A RECENT HISTORY OF BOOKS FOR CHEFS AND COOKS

"1995: BECOMING A CHEF is published, offering the first compendium of answers to some of the most common questions an aspiring chef can ask."
—The National Culinary Review

"...BECOMING A CHEF, the first book that meaningfully addressed chefs as they moved into the realm of celebrity."
—Michael Ruhlman, author, on MegNut.com

The publication of BECOMING A CHEF in 1995 and its unexpected commercial success (with more than 100,000 copies sold) launched a new wave of food writing and popular books on food, and is said to have established the category of contemporary writing on food. Likewise, the publication of each subsequent book pioneered new ground for others that followed.

BECOMING A CHEF (1995, and 2nd ed. 2003)
was followed by a wave of books about professional chefs, e.g.
- A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen by Ann Cooper (1997)
- The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman (1997)
- If You Can't Stand the Heat by Dawn Davis (1999)
- The Making of a Pastry Chef by Andrew MacLauchlan (1999)
- Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (2000)
- The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman (2000)
- Letters to a Young Chef by Daniel Boulud (2003)
- The Seasoning of a Chef by Doug Psaltis (2005)
- Heat by Bill Buford (2006)
- The Reach of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman (2006)
and another wave of books picking up where Chapter 10: What's Next? on the future of food (and organics, sustainable agriculture, etc.) left off, e.g.
- Bitter Harvest by Ann Cooper (2000)
- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (2006)

CULINARY ARTISTRY (1996)
was followed by
- In the Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley (2000), which kindly acknowledges CULINARY ARTISTRY

DINING OUT (1998)
was followed by other books on restaurant critics, e.g.
- Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl (2001)
- Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl (2005)
- Insatiable by Gael Greene (2006)
and other books on the history of American dining, e.g.
- The Last Days of Haute Cuisine by Patric Kuh (2001)
- The United States of Arugula by David Kemp (2006)

CHEF'S NIGHT OUT (2001), the first known mention of chef Ferran Adria in an American book, was followed by
- El Bulli: 1998-2002 by Ferran Adria (2005)
- El Bulli: 1994-1997 by Ferran Adria (2006)
- El Bulli: 2003-2004 by Ferran Adria (2006)

WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT (2006)
was followed by
- Fine Waters by Michael Mascha (2006)
- Food and Wine Pairing: A Sensory Experience (2007)

"BECOMING A CHEF by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page...was actually more than a cookbook, and launched a new dimension in food writing, creating a standard for a whole new genre."

—Pam Chirls, senior culinary editor, John Wiley & Sons, as quoted in The (Hackensack, NJ) Record 

"They've been called the 'Dynamic Duo of Dining'...and every time they sit down to write a new book, two things happen: First, they create a whole new genre of food writing, which started with their first book BECOMING A CHEF and which they also did with my personal favorite DINING OUT; and second, that book goes on to win at least one major cookbook award."
—Pat Tanner, host, "Dining Today" on WHWH Radio (Princeton, NJ)