTasso), via Twitter (July 14, 2009)
“GOOD READS: Most of what I know, I owe to these books and resources here: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This book explains why flavors work together and Dornenburg and Page organize the chapters with tables for hundreds of ingredients and their pairings that can be looked up alphabetically, genius! WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. The same organizational quality as CULINARY ARTISTRY but this time applied to food and beverage pairings. Not just food and wine pairings either, but food and tea, soda, cocktails, beer. Another great reference I use all the time. I kind of feel like I’m giving up one of my best kept secrets by recommending this book, but I’ll do that for you, my loyal readers.”
—Kara Taylor, SMOKEYRIDGECHARCUTERIE.TUMBLR.COM (June 2012)
“EVO Pizzeria has been recognized as one of the best pizzerias in the United States…Blake McCormick took over as executive chef in May, having joined the kitchen about 2 1/2 years ago…Still stumped for what to do with the vegetables? McCormick recommends a book that helped her through cooking school. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page lists individual ingredients and suggests food and flavor pairings as well as cooking methods and recipes. The idea is to encourage more free-form thinking about creating your own menu.”
—Teresa Taylor, CHARLESTON POST AND COURIER (November 14, 2012)
“In the kitchen with…Duane Fernandes, chef, Gabrielle’s at the Richmond Hill Inn in Asheville, NC. Training: I went to Trident Culinary School and Johnson and Wales in Charleston, S.C. Truly, most of my training is from various restaurants and kitchen positions, such as Peninsula Grill, Lemaire and Per Se, to name a few…Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.”
—Carole Terrell, ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES (2008)
I have to say that CULINARY ARTISTRY was a big book for me as a young cook. It was a parting gift from my first kitchen job and I ran that book in to the ground.”
—Gabe Thompson, chef of dell’anima (who formerly cooked at Del Posto and Le Bernardin) in New York City
“Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by (Andrew) Dornenburg and (Karen) Page.”
—Justin Thompson, executive chef of Brasserie in Tulsa, as interviewed by Kendall Barrow for TULSAPEOPLE.COM (November 2010)
“One of the best culinary books of the year….This is the couple’s second in a series of three books about the evolution of the art of cooking for a living. Page and Dornenburg contend that today’s chefs are living in a moment of great opportunity; their newfound credibility gives them the chance to affect the way the country thinks about food and eating. Included are words of wisdom from the country’s top chefs, including New York’s Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud, and Michael Romano. The experts reveal what has inspired them and what they have learned through experience and experimentation. A valuable reference for both amateurs and professionals.”
—TIME OUT: NEW YORK
“…Let me recommend two books by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg: CULINARY ARTISTRY and THE FLAVOR BIBLE. The first one offers advice on menu planning plus many pages of food pairings. The latter includes exhaustive listings of individual foods, breaking down their characteristics and giving their flavor affinities. I’m looking at the entry on lamb, for instance, and among the dozens of matchmaking suggestions are dried black figs, leeks, nutmeg, wine, root vegetables, tomatoes, thyme. The entry is several pages long.”
—Jane Touzalin, WashingtonPost.com (December 15, 2010)
“Q. If you had to give all but one of your cookery books to your chosen charity, which book would you keep, and why? A. I would keep two: CULINARY ARTISTRY, which is all about flavour matching and combining, and Quando Cucina vano le Nonne, written by family in tribute to my grandmother.”
—UKFOOD.CO.UK (October 19, 2004)
“One of my favorite books on food is CULINARY ARTISTRY written by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This book breaks down what goes in to making a chef, a culinary artist. Recipes and restaurant menus from masters such as Daniel Boulud, Jimmy Schmidt, Alice Waters, and Charlie Palmer give the reader insight into their personal cooking style. What I particularly love about this book is the ‘Composing a Dish’ section which contains comprehensive lists of ingredients and their best flavor matches. Often, when I want to make something new, I refer to this book to get inspiration. The binding is cracked and many pages are soiled or stuck together with sauce from using it so frequently!”
—Kim Urbanowski, URBANGOURMETDETROIT.COM (February 21, 2012)
“Here’s a book that I’ve read several copies of, it keeps falling apart [from use] …CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Perfect when looking for gastronomic marriages and food creators’ thoughts about building perfect dishes from scratch.”
—Erik Videgard, DET GODASTE (Swedish culinary blog) (December 26, 2009)
“I love CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Andrew Vidulich, bartender at Eulogy Bar and Beneluxx Bar in Philadelphia
“[CULINARY ARTISTRY] contains vital information taught only in some of the finest culinary schools in the world.”
—VINEYARD.COM
“Cleveland-area chefs serve up titles of their tried-and-true recipe books: Looking for the ideal cookbook gift this holiday? According to a national library database, nearly 2,500 titles were published in the United States this year alone. To sort through the options, and especially the titles that have proven more than useful, we turned to some Cleveland-area chefs and discovered which cookbooks have shaped their careers and inspired their passion….Matthew Moore, chef-owner of Ohio City’s Souper Market…swears by Andrew Dornenburg’s and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY, a compendium of complementary food and spice combinations.”
—Amy Viny, THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER (December 17, 2003)
“…I will start the year with a book list that I judge essential to those who love gastronomy: 1) The Professional Chef; 2) The French Laundry – Thomas Keller; 3) On Food and Cooking – H. McGee; 4) CULINARY ARTISTRY – Andrew Dornenburg (sic); 5) Any book of El Bulli (Ferran Adria) if seeking technique and presentation; 6) A Scientist in the Kitchen
—Herve This.
“However, there are a few staples that I cannot live without and I always keep on hand. I call it my Desert Island List. You know the game. You have to list things that you would take if stranded on a desert island. In CULINARY ARTISTRY, authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page include a chapter collecting the Desert Island Lists of top chefs from around the country. A range of interesting items make the lists, but one thing is clear: Most cooks have a certain core group of go-to ingredients from which they cook. These items are like a cook’s culinary DNA.”
—Stacy-Lynn Waddell, THE RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER (2008)
“It seems appropriate to review the book that prompted me to start the blog: THE FLAVOR BIBLE by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. This is not a traditional cookery book. It is something even better….Look out for this title. I think it is going to join The Silver Spoon [Italy’s bestselling cookbook of the past 50 years] and CULINARY ARTISTRY as a classic cook book.”
—Matt Wake, founder of Books Books Books, the English-language bookstore in Lausanne, Switzerland, on MattOnBooks.blogspot.com (May 25, 2009)
“An extraordinary landmark book.”
—Bill Wallace and George Benson, radio hosts, ‘Chef’s Edition’
“On a professional level I’ve found CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page the single most useful book in my library.”
—Chad Ward, eGullet.com’s ‘Book Talk’ (October 6, 2003)
“Asparagus with mint? Bleu cheese and mango? How do you know what will work and what will simply sear your taste buds? You could experiment possibly traumatizing your family and guaranteeing your kids a spot on ‘Oprah’ or you could learn how various flavors interact….If you want to look like a genius in the kitchen, top picks include Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Michael Walsh, A View From The Kitchen (November 12, 2008)
“Q. What recipe books to you consider must-haves for a chef’s personal library? A. There’s one book I was given as a gift and I bring it to work every day: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. As far as writing a menu, it is one of the most helpful tools I know of. I use it as an idea starter.”
—Chicago Loop Chef Roger Waysok, South Water Kitchen Restaurant & Bar (October 6, 2003)
“Q. Do you have a favorite cookbook? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY…It provides information about [food] pairings.”
—Danny Wells, chef de cuisine, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, as interviewed by Alexandra Greeley in the WASHINGTON EXAMINER (November 2011)
Top 10 Chefs: Mike Comer, Temptations Everyday Gourmet. The 2009 Wilmington Magazine and StarNews Top Chef competition narrowed a field of 40 reader-nominated chefs down to your Top 10. As we count down to the Taste of Wilmington festival on July 19, we spotlight each of the chefs. Mike Comer Age: 29. Years cooking: 15. Culinary school: The Culinary Institute of America. Most well-worn cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY or The Food Lover’s Companion.”
—WILMINGTON STAR NEWS (July 9, 2009)
“The Margot Cafe and Wine Bar is usually closed on Mondays, but lately the light is on in the kitchen anyway. Those are the nights chef and co-owner Margot McCormack has been teaching cooking classes there…As last week’s class on shellfish got under way, she took time to mention some of her favorite cookbooks on the topic, including the latest edition of Sharon Tyler Herbst’s The Food Lover’s Companion, A.J. McClaine’s Encyclopedia of Fish, and Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg’s CULINARY ARTISTRY.”
—Thayer Wine, THE TENNESSEAN (August 4, 2003)
“Tasty ‘Top Chef’ bus stops in Madison: Madison got a savory taste Wednesday of one of the hot — and we mean that literally — reality shows on cable TV. The 48-foot, blaze-orange truck for the Bravo channel’s ‘Top Chef’ tour opened its doors near the farmers market on King Street as fans milled about, waiting for a chance to board for a cooking demonstration by two of the show’s 30-something cooks-turned-superstars: Stephanie Izard, winner of the show’s fourth and most recent season, and Dale Levitski, a third-season finalist….The pairs’ other tips that session: Study the cookbook CULINARY ARTISTRY, learn to season food before attempting to learn anything else about cooking, banish iodized salt from the kitchen (use only kosher or sea salt) and forego all store-bought salad dressings. ‘Except,’ quipped Levitski, who knew avid fans would remember Izard’s weakness for French fries dipped in ranch dressing, ‘maybe ranch.'”
—Gayle Worland, WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL (August 27, 2008)
“Guys and gear are like peanut butter and jelly — especially when it comes to the kitchen. Whether it’s firing up the grill or ‘MacGuyvering’ a masterpiece, these valley men know what tools it takes to get the job done….Scott Hartman, writer: Though Scott Hartman has been cooking for decades, he had a hard time picking a favorite item of kitchen gear — mostly, he said, because he has cooked in so many places and is used to making do with whatever’s available. So rather than relying on gear, Hartman began relying on a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It’s less a recipe book than a guide for experimenting with flavors, Hartman said. For example, the combination of basil, balsamic and olive oil is well known, but Hartman said he became bored with that eventually and began seeking more unique pairings. ‘I drowned in that!’ he said with a laugh. ‘So you start to think, ‘What else is good with balsamic?’ That book is one thing I wouldn’t cook without.”
—Katherine Wutz, IDAHO MOUNTAIN EXPRESS (June 13, 2012)
“Top 5: Neil Ferguson. Monteverde’s acclaimed chef on his favorite cookbooks. In July 2007, Neil Ferguson brought his toque, talent, and years of experience in such celebrated three-star Michelin restaurants as L’Esperance in Burgundy, L’Arpege in Paris, and Gordon Ramsay in London and Manhattan, up the Hudson to Cortlandt Manor. Now Executive Chef of Monteverde at Oldstone Manor, he continues to dazzle diners with his talented take on modern American cuisine. Here, Chef Ferguson shares the titles of his five most trusted cooking bibles….5) CULINARY ARTISTRY, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Describing it as a useful tool to jog his memory, Ferguson says this is the book that he regularly pulls off his bookshelf when he’s working on a menu or dish. ‘It is so well written and laid out. At its heart it is a list of flavor marriages and pairings, with methods and techniques for those ingredients. But the chapters surrounding these lists explain how various chefs go about creating a menu.’”
—Laurie Yarnell, WESTCHESTER (September 2008)
“Miami Eateries Redefining American Cuisine: The Federal Food, Drink & Provisions. While Aniece Meinhold has imbued The Federal (co-owned by Meinhold, Alejandro Ortiz, and chef Cesar Zapata) with a rustic ambience, Zapata created a menu that ranges from Colonial to ’50s Americana with plenty of out-of-the-box updates. Highlights include figs and cream with burrata, Concord grapes, nuts, and rosemary biscuit crumbs, and venison sausage with whipped potatoes and pan-roasted mushrooms. Q. Your dog-eared cookbook? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Although a bit dated, it has great information. I keep going back to it.”
—Cesar Zapata, as quoted in OCEAN DRIVE (November 2012)
“The Blog that brought me home again….My parents, Lindsey and Charles Shere, were partners with Alice Waters in Chez Panisse from the beginning; Mom was the founding pastry chef. Food framed our lives. Mom tended a small city garden with a pear tree and fraises des bois. We shared a fence and the fava beans that climbed it with our elderly neighbor, Mrs. Bertolli. At dinner we would taste, joke, and argue. Conversation revolved around food. ‘If you were stuck on a desert island and could only bring ten foods, what would they be?’ Dad’s list included grapes for wine. Mom added tangerines and lettuce (her complete list is in the book CULINARY ARTISTRY).”
—Giovanna Zivny, GOURMET (May 2009)
