|
What They're Saying About
CULINARY ARTISTRY
by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
"All education should strive to help those receiving it
to gain enough freedom in relation to works of art
to themselves become artists."
— Pierre Bayard, author and professor, University of Paris
CULINARY ARTISTRY is frequently cited as a favorite book of chefs and other flavor enthusiasts around the world:
"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)
"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)
"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)
"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)
"The one book I find I cannot live without is Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's THE FLAVOR BIBLE. It is not so much a cookbook as a book for cooks to use as a reference when faced with a new ingredient, or an ingredient they want to use in a different way. THE FLAVOR BIBLE is essentially an alphabetical list of ingredients with other ingredients that go well with them listed underneath. So for venison, it has the obvious — rosemary, juniper and garlic — but also things like tomatoes and allspice. If you are already a decent cook and want to elevate your art, to create recipes rather than just modify or copy someone else's, you need this book. Nearly every chef I know has either it, or Page and Dornenburg's earlier CULINARY ARTISTRY. I own both."
—Hank Shaw, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (December 9, 2009)
"[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)
"[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)
"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)
"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 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)
"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)
"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)
"This week, Columbus Underground is taking a look at some of the amazing young talent in the kitchens of your favorite local restaurants...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. 'Some girls buy shoes,' says Angela. 'I, on the other hand, buy cookbooks and everything related.' Favorite cookbook: My favorites include The Food Lover's Companion, CULINARY ARTISTRY....Joshua DiBari is currently the sous chef at Z Cucina. Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page..."
—ColumbusUnderground.com (July 21, 2009)
"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 StarNews (July 9, 2009)
"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)
"Favorite books: Craft of Cooking, CULINARY ARTISTRY, French Laundry — cookbooks that just don't give you some recipe but a sense of why and how the dish came about...."
—Teddy Folkman, co-owner and executive chef of Gastropub in Washington, DC, on "The Next Food Network Star" (June 2009)
"From the Bookshelf: Cooking Without a Recipe: THE FLAVOR BIBLE expands on an idea that Dornenburg and Page touched upon in their books CULINARY ARTISTRY and WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT; indexing different ingredients with their complementary flavors. There's a section on regional and international flavor profiles, little essays from chefs about the idea of flavors and pairings, and a guide to different cuts of meat. If you're looking for recipes, you won't find any here; this book is truly intended as a reference and a jumping-off point for your own creations. For accomplished cooks who already have their techniques down pat, it'll be a great resource to get more inventive with their own creations...."
—Jessica Harlan, About.com (June 11, 2009)
"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)
"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)
"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)
"Interview with Culinary Student Blair Cannon. Q. What books would you recommend to someone thinking of going to cooking school? A. My top three favorite books are: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page...."
— ReluctantGourmet.com (May 21, 2009)
"Sean O'Brien, chef, Zinnia...Most memorable moment: Being selected by Food and Wine magazine as one of the top new chefs. It was a huge honor for me. Also the year before, Myth was one of the best new restaurants in Esquire magazine...Favorite cookbook: It’s a reference guide called CULINARY ARTISTRY. So if you look up avocados, it tells you what pairings go well with that."
—Emily Fancher, San Francisco Business Times (May 1, 2009)
"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)
"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."
—Jane, EatMeDaily.com (March 19, 2009)
"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)
"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)
"Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
—Anthony Figliano, Toronto chef, on BiteClub.com
(February 2009)
"Twelve years ago, when their second book, CULINARY ARTISTRY appeared in bookstores (chef Grant Achatz of Alinea has said it is his 'most used cookbook'), 'there was no shelf in bookstores for food writing,' Page said. And the book, which was a precursor to THE FLAVOR BIBLE, was ignored by non-professionals."
—Emily Nunn, Chicago Tribune (January 28, 2009)
"Things I Don't Do. New Year's Resolutions: I think they're silly. If you want to resolve to do something, why wait for January 1st? ...Recipes: I have an ingrained inability to follow recipes to the letter. Can't do it. It probably stems from the fact that I'm not so great at being told what to do. My favorite cookbook is one that tells me what ingredients work well together. It's the only one I use with any regularity: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page."
—CalifMom.com (December 30, 2008)
"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."
—Antoiette Bruno, StarChefs.com (December 2008)
"Chef Paul Shufelt thrives on the high-intensity atmosphere of a kitchen that delivers up to 600 plates daily on busy weekends. nd since 100 opened in October, on choice real estate at the corner of 100th Street and 101st Avenue, all the weekends have been busy. 'Perfect,' I said to myself when Shufelt, 100's head chef, confessed his love of pressure and stress. 'He'll know just how to cope with Christmas in the kitchen.'....' Half the fun with food is trying things out,' says Shufelt, a graduate of NAIT's school of culinary arts. Here's a chef's tip: When Shufelt is uncertain about which foods go best with other foods as he plans his menus, he consults a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY. This reference text matches food products, such as lamb or beef, with other ingredients (fruits, vegetables, spice or herbs) to help cooks create delicious combinations. 'It's a jumping-off-point for inspiration,' says Shufelt."
—Liane Faulder, Edmonton Journal (December 20, 2008)
"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)
"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)
"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)
"On a professional level I've found CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page the single most useful book in my library."
—Michael Walsh, A View From The Kitchen (November 12, 2008)
"What I'm Into: Marcus Jefferson. The 21-year-old is an aspiring chef at Sullivan....I went to China with Sullivan to cook at the Olympics. They worked us hard, but it was fun and I learned a lot. We cooked for George Bush Sr., Condoleezza Rice, and Michael Phelps....One of my favorite cookbooks is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It's a good book for writing menus...."
—Javacia N. Harris, Louiville Courier-Journal (November 3, 2008)
"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)
"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)
"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 wtih Rachael (October 8, 2008)
"Here are two great books: CULINARY ARTISTRY and THE FLAVOR BIBLE, if you want to learn about how flavors and spices enhance dishes as well as which ones they 'go' with. I love CULINARY ARTISTRY. I used it in one of my first chef jobs. It is incredible."
—Red Clog Chef in Brooklyn, NY (9/28/2008)
"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)
"Best culinary book. This is the best culinary book for new cooks as well as for professionals. This book helps you to know as well as to make your own dishes. Every Cook or Chef who want to learn or enhance his/her knowledge which he/she can use practically should buy it."
—Afnan, I am a Chef, BN.com (9/19/2008)
"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)
"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 magazine (September 2008)
"I really love CULINARY ARTISTRY and it's the flavor bible part of it that I love
the best."
—ExtraMSG on PortlandFood.org (September 5, 2008)
"Here are just a few great cookbooks I have come across (there are many many more). I have 3 favorite go-to books that I look at almost daily: CULINARY ARTISTRY, Food Lover's Companion and Larousse Gastronomique. If you are interested in expanding your repertoire and culinary ability, you'll find yourselves well on the way with these books. Culinary Masterpiece of the Moment (this one is still my absolute favorite): CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This book is amazing! It doesn't have all the pretty pictures but it does have many lists of food pairing. It will give you an ingredient (ie. Lobster, chicken, artichokes) and tell you what to pair it with (ie. Spices, side dishes, herbs, veggies). Talk about a great reference! This is a book that allows you to play with your food without ruining it! FUN!"
—Chef Carolyn in Oklahoma on LiveJournal.com
(August 31, 2008)
"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)
"Seconding CULINARY ARTISTRY and adding On Food and Cooking. The first has classic pairings and the thinking of professional chefs, while the second has information on why certain things go together."
—Mad Methods on Ask.Metafilter.com
(August 27, 2008)
"According to my favorite book, CULINARY ARTISTRY, lavender pairs well with fruit, ice creams, lamb, rabbit and stew. I'm not ready to dive into the latter three of the group, so fruit and ice creams, it is!"
—Weekend Herb Blogging (August 21, 2008)
"I just bought CULINARY ARTISTRY and am busily recommending it to everyone I know. (A little secret: personally, I am most definitely not a chef and I despise cooking, but your book gave me the answer to the question, “I need to use up my (insert food name here). What else can I do with it?”) Bravo!...P.S. I learned about CULINARY ARTISTRY from a cookbook called Raising the Salad Bar, whose author gave your book high praise."
—Vivian L. in Colorado, in an email (August 19, 2008)
"."
—Alan H., IdeasInFood.com (August 13, 2008)
"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)
"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)
"My Top 10 Cookbooks: After spending way too much time trying to figure out what my top 10 cookbooks
are, I decided to list the top 10 cookbooks that I always find myself reaching
for. These are books that most chefs probably have on their shelves and I believe that the majority of these books should be read by anyone that is interested in food. These are all great books that I reach for when I need ideas, need some reference, can't remember some random recipe, just want some good reading and most importantly, need some inspiration. So, my top 10 Cookbooks are...CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page...."
—Travis Mason, former restaurateur now in the coffee business in Portland, Oregon; on FoodAndInk (August 3, 2008)
"I decided to give cherry jam another try. To improve the flavor even further, I was pondering on adding spices. My mom has previously added cloves and cinnamon to plums when making jam. The first place I looked was under cherries in the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. Among the numerous suggestions for flavor pairings it was black pepper and lemon that caught my attention. Who would have thought? I made a small test batch and was quite pleased by the “bite” provided by pepper so I proceeded with a full batch. I used a pre-mixed gelling sugar from Danisco sugar (which contained sugar, pectin, a preservative and an acid), but you could use whatever pectin you have at hand...As mint was also mentioned as a good flavor pairing for cherries in CULINARY ARTISTRY I thought I’d give pepper and peppermint a try...."
—Martin Lorsch, PhD in organometallic chemistry, research scientist, and owner of Khymos, a Web site dedicated to molecular gastronomy in Oslo, Norway (August 3, 2008)
"Ya ummm Dallas you took the words from my mouth…i heart CULINARY ARTISTRY…it’s how i decided that my favorite food combo is bacon and bananas…the only books in my kitchen: JOC, CULINARY ARTISTRY, the food lover’s companion (in case i buy something and don’t really know what it is), and a book called The Food of France..that has the BEST pictures of french food and markets …makes me hungry every time i read it."
—Denizzle at ButterOnTheEndive.ca (July 24, 2008)
"Splurged on some Kurobuta pork chops. Kurobuta, which I have learned is the Japanese term for Berkshire, takes its identity in the marbling and was a perfect feature in an impromptu slide into summer sweetness. The idea began with a conversation about the delicate flavors and sweetness of stone fruit: summer ripeness and wetness, and how the subtle fragrance, color, and texture can almost imitate human form. Chef Josh Katt and I brainstormed with the help of CULINARY ARTISTRY and the internet and inevitably decided on pork, with its tender fattiness always inviting sweetness."
—chigagou.wordpress.com (July 24, 2008)
"In the kitchen with...Robert Boyce, chef, Season's at the Highland Lake Inn in Flat Rock, NC. Training: I have never attended a culinary institute. My culinary training came from many years of hands-on hard work under really great world-traveled chefs. ...Favorite cookbook: I have several cookbooks that I gain inspiration from: Soup Bible, Sauce Bible, CULINARY ARTISTRY and many other random cookbooks."
—Carole Terrell, Asheville Citizen-Times (July 23, 2008)
"Truth be told there are millions of cook books out there, with only a few hundred different dishes/recipes in them. If you have good grounding and a competent knowledge of cookery ie:
you understand failures in the kitchen and what has caused them, able to correct them or not make the same mistake again then the 'recipe' books on the shelves are clutter. The only recipe books that actually then become useful are by the world's greatest chefs, and often don't include recipes. The books are there to highlight presentation techniques and flavour combinations.
A true solid book would be CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg (get this from amazon). This is really great for pushing your boundaries of what goes well with what."
—O Chef in the South UK on RecipeBite.co.uk (July 21, 2008)
"Thanks for visiting my site. I have used CULINARY ARTISTRY for years as well. I have always found it to get the creative juices flowing immediately. A great book, well done. Thanks,"
—Owen Lightly, restaurant cook, long-time musician and
host of ButterOnTheEndive.ca in Vancouver (July 20, 2008)
"Q. What is your favorite cookbook and why? A. A cookbook called CULINARY ARTISTRY has for me become a 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)
"Summer in a bowl, or CSA experiment #3. Okay, so I've actually done more than three experiments with my lovely CSA produce, but I've been dreadful about recording them for posterity...
I've been really grooving on my CULINARY ARTISTRY book since it basically has lists and lists of flavors that mesh well."
— L'Aventuriere de Saveur, Salt and Pepper Magazine
(July 14, 2008)
"It's pretty rare to get fresh fava beans here in Denver, looks like the ridiculously short season has begun and I'll be lucky to find them again. It's really tough to get good at cooking something you see only once a year, but this combination worked well. The flavor combination was inspired by perusing CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— KindaGeeky, gastronomicguesswork.com (July 12, 2008)
"indispensable kitchen bookshelf: Ball Blue Book of Canning, Betty Crocker's Cookbook, CULINARY ARTISTRY, Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page...."
— Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks (July 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)
"...Some of my favorite books in each [category]. Cooking: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page: This isn't so much a cookbook, but a book about food. It includes a few recipes, but is really more about the creativity of composing your own recipes and dishes. Much of the book's value comes from the lists of foods that go well together. This is another of my bookish food muses."
— Lynne, Sweetbriarpatch.blogspot.com (July 9, 2008)
"Cookbooks for taking it to the next level....Once you are comfortable with the process of developing your own recipes, the next cookbook to buy would be CULINARY ARTISTRY. It has pages and pages of charts listing flavor combinations that work well. The charts are organized by main ingredient, i.e. shrimp, artichokes, cherries. It's great when you have a lot of one ingredient, have an idea of how you want to prepare it, and just need to know what flavors to add to complement the main ingredient. The authors describe the charts as replicating the knowledge that most professional cooks tend to absorb/intuit after years of cooking. I couldn't agree more. CULINARY ARTISTRY is very much like what you are looking for in terms of it not being just a list of ingredients and a recipe. There are some recipes in it, but I've never used them. Think of it more as a set of guidelines to keep you headed in the right direction."
— Metaphora, Chow.com (July 9, 2008)
"Favorite Cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY (Dornenburg & Page): Well-worn and used by chefs. Knife Skills (Trotter, Wareing, Hill, Hall): This DK book has great photos; good supplement to our BASICS knife skills class."
— Draeger's Cooking School, CookEatShare.com (July 7, 2008)
"Q. Fresh Sage, What to do with? A. All of these ideas sound so good! The vegan options recommended by CULINARY ARTISTRY are:
Eggplant,
Peas,
Ravioli,
Stuffing,
Tomatoes."
— MDVegan in Maryland on VegWeb.com (July 2, 2008)
"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)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY: #1 of 10 culinary must-reads."
— Leslie-Anne, on Chapters.indigo.ca
"My books from the Good Cook book club arrived! ...Anyway, here we have Cooking by James Peterson, The Elements of Cooking by Michael Ruhlman and CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. I've had CULINARY ARTISTRY for about a year and I love it because it lists every food you can think of and then tells you what it pairs up with. Love it!"
— Jenny on YourSugarAndSpice.blogspot.com (June 30, 2008)
"My friend loaned me a really cool book called CULINARY ARTISTRY. He said it was basically a textbook that he used when he was first employed as a cook. It’s seriously cool. The first part has a lot of articles about the author’s philosophy about the nature of food and art, and about how he grew up around it, and how he learned to love to experiment. He talked about how we all grow up wanting to try things, but we keep being told 'Don't play with your FOOD!'
So, now that I'm a grown-up, I can play with my food!
Anyway, a large part of this book is basically a reference book. You can look up any primary ingredient, and it will tell you a list of other ingredients and spices and flavorings that 'go with it'. Some of them go together so well, that they're considered 'classic combinations', and they put those in the list in bold face.
I had some frozen salmon left over from the cookoff, so I decided to try something. Rather than find a salmon recipe that spells out exactly how much of everything to put in, I was going to look at this list of compatible ingredients, see what things I already had in my pantry and fridge, and combine them in amounts that made sense!
So, I looked over the list. A few things jumped out at me from the beginning. Potatoes, onions, even bacon. I thought of one of the early dishes I had made with just those three, adding in chicken and cheese. An idea was taking shape...."
— Mark on MarksBlackPot.blogspot.com (June 29, 2008)
"I've got a decent library here at the house. From that, there are some real gems
that I wouldn't want to be without. Here's a few:
*The Professional Charcuterie Series by Marcel Cottenceau, Jean-Francois Deport and Jean-Pierre Odeau...*CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg (sic)
and many many more... I love by books.
*Truly excellent books IMO'."
— Some Young Guy on AudioCircle.com
(June 20, 2008)
"Books I love....CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Claire Berman on FoodOutcast.Blogspot.com (June 2008)
"Indispensible Cookbooks: Andrew Dornenburg (sic), CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Kevin & Vanessa in Portsmouth, UK, on Blogspot.com
(June 2008)
"Favorite Cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Corina at Corina Bakery in Tacoma, WA on MySpace.com
(June 2008)
"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 Dornenberg's CULINARY ARTISTRY for it's 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)
"Favorite Five: the three most important hedonistic ventures in my life are food, sex, and libations. in that order....here are the five favorite things i have read about the pleasures of life: The Physiology of Taste by jean anthelme brillat savarin - this book is a great journey into the pleasures and the science of taste (as believed in the 18th century). there is a bit about drinking and even less about sex - but hedonism runs as an undercurrent through the whole book. CULINARY ARTISTRY by andrew dorenburg & karen page - mostly about food, but it reminds you over and over to enjoy food and life. and it is the best cooking reference book out there...."
— Madame Kansas, MapofKansas.wordpress.com
(June 14, 2008)
"The books have arrived and I love them all. CULINARY ARTISTRY is a fantastically practical guide to pairing ingredients, both tried and tested combinations and some more unusual ones too. I have no doubt it will become an indispensable resource for sense-checking the dishes I put together."
— Pete Lien, This Edible Life in London (June 13, 2008)
"Sometimes I fall asleep with 5 cookbooks in the bed. Thinking about what to have for dinner usually involves a few websites (epicurious and america's test kitchen) and a few cookbooks, (lately gourmet, joy of cooking, or searching by ingredient in CULINARY ARTISTRY or one of the chez panisse books)."
— April Leone on Groupee.com (June 12, 2008)
"Favorite Books...CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Robyn Sullivan, chef-owner, Calliope's Table in Portland, OR on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books...CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Greg Engelhardt, chef and CIA alum in Las Vegas on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Brad Miller, chef tournant at The Boulders in Carefree, AZ on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books: ...Becoming a Chef, CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Mark, cook in Holmen, WI, on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books...CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— H. Lar, server/bartender in Pasadena on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Chef for Life, chef in Pleasant City, Utah, on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books...CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Dawn, culinarian in St. Louis on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books...CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Mark, executive chef at Two Blondes and a Shrimp in Sanford, Florida on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Book: CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Sheridan, chef and CIA alum in Las Vegas on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books: I don't really read anything but cookbooks or books on cooks, but I do read a lot of those. Some of the books that have helped me are CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page...."
— Scott, cook in Eugene, OR on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books: ...CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Nick Battista, culinary apprentice at The Greenbrier on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"Favorite Books: ...CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Nick Battista, culinary apprentice at The Greenbrier on MySpace.com (June 2008)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY: Five Stars."
— Wyl on GoodReads.com (June 7, 2008)
"It's not a cookbook, but I HIGHLY recommend CULINARY ARTISTRY. It's a must for every semi-serious cook, especially if you like to come up with your own dishes."
— Miss Needle on Chow.com (June 5, 2008)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg (sic). I like the idea of this book. The composing flavors, dishes and menu are an excellent resource. I spent hours reading the pages on what flavour or seasoning matches with what, what food is in season, and days on how to put a menu together--planning, balance, progression of flavours, textures and surprise....What's fun is the quotes and in-depth interviews of America's top chefs, it would have been good to throw in the mix other chef voices from other parts of the world...I did like the discussion on novel combinations, connecting the unconnected, restructuring the problem, using the five senses, experimenting and finding inspiration. The bibliography is indispensable. Three things I learnt from this book: keep it simple, don't get complicated; when developing a menu think about ingredients and what you can buy locally; and don't be afraid to experiment and riff off other recipes." — CordonBlues' Blog (June 2, 2008)
"I recently purchased a lovely book that got me thinking about you and your
outstanding culinary creations. It's called CULINARY ARTISTRY. I think you'd be interested to flip through it. It's about cooking without recipes, formulating flavor combinations, and composing menus. It's quite inspiring."
— Amey aka SpringsandWells on Blogspot.com (June 1, 2008)
"To create a savory dish with rhubarb I turned to my two favorite resources: Food Lover’s Companion and CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Jackie Kolber on FoodieReflections.com (May 29, 2008)
"Recommended reading: CULINARY ARTISTRY....Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Cross78, sous chef in Lodi, CA on BiteClub.com
(May 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— BobZemuda on Chow.com (May 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: CIA Professional Chef, On Food & Cooking, CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— JonahSwims (aka George Kaden) on Chow.com (May 2008)
"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, lawyer, jewelry designer and pastry chef at Paloma Fine Dining in Philadelphia, on LibraryThing.com
(May 28, 2008)
"...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, CommonChopsticks (May 22, 2008)
"Favorite Cookbook? CULINARY ARTISTRY. It is basically the only one I use. I don't like cookbooks. I like to thumb thru them as a guide and then they are closed with the chance of never being opened again. CULINARY ARTISTRY is the only one I read and use."
— Maria1919 on Mr. Lake's New Orleans Forums
(May 21, 2008)
"I really love that CULINARY ARTISTRY book. It is a fascinating read!"
— Moh in Montreal on Chow.com (May 19, 2008)
"Of all the cookbooks, books about cooking, books about cooks, books by cooks, and just plain books on my bookshelves one of my absolute favorites is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. First published in 1996, this book predates the foodie craze and you will find in its pages a food reference manual like no other. Although it's been around for over a decade I've run into enough people with a passion for food that were not aware of it that I thought it was worth mentioning here. Judging by the title alone one might think that this is a book about presentation or plating, but it actually goes deeper into the artistry of food, where the blending of ingredients, seasonings, and spices is the true art form. Inside the inauspicious covers of this book there are a few recipes and an interesting 'desert island lists' section in which renowned chefs such as Nancy Silverton, Alice Waters, and Joachim Splichal share the ten ingredients they would most want to take with them to a desert island as well as three cooking techniques they would utilize once they arrived; however, the most valuable asset of this book is the 'food matches made in heaven' section. Here you will find hundreds of food items, (primarily fruits and vegetables), the optimal season for them, and a list of foods and seasonings to mate them with. For example, strawberries are currently in blessed abundance at my local farmer's market, and as much as I love to eat them right out of the basket I popped open CULINARY ARTISTRY just to see what I might be missing. Some suggested pairings were mascarpone, balsamic vinegar, beaujolais, rhubarb, and figs (not all at once, of course). Of course I've known about the pairing of strawberries and balsamic vinegar for years, but seeing it in print jolted me to pull down the special bottle of balsamic I had received last summer for my birthday, (so special it is reserved for only the finest occasions and there is not much that is finer than a basket of fresh, in their prime strawberries), and drizzle a bit over the sumptuous ripe strawberries I had been enjoying. The marriage of tangy and sweet was a perfect match that played on my tongue like the first dance of summer. In this same vein there are sections on seasoning matches made in heaven, around the world with flavors, (spices and dishes associate with cultures around the world), and common accompaniments to assorted entrees. I find myself revisiting this wonderful book time and again as various produce comes into season, when I want to experiment with some new herbs I've recently discovered, (or when I'm looking for new ways to use old standbys), and when I have a craving for a certain cut of meat or seafood and want ideas for side dishes and/or sauces. This book makes a wonderful, (and inexpensive), gift for anyone from the most devoted gourmet to the reluctant cook and may just inspire someone to open their kitchen to new and unexpected pairings of food."
— TalesFromTheCuttingBoard.com (May 13, 2008)
"I have been cooking for over 20 years. I for the most part just look at a
recipe, see what the ingredients are, and go from there. There is no measuring
ingredients, or looking at the clock for cooking times. You just get a feel for
it from experience. But it wasn't always that way for me. I remember trying to
do recipes exactly as written when I first started cooking! (sticking to recipes
is fine, but over time, especially with repeating the same recipes, you may feel
less dependant on them,...and dont worry about the 'fancy' chefs on TV who make you think they just get inspired right then and there, they dont, most of the time they worked out what works and what doesnt long ago).
Changing up ingredients is usually ok. It just takes a little knowledge of what things go well together. CULINARY ARTISTRY is a fantastic book that has many detailed lists of ingredient combinations that work."
— Answers.Yahoo.co.nz (May 10, 2008)
"Hello you guys — I just wanted to say that you're writing some very important books, and from my side, thank you, thank you very much. Looking forward to the next oneS! Keep up the great work!"
— Carsten Allen, a chef on the barge Savoir Faire whom our friend Susan Butler (who was traveling on the Savoire Faire from Amsterdam to Brussels, and called and left a voicemail with him) says considers our book CULINARY ARTISTRY his bible
(May 7, 2008)
"I am not much for recipes, but love to know how to combine flavors. The book I
use as a reference for combining ingredients is called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page. It is my go-to book when I have ingredients that are inspiring me, but am not sure what spices or other ingredients might complement the dish/meal."
— CalifMom on Apartment Therapy / The Kitchn (May 5, 2008)
CULINARY ARTISTRY is cited as a "favorite book" of MySpace.com members like Robbie Arnold in White Sulphur Springs, WV; Branden in Spokane, WA; David in No. California; Don Johnson; Elephant Chest in Vancouver; Exsanguinate; FBXRD in Kent, OH; GA's best friend in Boston, New Hampshire; Gypsy in Brunswick, OH; Kara in Louisville; Kimberly Belle in New York; KingBanana.net in Portland, OR; KingDavid in Lincoln, NE; Lance in Champaign, IL; Luke in San Francisco; Mark in The Del, FL; Michael in Seattle; Mickle Mina in San Diego; PocketChange in Walnut Creek; CA; Ramen Bunny; Kitty Shannon; Stigmatophiliac, Christopher Vehre (aka Kulinaria) in Columbus, OH (May-July 2008)
"My Favorite Books About Food & Drink: Must Haves...What to Drink with What You Eat by Dornenburg and Page
Even the best of us need little reminders sometimes. Aside from the brief tutorials about pairing food with beverages, you can either look up which beverages go with foods or which foods go with beverages. All sorts of foods and drinks are covered, from the most expensive to the cheapest (i.e. Argentinian Malbec with Domino's Pizza)....Some Great Ones to Own...CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page.
Great reference for any chef just for the menu section alone. It covers, with commentary from many famous chefs, most aspects of running a quality restaurant."
— Food_Junkie on Squidoo.com (April 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY.
If you don't have it, get it."
— BGraves in Cambridge, MA on Chow.com (April 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— LaceyFace (Lacey Templeton) in St. Louis, MO on Chow.com (April 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— PixelRN on Chow.com (April 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: The Professional Chef 6th edition, CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— JYee in Denver on Chow.com
(April 2008)
"I’d organize my top cookbooks as stages in my life: the Spice Cookbook was my childhood crush, and Moosewood at Home was my first boyfriend. I lived with Veg Cooking for Everyone for several years as a young adult, and we’re still friends even though the romantic spark is gone. I married World Vegetarian, CULINARY ARTISTRY is my best friend (we usually start out with a vague destination in mind and regardless of how the trip turns out, the journey is always fun.)....CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenberg and Paige (sic) is the most fun, since its
comprehensive list of good flavor matches serves as the basis for a huge amount
of *good* experimentation; maybe not the best for a novice cook, but a must for
anyone who enjoys playing in the kitchen. "
— L. Silverman on NYTimes.com (April 25, 2008)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY (by Dornenburg and Page) is one of my favorite 'cookbooks' because I don’t always want to follow a recipe. It has a comprehensive list of ingredients and complementary flavors so I can create my own recipe based on what I have on hand."
— Dani on NYTimes.com (April 24, 2008)
"A friend of mine recommended CULINARY ARTISTRY and I picked it up the other day for it's charts on food flavour combinations — really helpful."
— Whole Milk, cook, on DiscussCooking.com(April 22, 2008)
"'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. Spend a few dreamy hours reading through the essays, including sidebars by luminaries like Gary Danko (on techniques), George Germon (on the power of simplicity), and Norman Van Aken (on New World Cuisine). Then begin thumbing through the lists. Because the lists, they are the beating percussion of this book. Examples: Flavor Pals (cilantro and mint, leeks and cheddar). Flavor Enemies (basil and tarragon, wine and ice cream). Food Matches (100 delectable pages of basic foods and their friends). And Flavors from Around the World (India: 30 flavors; Canada: maple). Start by composing a dish. Expand to a meal. And, for the truly ambitious, learn to assemble a menu. CULINARY ARTISTRY is rich with tips, examples, and advice from the masters of culinary harmony who came before."
— TuttiFoodie.com
(April 16, 2008)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY is my favorite book."
— Markeicha on MySpace.com (April 16, 2008)
"...What I really want to discuss is the book CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. They talk to some of the country's greatest chefs and ask the question - Why does the chef deserve to be considered an artist?
When they are not discussing what makes a chef an artist, they are providing hints to the reader as to how to become an artist yourself....It is something of the CliffsNotes for cooking.
While there are some recipes in the book, the bulk of the development is up to the reader. The authors don't want to tell you exactly what to make. Instead, they want to guide you down a path of, 'Well, these two ingredients go nicely together, so work with them and see what else just happens to fall into the pan.' The road of an artist is seldom an easy one. It is nice to know, though, that with this book, you are getting the knowledge of the top chefs from around the country, and all those who came before them, as a map to help you on your journey."
— Iron Chef Scott on blogspot.com (April 14, 2008)
"Jacques Pepin's Techniques is a solid manual for the old school basics and along
with the Dornenburg & Page book CULINARY ARTISTRY, are the most weather beaten books I own."
— Joe on Providence Palate (April 13, 2008)
"Upon tasting, I knew I was missing something as the watercress was very
aggressive and unbalanced, so I consulted CULINARY ARTISTRY for flavor
pairings with watercress....The finished meal had all the components in synch, the veal was perfectly tender
and flavorful, harkening back to the towers in San Gimignano, and the grapevine
I saw that crawled up 4 stories of a building in the piazza to some lucky and
patient soul's window. The spinach really is essential to the veal, and the
pasta was wonderfully light, slightly bitter, but beckoned another bite. Kudos
once again to the CULINARY ARTISTRY book for saving the day."
— KindaGeeky on GastronomicGuesswork.com (April 13, 2008)
"Wow. this is the best book i have ever seen. it doesn't matter if you're a chef or
never cooked a thing in your life, this book is essential to your existence. just
do yourself a favor and buy this book you won't be disappointed."
— Earl P. Forton on Amazon.com (April 12, 2008)
"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)
"There are lots of terrible combinations — which doesn't stop even restaurants form using them. Ick!
The only way to know is by experimenting and eating. And trusting your palate as it becomes more educated. There's a wonderful book that can help speed the process — a sort of Cliff's Notes for Food — that gives flavor pairings for foods: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. The chapter on 'Why Food Matches?' lists seasonal foods, the methods by which to prepare them and the herbs and other things that go with them.
This book lives in my kitchen. It makes it possible to create recipes easily. If you like to experiment, you'll love this book!!!"
— MakingSense on Chow.com (April 8, 2008)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY is a excellent choice."
— GhettoRacingKid on ChefTalk.com (April 7, 2008)
"I’m just back from spring break at Disneyland and the horrors of Goofy’s kitchen, so more than ever I’m happy to be back in my kitchen. I have hundreds of cookbooks but most are rarely used–I wish there were some sort of software to keep track of them! Out of the hundreds, here are the few, the tattered, the well-thumbed, the stained:
Pam Anderson’s How to Cook without a Book; this is the book that finally taught me how.
CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page: now that I know how to cook, I find inspiration here."
— Deb Baldwin on NYTimes.com (April 1, 2008)
"Synesthesia and Sensory Resources: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Multi-media artist Dan Schwarzlose on Eat Your Words
(April 2008)
"References: On Food and Cooking, CULINARY ARTISTRY, What's a Cook to Do?, Food Lover's Companion."
— Lina Asfour of Canada on CordonBlues.vox.com (April 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— BoyNamedSoux (Paul Routhier) in Halifax on Chow.com
(April 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY and Peace, Love and Barbecue."
— UReviewCalgary on Chow.com
(April 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: It's About Time, CULINARY ARTISTRY, Professional Chef 8th Edition."
— AIChef07 (CIA student) in Weston, MA on Chow.com
(April 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— FanOFood on Chow.com
(April 2008)
"Find a recipe and you can cook one dish. Learn the science of cooking and you
can cook forever....CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page."
— Mis En Place (April 2008)
"Let me recommend the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. If you entertain a lot and want to learn what foods go well together, along with the cooking technique, this book is wonderful. I use it as a reference on menu planning. An example would be Plums – almonds, apricots, bananas, brandy, brown sugar, caramel, cinnamon, poach, raw, stew."
— How-To-Cook-Gourmet (April 2008)
"Favorite books: Edgar Allan Poe, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Dante's Inferno, Animal Farm, CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Tuggie on MySpace.com (April 2008)
"Is it Art or is it Memorex? Every couple of weeks or so I get accused by a patron of being an artist...I always quickly deny this and refer to what I do as a craft. I've been wondering why the designation Artist is troubling to me and I'm going to work it out here, with your kind indulgence....If food production is to be an art form, when is it an art form, and when is it only a consumable commodity? There has to be a standard of criticism. In their book CULINARY ARTISTRY, Dornenburg and Page argue that there are three categories of Chefs; the Tradesman (primary repertoire - hamburgers), the Craftsman (primary repertoire - classic dishes), and the Artist (primary repertoire - Chef's own dishes). Point seven. Hmm. I think transcendence covers that - if a dish evokes a memory or creates one we might (arguably) skinny by that point.
So, if a Chef creates a dish, and if that dish reaches a level where people can appreciate it in a transcendent manner, then perhaps it's safe to say that the dish, at that moment, was art...."
— BlueHarland on LiveJournal.com
(March 30, 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— ChefJeffD in Wildomar, California on Chow.com
(March 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— UptownKevin in New Orleans on Chow.com
(March 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Serge8U in Toronto on Chow.com
(March 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Culinaryjunkie (Steve) in Louisville on Chow.com
(March 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY, An Unprejudiced Palate, LaRousse."
— ChefBill (Bill McCaig) in Vancouver on Chow.com
(March 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY, 1080 Recipes, The Art of Simple Food, Silver Spoon, On Food & Cooking [not quite a cookbook], Everyday Mexican."
— ThreeGreenBeens on Chow.com
(March 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY, my grandmother's Escoffier, and Ken Hom's Chinese Cookery."
— TSFirefly on Chow.com
(March 2008)
"My most tattered cookbook: We've got more than 150 cookbooks here, and use them all. The Good Cook series, Professional Cooking, CULINARY ARTISTRY, How to Cook Everything, and many more."
— VogelAP on Chow.com
(March 2008)
"My Culinary Bibles: BECOMING A CHEF, CULINARY ARTISTRY, DINING OUT, Lessons in Excellence from Charlie Trotter, The Chef's Companion, Garlic and Sapphires."
— Chef Eric Low in Singapore, on CulinaryWizard.blogspot.com (March 23, 2008)
"The best cookbooks....I rely on Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page’s CULINARY ARTISTRY as a guide for food and flavor pairings."
— Hall S. Kern, on NYTimes.com (March 23, 2008)
"When I first began thinking of Easter, my mind jumped immediately to Spring despite the fact that it remains 35-45 degrees outside. As I thought of Spring, I thought of asparagus. Few things remind me of Spring more than the lovely snap and tender flavor of those verdant stalks. From there the ideas just flowed. I wanted to make an asparagus salad, but the problem I have with asparagus salads sometimes is that they are too singularly noted, too 'green' tasting and insufficiently complex. So I sought advice from my book, CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Through interviews with some of the most prominent chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Alice Waters, the book speaks at length about dish composition and flavor pairings. I came up with a salad of boiled asparagus with roasted wild mushrooms sprinkled with thyme and a tarragon, roasted garlic vinaigrette."
— AfterTasteBySherry.wordpress.com (March 22, 2008)
"You can read many
interesting paring & style of food in the book CULINARY ARTISTRY.
I have purchased
this book 10 years ago and was a great tool to see what all combination &
match you can do."
— Andrea Ossola of Four Seasons on Google.com
(March 17, 2008)
"I love CULINARY ARTISTRY. It is my go to book when coming up with a new dish. It
has a great section that indicates what flavors go together with what. You go to
beef and it shows 40 different flavors (horseradish, etc) that go with it. Great
for making the mind work."
— PHNeale on Chow.com
(March 17, 2008)
"I usually start all my cooking excursions out the same way. I think, what the hell, new, could I cook with lima beans? I search through my cookbooks and the internet and come up with an idea. Then I turn to my cooking bible: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. If you want to develop your cooking understanding and flair, it is a must. It is not all about recipes but matching wicked flavours. So I found a basic recipe for a bean risotto on the net, I checked out Lima Beans' flavour pals and developed my recipe from there."
— Alisha Jayne Macinnis on Blogspot.com (March 15, 2008)
"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)
"I have a cool book I like to use when I get stumped. Most of you have probably
heard of it: CULINARY ARTISTRY. So I just looked up Pompano, Ken’s right. According to the book Pompano goes well with: Basil, coconut, lemon, lime, mustard, shrimp & breadcrumbs."
— ChefNiloc on KnifeForums.com (March 6, 2008)
"BTW, for those in search of matching flavors, I strongly recommend the cookbook CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. There are probably no more than 20 actual recipes in the cookbook, but it pairs complementary ingredients with just about any tpye of food you can think of."
— O.J., Forum Addict in Madison, Wisconsin, on thedailypage.com
(March 3, 2008)
"STRONGLY agreed [with O.J.'s post above]. The reference sections to which you're referring are worth the price of admission."
— Rosemary, Forum Addict in Madison, Wisconsin, on thedailypage.com
(March 3, 2008)
"One of my favorite books, CULINARY ARTISTRY by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, has a section where top chefs from all over the U.S. are asked 'If you were stranded on a desert island...' what 10 ingredients and 3 cooking methods could they not live without. Most say items like tomatoes, garlic, onions, and some type of protein like chicken or pork. The cooking methods vary. The top two methods: braising and roasting. No one says deep frying. No one requests oil as an ingredient they could not live without. Every time I turn to this section, I can't help but think how I couldn't live without deep frying."
— Nicolette Miller, Le Cordon Bleu graduate and cooking instructor in North Carolina, on NikSnacks.blogspot.com
(February 26, 2008)
"Favorite Cookbooks: List the Ones You Love...CULINARY ARTISTRY: good if you don't know how to season or what goes w/ what,
but more of like a book to teach you to cook than a typical recipe cookbook."
— Kristen L. on Yelp.com (February 25, 2008)
"The Last Great Book I Read: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Wendy N. on Yelp.com (February 2008)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page is a MUST HAVE if you are
serious about cooking. It has a few recipes but is more of a reference on the
pairing of flavors, charts them by ingredients as well as seasons. GREAT BOOK
(can't stress enough)."
— C3, Politico.com
(February 19, 2008)
"A good book that i recommend is
CULINARY ARTISTRY. It has a lot of combinations and what works with what....awesome investment even for the home cook."
— GhettoRacingKid on ChefTalk.com (February 19, 2008)
"Ghettoracingkid,
Great recommendation [of CULINARY ARTISTRY]. I have this book and absolutely love it."
— David (aka IsWhatICrave) on ChefTalk.com
(February 19, 2008)
"Chef Rob Evans, along with Don & Samantha of Rabelais Books, will create a five-course menu using recipes from several different cookbooks. Books will include restaurants where Rob has worked and others that have inspired him. Examples include: The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook: A Consuming Passion by Patrick O’Connell; The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller; CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page; White Heat (out of print) and The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness and the Making of a Great Chef by Marco Pierre White; Baking with Julia: Sift, Knead, Flute, Flour, And Savor by Julia Child; and El Bulli by Ferran Adria, Juli Stoler, and Albert Adria."
— Web site of Hugo's in Portland, Maine, where Rob Evans was named one of America's best new chefs by Food & Wine magazine in 2004 (February 2008)
"Hello, all — I have decided to go down to my local library and bring to you a literature ranking. What is your favorite cookbook?...#1) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, Score: 70.86. #2) The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, Score: 52.95..."
— Harvey on Rankopedia.com (February 2008)
"[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 on GoodReads.com (February 14, 2008)
"Begin Your Food Education: I was reading a local Tampa food blog this morning and came across a request by the author for suggestions about books to help him increase his food knowledge. Unfortunately, I believe food knowlege is something that can't be learned instantly, but rather over a period of time that includes reading, cooking, tasting and experiencing. That being said, I believe there are five books for every beginner that are essential to help build a solid foundation. Sure, there are plenty of cookbooks and how-to books out there, but in my short time I have found that these five are easy to read and contain relevant information without all of the fluff. But don't take my word for it, check them out yourself. Kevin's list of essential books about food and cooking (in no particular order): CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Dornenburg and Page; I'm Just Here For the Food, by Alton Brown; How To Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman; Cooking For Dummies; and What To Drink With What You Eat, by Dornenburg and Page."
— Uptown Kevin Lacassin on NolaFoodie.com
(February 13, 2008)
"One thing I can't figure out however is why people need a picture of a recipe. Perhaps because of what I do, I don't need a picture. I read the ingredients and can see what it is going to look like and usually how it will taste. Maybe not everyone can do that. I don't know.
I'm re-reading CULINARY ARTISTRY. A book I love. It discusses the art of cooking. The architecture of taste. Seasons. It is a book I find invaluable, as do many of my fellow professionals. It's a must read for me."
— TwangosTidbits.blogspot.com (February 11, 2008)
"My most tattered cookbooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page."
— Dakota Guy in Arlington, VA on Chow.com (February 2008)
"Q. What’s your favorite cookbook?
CULINARY ARTISTRY. I tend to refer back to it a lot. It’s not so much a cookbook as a guidebook. It has lists of ingredients, and for each food it explains its season and lists 20 things that go with it. Plus it has interviews with ideas from chefs: Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Jeremiah Tower, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Alice Waters, how they compose a menu, how they approach food. It’s a good book to give your cooks, after they get settled in the kitchen. We have five copies hanging around the kitchen at any given time. We just got some pork in and we were using it to look up what flavors complement pork. It’s a great inspiration."
—Joseph Hafner, executive chef, Gracie's in Providence, RI, as told to Kim Lawrence of Restaurant Confidential magazine (February 7, 2008)
"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)
"Five Stars: An amazingly well-thought-out book that I find I use more than any other
reference in my culinary library — and have for years. A true spring board
rather than a road map. Open it and let your imagination loose!"
— dl_sfbus @ yahoo.com on LibraryThing.com
(January 30, 2008)
"I just got this book CULINARY ARTISTRY and it's fascinating. Pages and pages of flavor pairings. Lamb with pomegrante. Lentils with foie gras. Lemon with parsley and mint. I have been dreaming about lentils...."
— Sara in Seattle on From Food to Dinner (January 24, 2008)
"...[H]ow do I know what flavors work together? Luckily I am here to provide you with a few resources that will make your cooking life a little easier. The first is almost a cheat sheet on flavor matching. The book is called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. The book has text involving a debate on whether cooking is art, your standard recipe section and sample menus from various chefs. But the piece of treasure you need is the list of ingredients that has all the other things that match well with that ingredient. I don't know if you can take this to the store with you, but I do know just a little skimming this book could save your ass in a pinch."
— Jason Rice, on Cook's Outlook
(January 19, 2008)
"Five stars. Creative inspiration. Without specific recipes, the authors steer you toward wonderful taste combinations. I refer to it constantly for everything from basic herb use to edgy taste combinations. A treasure."
— A reviewer, teacher/actor in NYC, on BN.com
(January 18, 2008)
"This book is one of the reasons I went to culinary school. My copy is dog-eared, written in and generally falling apart. Nearly eight years out of the CIA and I still consult this book constantly for inspiration. [Five Stars]"
— Amy on Goodreads.com (January 15, 2008)
"I have a huge cookbook collection and here are some of my favorite authors of
different cultures:
Rick Bayless-Mexican,
Claudia Roden-Mid Eastern,
Marcella Hazen-Italian;
James Peterson, Wolfgang Puck and Jacques Pepin all have great French cookbooks;
Anya Von Bremson-Spanish;
Ferren Adria-molecular gastronomy.
I could use some recommendations for South American cookbooks. I am a chef and am always looking for new ideas. As far as American cookbooks- I like James Peterson, Thomas Keller, Patrick OConnell, Rick Tramotino, and Gary Kunz. Dorenberg & Page are the authors of my favorite cookbook ever: CULINARY ARTISTRY. I refer to it every day! The pages are falling out and its out of print (sic; to order click here). Fantastic book!"
— Americanglobetrekker, of Connecticut, on BootsnAll.com
(January 14, 2008)
"This book is great for anyone that wants/needs help with pairing flavors and dishes. A must-have for any culinarian."
— Jason Austermuehle of Chicago, on Amazon.com
(January 14, 2008)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY: This book is such a valuable tool....This is the tool I used to teach the 'menu game' in class. Take this book, and with a partner or individually, plan a menu. The limitations can be very specific, or none at all, (i.e. the all pork menu, using only ingredients in season, not using onions, using each cooking technique only once, etc.). And then have the class go around as a group and 'pitch' the menu as if they were servers pitching specials to a table to get them to buy them....It can be great to introduce students to seasonality, or thinking about how things go together."
— Rich, ThoughtfulChef.blogspot.com
(January 13, 2008)
"You should get the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. 200+ pages of food combinations. Great for menu building and basic experimentation."
— Rob Cox, Cook Eat Fret
(January 9, 2008)
"...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."
— Flavio Vitari, chef/columnist, Correio do Brasil (January 8, 2008) (translated from Portuguese via Babelfish)
"Just add On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee and CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dorenberg and Paige (sp?) and you have my 'go to' list of books."
— Gladyce France, executive chef of La Coquille in Manhassset, on ChefTalk.com
(January 8, 2008)
"If you love to cook adventurously (without recipes)... this is the BEST COOK BOOK EVER. get your hands on it immediately. simply contains long lists of alphabetized ingredients — and what other ingredients compliment them. and some loosely suggested combinations and dishes. so very incredibly helpful and fun! [Five Stars]"
— Kim on Goodreads.com (January 8, 2008)
"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
(January 4, 2008)
"The second book I received was What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea — Even Water — Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. They are the authors of one of my favorite books called CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Rachael Rydbeck, In The Kitchen With Rachael
(January 4, 2008)
"Hey man, I would check out the book CULINARY ARTISTRY.
It is all about pairing foods with complimentary foods...what seasonings go with what, etc."
—Criniit, Discuss Cooking (January 1, 2008)
"A very good book...takes into account the traditional flavors of the current season (butternut squash and pumpkins in fall, for example)."
—College Cook, sous chef in Blooomington, IN,
Discuss Cooking (January 1, 2008)
"Here is a list of other tools that are vital to your success in this program ... CULINARY ARTISTRY ($30) by Dornenberg and Page is more about the creative side of cooking. The authors interview great chefs around the U.S who share there opinions about cooking and their objective when cooking. The book offers regional ingredients. If I wanted to cook something Italian, I would look in this book and it offers ingredients used in Italian cuisine. It also has lists of ingredients that compliment other ingredients. For example, you have chicken that you want to make for dinner, and you are stumped for ideas, just look in CULINARY ARTISTRY and it offers about 90 other ingredients and a few cooking techniques that work well with chicken. Just use the ratio concept I have talked and will talk more about to make a dish or meal, your own creation! CULINARY ARTISTRY is a book YOU should purchase! It will open your mind to infinite possibilities! I use it just about everyday."
— Cooking Community
"My mother-in-law loves pomegranate, so I thought I'd make her a fun dessert to
finish the meal. I read in CULINARY ARTISTRY, my new must-have book, that pomegranate matches well with cream cheese. A cheesecake didn't seem that exciting, and I just happened upon 2 boxes of pudding mix in the pantry. The wheels started turning and I thought I'd do a 'grown-up' version of a jello parfait with a gelatin of fresh pomegranate juice. cheesecake 'mousse' and some gingersnap cookies. It turned out pretty tasty and serving it in wine glasses was a fun touch. Plus, you're never too old (or too gourmet!) for jello. Enjoy!"
— Meghan Scarsella of Evanston, IL,
in Kitchen Notes by Meghan (December 30, 2007)
"This couple is well respected in the restaurant industry having written a number
of culinary books including CULINARY ARTISTRY that are invaluable to chefs and foodies alike."
— Laurie Forster, wine columnist, What's Up Annapolis magazine (December 2007)
"Their wine column in the Post (available online) is one of the best around....The CULINARY ARTISTRY book is a classic. The best guide for cooking without a
recipe. Come home from the market with any vegetable and it tells you what
methods you can use, what complements it."
— MakingSense in Washington, DC, on Chowhound.com (December 5, 2007)
"I turned to my favorite resource for kitchen experimentation – the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. It gives a list of food matches made in heaven. After pouring through the pairings, I knew raspberry, dark chocolate, caramel and almonds were the flavors I wanted to bring together. I decided to adapt an old standby, my Vanilla Butterscotch Bark recipe. I kept the butterscotch and used dark chocolate and almonds. The result was incredible on its own and even better when paired with the luscious flavor of the Bonny Doon Raspberry Framboise."
— Catherine in Manhattan, on glutenguide.blogspot.com (December 5, 2007)
"A Chef's Bookshelf: CULINARY ARTISTRY. It starts here."
— Jay Scaife in Muskoka, Ontario, on Amazon.ca
(December 2007)
"Books I am always reading: Bouchon, CULINARY ARTISTRY, The French Laundry, Kite Runner...."
— Tammy Tu, food scientist and chef, Los Angeles, on seekingthegoodlife.blogspot.com (November 2007)
"Essential for anyone creating a dish or a menu, the perfect guide to what
ingredients work well with others."
— Bruce on www.ecookbooks.com (November 28, 2007)
"Are you familiar with CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page?
This book is considered a classic in the area of composing brilliant dishes or
spectacular menus."
— Ron Sveen, jimseven.com (November 23, 2007)
"I like to cook like Jackson Pollack painted, and [CULINARY ARTISTRY] has been my palette
for a few years now. Have some seemingly incompatible ingredients in the pantry
and refrigerator? This book will inspire you to create an original dish with
your odds-and-ends. Best used with a journal, so you can keep a record of what
you're throwing together, just in case you do create a masterpiece."
— Tyrannio, Shelfari.com (November 16, 2007)
"Great minds do think alike...I recently pulled out my copy of this book [CULINARY ARTISTRY] for a little creative inspiration. It is definitely a must have for the enthusiastic home cook."
— The Foodie Princess, New Jersey, on CookedBooks.Blogspot.com (November 15, 2007)
"If you're someone who appreciates improvisation in the kitchen, Andrew Dorenburg and Karen Page's CULINARY ARTISTRY is a wonderful resource for the home library.....For anyone not familiar, CULINARY ARTISTRY is not a typical cookbook, although it does include some recipes, but rather a guide to ingredients and the art of composing dishes and meals. For those of us who like to play The Great Kitchen Clean-Out, I find the section Food Matches Made in Heaven to be extremely helpful. The entry for kohlrabi, for example, lists bechamel, butter, cream, hollandaise, lemon, nutmeg, and parsley as the best accompanying ingredients, while also identifying kohlrabi as a winter vegetable, and one that is best suited to baking, boiling or steaming. A little common sense and intuition is all that's needed to make a wonderful dish."
— Rebecca Federman, cookery bibliographer, New York Public Library, on CookedBooks.Blogspot.com (November 14, 2007)
"This book [CULINARY ARTISTRY] opens my mind to new ways of thinking about food and its presentation. It has excited me about planning for what might be used to enhance the food experience. I have always felt that a wonderful meal should be an exciting experience — not just something to stop hunger, or to fill one up! Thank you for presenting such a book."
— Lita Kilpatrick in Powell Butte, Oregon, on Amazon.com (October 30, 2007)
"[One of] the top 10 most sought after books by culinary art students."
— EZ-Eater in Ottawa, Canada, on indigo.ca (October 13, 2007)
"Creative Cooking — I get it! Recently I read a book on cooking called CULINARY ARTISTRY. It talks about
composing menus, meals, using seasonal ingredients, etc. The book is meant for
chefs and other food professionals. Anyway, I was reading through the lists of
compatible ingredients and other stuff in the book when it suddenly hit me:
cooking, real creative cooking that chefs do, is not about following a recipe.
Quite to the contrary, this type of cooking is about putting flavors and
textures together in a pleasing way. Thump on the head! I GET IT!! This is
the way I've cooked all along, for the most part that is. The trick is knowing
how to blend flavors, textures, etc., to get a tasty dish of food. I liked this
book so well (my daughter borrowed it from her culinary school library) that I
ordered my own copy which should arrive in a few days (can't wait)...."
— Willowwind, holder of "a couple of postgraduate degrees in the health field," on Blogger.com (October 11, 2007)
"In addition to CULINARY ARTISTRY, I'd recommend...."
— JOP in Omaha, on Ruhlman.com (October 10, 2007)
"So I got a few really green kids under me, 1 fresh out of culinary school (externtership), 1 wanting to go to culinary school.
I told both they need
the 6th edition of new professional chef,
CULINARY ARTISTRY, and the food lovers companion....what books can't you live without ??
these are the three books if I had to get rid of all my other books I [would] gladly go to a desert island with & live a happy castaway life..."
— Vegetable, a chef at Westward Look Resort in Tucson, on Chef2Chef.net (October 7, 2007)
"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)
"From CULINARY ARTISTRY, which I highly recommend anyone get....
Flavors that match well with pumpkin:
Apples, bacon, bourbon, brown sugar, butter, caramel, cinnamon, cloves, coconut, Cognac, cream, duck (including confit), garlic, ginger, Gruyere cheese, honey, leeks, mace, maple syrup, mint, molasses, mushrooms, nutmeg, nuts, olive oil, onions, pecans, pepper (black), pumpkin seeds, rum, sage, sherry, sour cream, sugar, thyme, vanilla, vinegar (especially white), walnuts, yogurt.
I don't necessarily agree with all those, but it's a great book — not about recipes but more about constructing dishes and menus with harmony."
— ElSapo, aka Robert Walton of Carrboro, North Carolina on 2+2 Forums (October 3, 2007)
"My Favorite Culinary Book. As a culinary student and aspiring chef, this book has shown me which flavors and ingredients to combine successfully. Using this book, I developed a glaze that finished in the top 3 of a food competition. Better than any cookbook with recipes. (5 stars)."
— Chef 2 B (Michigan), Amazon.com (October 2, 2007)
"Recently, we were able to snag a few free minutes of 'Top Chef' finalist Hung Huynh's time, and he graciously agreed to play our 'Twenty Questions' game....JJ: Your plates are beautiful, and you list CULINARY ARTISTRY as one of your favorite cookbooks. Which aspect of cooking do you enjoy most, the science or the artistry? HH: The artistry and the inspiration that comes from your surroundings and your soul."
— Java Junkie, Top Chef: They Cook, We Dish
(September 27, 2007)
"A great reference for food pairings that work."
— Lisa on AccidentalHedonist.com (September 26, 2007)
"Great source of useful information about the practice and craft of a chef. Handy
reference pages for use of many ingredients and foods, seasonal food pairings,
lists of complimentary herbs and spices, and other tools. I never tire of
referring to these pages when planning a meal around a combination of food or a
time of year."
— Soupson on Shelfari.com (September 26, 2007)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of my newest books and is just amazing. I learn something new every time I open it. It has definately expanded my horizons."
— Maryann aka Mare749, forums.cuisineathome.com (September 24, 2007)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY — a must have...
Those are my go to's or books that I just love to sit and read."
— Sharon Skelton aka Harborwitch, forums.cuisineathome.com (September 23, 2007)
"Q. Pomegranate Flavor Pairings? A. Most things blandly sweet or creamy or things that generally go with a citrus flavor. A good book to pick up is CULINARY ARTISTRY. Their recommendations are:
bananas,
chocolate,
grapefruit,
blood orange,
cream cheese, and
yogurt."
— ExtraMSG from Vancouver, Washington on Portlandfood.org (September 14, 2007)
"This is a cocktail that I have been working on for a while now. I was inspired by the flavor pairing of Kirsch and Sage found in the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. I have seen sage used in cocktails before, unfortunately every one I have tried resembles thanksgiving turkey stuffing. Through careful balancing of flavors and the input of a few peers, this is a cocktail I am proud of.
Hope you try this one!"
— Cameron Bogue, cocktail consultant on MotoTails (September 13, 2007)
"Life Is Wonderful...Parallels between Food and Film.
[Quotes CULINARY ARTISTRY extensively]."
— Ji (Loan Do), Blogasana: The Dreams and Transpersonal Archive of Poet and Filmmaker Ji (September 13, 2007)
"Well, as far as finding a source for matching flavors, you can't do better than buying a copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. You won't believe the info you will find in this book for matching foods, herbs/spices, everything. AND, they have a second book out that is equally helpful: WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT.
I'd get both if I were you!"
— Jean CJS, on Chef2Chef.net (September 12, 2007)
"I second Jean's emotion on CULINARY ARTISTRY. Essential kitchen reference, IMO.
Have to check out their other book — sounds equally helpful, Jean."
— Tom Hoover (aka ChezTom), on Chef2Chef.net
(September 12, 2007)
"Cooking By The Book - Lychee-Coconut Sorbet:
My overflowing kitchen library shelves contain three types of books: cookbooks (hundreds of them), collections of food essays/memoirs, and reference books. In the latter category one of the most referenced volumes is CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Peeking from the edges of its pages are several paper sticky-tab dividers I placed to quickly open to the most used sections: Food Matches Made in Heaven, Seasoning Matches Made in Heaven, and Common Accompaniments to Entrees.
CULINARY ARTISTRY has introduced to me to some surprisingly delicious flavor pairings, such as beets and horseradish with corned beef, and lobster and vanilla. One day while trying to decide what to do with a can of lychees I had purchased at an Asian grocery store a while back, I thumbed open The Book.
It took me a moment to find the tiny lychee section under 'litchi nuts,' where I learned that coconut, cream, and kiwi fruit are great partners for lychees. Sounded like dessert to me....The aroma was tropical, almost floral. The sorbet was tangy and very refreshing, with the subtle coconut flavor mellowing the lychee flavor. This is guest-worthy!
Lychee Coconut Sorbet is perfect dessert fare after a spicy Asian meal (Chinese, Indian or Thai)."
— Lydia on Kitchen Exhibitionist in South Central Pennsylvania (September 12, 2007)
"...If you don’t own CULINARY ARTISTRY , and you’re wondering how people cook fabulous food without recipes, pick it up. You won’t be sorry."
— Bill Burge, St. Louis County UNIX Administrator and former cook, on STLbites.com (September 11, 2007)
"If you don’t already have it, I highly recommend a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Its basically a guide to the seasonality and pairings of different flavors; a sort of cheat-sheet to check how well your ideas might work or if you’ve gone completely nuts with your composition."
— Kevin on ChefJes.com (September 5, 2007)
"[Four] Must-Read Books: The Physiology of Taste by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin; CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page; The Perfectionist by Rudolph Chelminski; and Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point."
— Chef Eric on An Obsessed Chef (September 2007)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dorenberg and Page is always a great source of inspiration for me. Not so much a textbook or collection of recipies, but list of
ingredients and pairings for them...hard to explain but every chef should have
this book."
— Gladyce France, chef, ChefTalk.com (NYC) (August 25, 2007)
"I'm in the Marine Corps. There are about 9 of us that are attending the CIA in Hyde Park, New York. I just wanted to say that your book [CULINARY ARTISTRY] is by far the best thing I've ever read. You helped me open up my eyes a lot more [to] the methods behind cooking. Just wanted to say thanks for a great book.
Semper Fi."
— Cesar Balmaceda (August 23, 2007)
"For most of my life, I've hated cooking and the thought of cooking, mostly because I saw it as a way of enslaving women. I thought of it as degrading, menial, UN-fun, and unjustly expected of me....I started asking questions about flavors, spices, composition, and — for want of a better way to phrase it — cooking theory.
Then, I happened upon the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. I nabbed that puppy up right fast from the Borders on Sunset. What a RAD book! Pages and pages of incredible information tables about spices that go together, what kinds of food go with what seasons, what kinds of things you can mix with what...unbelievable. It also gives lots of advice about cooking techniques and alternatives for things: how to sweeten without sugar, how to thicken without flour, etc.
Anyway, after taking some time to commune with the book, I decided to compose my first 'gourmet' dish. An exploration of sweet flavors balanced with sour flavors, influenced by the summer season...Needlessly to say, it was a huge success."
— Iyindo, livejournal.com (August 23, 2007)
"Q. So what are everyone's favorite food books? (Not just cook books, although those
count too!)" " A. I would have to say, earnest hemingway, a moveable feast. just reading that book
made me want to go sit down by the river on some cafe patio drinking a bottle of
wine and having some olives and a baguette with herbed olive oil for dipping.
second and third will be CULINARY ARTISTRY and becoming a chef by andrew
dornenburg and karen page. these helped me shape my philosophy and attitude
toward giving my cooking the best direction possible."
— Jeff, chef in Minneapolis, on MySpace.com (July 28, 2007)
"...It will be a great complement to CULINARY ARTISTRY,
my other must-have cooking guide."
— CalifMom at norling.blogspot.com (July 22, 2007)
"Q. Influences on your cooking....A. CULINARY ARTISTRY — not a cookbook but a book about cooking."
— Toni Gifford, forum host, RecipeZaar.com (July 21, 2007)
"If I had to narrow it down to just 2 books, it would be the top 2 [1. The CIA, The Professional Chef vol. 8 and
2. Dournenberg (sic) and Page, CULINARY ARTISTRY]. There is very little you could NOT accomplish with these two in tandem. The Chef v8 is packed with amazing information and very good recipes as well as very well articulated instructions and quite a bit of history. CULINARY ARTISTRY is an invaluable resource, to me. It has so much information in it that isn’t what’s normally covered in cookbooks. I tell you what, the 'Flavor Pals' section of the book is probably the best thing that ever happened to my cooking. In a LOT of cases, it allowed me to create dishes at the Cafe that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own."
— Phil at Phil's Blog (July 19, 2007)
"2007 Best New Chef Award Profile: Sean O'Brien, Myth, San Francisco. Why he won: Because he uses global ingredients to create dishes that are unfussy but wonderfully nuanced, like shrimp poke with edamame and seaweed. Most memorable cooking experience: 'After Myth opened and the buzz started, a lot of the local chefs started coming into the restaurant — Ron Siegel (an F&W Best New Chef 1999), Laurent Gras (an F&W Best New Chef 2002), Daniel Patterson (an F&W Best New Chef 1997), Gérald Hirigoyen (an F&W Best New Chef 1994). It was so flattering.' 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.'"
— Food & Wine magazine (July 2007)
"It will take time and most of all practice to even begin to
think creatively about food....and the best way to start in my opinion...once
again...take it or leave it...is to use the book CULINARY ARTISTRY....When I was teaching, I would spend several days teaching students how to use this book to come up with plates, dishes, sides, etc... in other words how to use a reference tool to achieve success. (wow...now I sound respectable)...before that, as a GM chef who had to think of a menu that had 60 components every week...I was glued to this book every Sunday as I wrote my menus....as well as a plate of calamari, a caesar salad, and a pint of beer....
so here is the deal...( and I may or may not have run through this with you at school)...buy this book...cheaply on the internet. Go through and label all the important sections...I can give you the page numbers and titles when I get home...and then use it thusly. the book is designed to tell you about cuisines (the global style you cook and the important ingredients therein), and then about what ingredients go with what other ingredient (food matches), and then what spices / seasonings go well with what ingredients (flavor matches) as well as what cooking technique is good for what item. as there are only what? 4 moist, 2 combo, and 7 dry cooking methods...
Step 1...look in walk-in...see pork butt...
step 2 look in book...find pork...
pork goes well with a, b, c, d, e, f, g, etc...
pork butt is a slow twitch tough muscle therefore it gets along great with braising...
step 3...find a buddy...
pork goes with A, turn to page for A...
A goes with B, turn to page for B....
B goes with X
and even though X is not listed as going with pork...
as long as B goes with pork and X goes with B then X can go with pork...
I should turn this into a mathematical formulae...
and so forth...now you have braised pork butt with a, b, and x,
other wise known as your menu description....
now based on what type of cuisine you are cooking under...i.e. a french restaurant...you probably need to stick to french flavors...you know wine and frogs testicles....not so much on the curried yogurt encrusted snake heart garnished mumbo jumbo...
unless french cuisine has a buddy in relation to snake hearts....i.e. snake hearts was once a colony of those pesky peace loving frog eaters...therefore deriving a trade between the two...
as india and england...
france and vietnam...etc...
but don’t just do it for the sake of doing it...this is called confusion cuisine...
so then after practicing, or before, read the book,....and then read it again...and if you are scared of carrying the book with you...write out on note cards all the flavor matches...."
— Richard Falbo, ThoughtfulChef.blogspot.com (July 13, 2007)
"Q. The Science of Herbs and Spices? A. Generally, it's just about the taste. Some things go well together, others
don't. This applies not just to herbs and spices but to all of the components of
a dish.
On the advanced side of the spectrum, I'd recommend the book CULINARY ARTISTRY which devotes much of the book to flavor pairing charts....It is very helpful when building a dish or a meal."
— Rory C. Berger, ask.metafilter.com (July 13, 2007)
"Dornenburg and Page's CULINARY ARTISTRY has been a great reference for me....About half the book is devoted to a comprehensive listing of what ingredients go well with what in near-phonebook listing form."
— JuneSix, ask.metafilter.com (July 13, 2007)
"CIA Boot Camp: Day Two....Chef [Phil] Crispo also lauded the usefulness of two books for the serious foodie. One was CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg (sic) and La Repertoire de la Cuisine by Lewis Saulnier. I am proud to say that I have both of these books. The first book is an ingenious resource for different ingredients and the elements (or ingredients) that would go well with them...."
— Veronica's Test Kitchen (July 12, 2007)
"I think the ability to properly blend flavors in what you do is most important. If you do not have it, buy the book CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page."
— Scott H., Chow.com (July 5, 2007)
"I heartily agree with the recommendation made by ScottH to buy CULINARY ARTISTRY, an invaluable book."
— MakingSense, Chow.com (July 5, 2007)
"Banana Stuffed French Toast is the best I have ever had....I thought about staying til lunch for Chicken Soup and Stuffed Cabbage while enjoying my big breakfast and reading my current fav. CULINARY ARTISTRY book."
— J.C. (Brighton, MA), Yelp (July 3, 2007)
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).
"Favorite chefs: My instructor, Tim Bucci, has been very encouraging. He's also
one of the coaches of our culinary team.
I don't really look up to many people
for inspiration. There's a certain book I go to when I need help called CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Ryan Pfeiffer, aspiring chef, as told to Eloise Marie Valadez of the Daily Southtown (Chicago)
(June 28, 2007)
"Four stars....Like a chef's mind in a book — essential."
— Tony C. in Boulder, CO, on Pronto.com
(June 26, 2007)
"Q. What culinary books would you recommend?
A. CULINARY ARTISTRY [and three others]."
— Chef Kalimar Maia to Kimerley Slobodian on Sum.ptuo.us
(June 22, 2007)
"Q. How often do you cook with cookbooks? Which cookbooks are your favorites? A.
I don’t use a lot of cookbooks because, to be honest, I’m more of an intuitive cook. That being said, I love cookbooks from chefs whose work I admire — Judy Rogers of Zuni Cafe, Patrick O’Connell of the Inn at Little Washington, Thomas Keller — these are probably my favorites. The book CULINARY ARTISTRY is a great 'textbook' for learning how to cook intuitively."
— Blogger Lisa Dillman, aka Restaurant Widow, as told to Liz Crain of Culinate.com (June 14, 2007)
"De combinatie wortel, sinaasappel & kardemom [ontleend aan CULINARY ARTISTRY, ISBN 0471287857] is een geslaagde. Het had allemaal wat zouter gemogen."
— M's Blog, blogger.xs4all.nl (June 10, 2007)
"...As I try to find a place for my cookbooks amongst the slew of other non-fiction readers, I compiled a list of my ten favorite cookbooks. These are the cookbooks I turn to time and time again for recipes but mostly inspiration.
1) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page — perfect tips and pairings and a wonderful read."
— tahneenadine.blogspot.com (June 2, 2007)
"I had a Chilean Sea Bass filet in my fridge that I had planned on pan-searing
but instead used it as the base for my fish en papillote. After pouring through
my copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY for some flavor inspiration, I mixed low-sodium gluten-free soy sauce, crushed ginger, a touch of honey and a few slices of jalapenos to kick up the spice. I wrapped my filet in parchment and let it marinate in the sauce for 30 minutes before baking."
— Catherine, A Gluten-Free Guide (June 2007)
"My most tattered cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Toshiro, chow.com, Toronto
(Spring 2007)
"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. Instead of giving you a series of recipes, it gives you an ingredient; bay leaf, for example. And from that beginning, the authors give you a list of twelve ingredients they feel would work wonderfully with bay leaves. The list includes beans, game, risotto and shellfish, soups and stews and so forth. In addition to seasonings the authors also describe pairings for main entrees, vegetables, pastas, fruit, meats and more. For example, they suggest well over sixty or seventy ingredients and seasonings that would be delicious when married with lamb, and also describe whether you should bake it or braise it, broil it or grill it or if all of the above may work. 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)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY and BECOMING A CHEF by Dornenburg and Page are both excellent reads and offer great insight into the culinary world... If you have to pick one, go with CULINARY ARTISTRY, one of the few food books I reread regularly."
— ccbweb, Chow.com (May 9, 2007)
"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)
"A book which I've found to be very useful when combining flavours is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. 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 (Norway), on his molecular gastronomy blog.khymos.org (May 1, 2007)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY, Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page. An absolute goldmine of experience and inspiration. This is the only book that lives in my kitchen instead of on my bookshelves. It is a discussion about dish and meal development, and boasts interviews from the likes of Daniel Bould, Alice Waters, Gary Kunz, and Rick Bayless. Topics include menu pacing, menu development through history, chefs’ 'desert island' lists, aroma and seasonality, and classic flavor profiles by region (say, Canadian, Caribbean, or Chilean). In addition to the treasury of information and theory, the book also includes a number of 'Food Matches Made in Heaven' lists: by ingredient, protein (meat, poultry, fish), and seasoning. They look a little bit like this, from page 166: RICE, WILD: almonds, butter, hazelnuts, mushrooms, oranges, pepper, pignoli. Most lists are much longer and, for some ingredients, notes about seasonality and recommended cooking methods are also made. If you own no other book..."
— J9, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, in Portland, Oregon, on foodaccordingtome.com (April 22, 2007)
"There are already excellent reviews [of What to Drink with What You Eat], so I don't want to reinvent
the wheel by raving on the photos, the organization, the pure depth of
information, the perfection of this book. But if you have stopped on this page,
you probably also own a dog-eared, raggedy, finger-smudged copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY (somewhat like mine is?) and suffice to say that while this is a much more beautiful book and may not necessarily be sitting next to your stove (although there are wonderful recipes...), you will probably refer to it as often."
— A. Lupia "amlbee" Branford, CT on Amazon.com
(April 18, 2007)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page...was recommended by many of the chefs on this site, and has been a great addition to my library."
— Silvercliff_46 on Chef2Chef.net (April 17, 2007)
"Looking for Inspiration....Out of the several hundred cookbooks I own, there is one never too far from my
desk: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page.
I wouldn't even know where to begin with this one, not really a recipe book, although it does have recipes, it compiles list of ingredients by season, cooking method and cuisine and gives popular and curiously inspiring pairings for each...example:
Lemon....almonds, cardamom, chocolate, currants, honey, lime, poppy seeds, raspberries, strawberries.
Chocolate? apparently Dieter Schorner loves it! Who knew lobster goes best with Vacherin cheese? or Mackerel with gooseberries?
If you have a good taste memory and can 'taste' things in your mind, this book will blow you away. I think even the most experienced chef can benefit from this book as a reference point. Classic well respected combinations are all in bold, like apples with cabbage or trout with almonds. If you're looking for a tool to put together new dishes and combinations this book is a must."
— Psycho Chef in New York City on ChefTalk.com
(April 14, 2007)
"CULINARY ARTISTRY knocked my socks off. I love that book!"
— Jan in Atlanta (aka Half_Baked), www.cuisineathome.com (April 14, 2007)
"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)
"Q. What Are Your Top Five Favorite Books of all time? A. A Brief History of Time-Steven Hawkings;
CULINARY ARTISTRY-Dorenberg (sic) and Page; Portrait of a Young Man as an Artist-James Joyce;
The Professional Chef-CIA; A Moveable Feast-Hemingway."
— Americanglobetrekker in Connecticut, BootsnAll Travel Network
(March 30, 2007)
"One of the top food-related questions I get asked by people I come across on a day-to- day basis is 'What books do you recommend I read to help me become a better cook?' After answering the posed question, I usually get this outlandish, puzzled look, followed by a 'Huh!?' That’s right! No Charlie Trotter, no French Laundry, and no Mr. Matsuhisa. As great as these books are for inspiration and physical beauty, they really do very little to help your mind develop in a way as to enable you to create and think food. It’s the old proverb 'Give a man a fish feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'....So where were we? Oh yea, the question of which books are worth a read to help the old gray matter get a culinary workout. My first response to this question is always A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman, usually followed by CULINARY ARTISTRY....No recipes, no cool pictures and no actual kitchen facts; just pure, raw brain shuckers that get under the craniums surface and make you look inward instead of outward!... CULINARY ARTISTRY is a phenomenal read and teaches you how to 'think' flavour and develop your menu writing skills...."
— Michael Pataran, University of Toronto alum; former chef of Rain, Monsoon and Wildfire; and sakemaster on FoodAmbassador.com (March 26, 2007)
"...I hope that they do as well with this column [for The Washington Post] as they have with their books. CULINARY ARTISTRY has provided me with more cooking inspiration than any other book I own."
— Steve Sthitch, www.donrockwell.com (March 21, 2007)
"hands down the best food/flavor guide book..."
— Clara, GoodReads.com (March 18, 2007)
"My copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY suggests the following flavor pairings with
cinnamon: apples, berries, chicken, chocolate, coffee, lamb, oranges, pears,
rice, tea, and zucchini (to name a few). So...coq au vin, sausages with an
apple-bacon sauerkraut...."
— Chris Onstad, cartoonist, "Achewood" (March 16, 2007)
"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 of Google's Cafe 7 and Cafe Moma, as quoted by Heather Lee in Prevention magazine (March 2007)
"Books I Am Always Reading: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Tammy Tu, seekingthegoodlife.blogspot.com (March 2007)
"My favorite 5 books about the vast culinary world. 1. The Professional Chef compiled by the Culinary Institute of America. 2. On Food and Cookery by Harold McGee. 3. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page..."
— Ernest Japan Blog, ekwok.exblog.jp (February 22, 2007)
"Best Cookbook: I have two cookbooks in my vast collection that are well stained, corners bent and used constantly:
The Chinese Kitchen by Deh-Ta Hsiung and CULINARY ARTISTRY
by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. "
— Dave, aka romany123, ChineseFoodDIY.com
(February 21, 2007)
"...as well as The New American Chef by Andrew Dorenburg (sic) and Karen Page....If you're in the culinary field, the books these two put out are invaluable references...CULINARY ARTISTRY being one that i will always keep handy. "
— Yoschie99, sous chef, shroomery.org (February 16, 2007)
"Last year I purchased your book CULINARY ARTISTRY [after] a chef friend of mine had recommended it. It lives on my kitchen countertop book stand and is in constant use.
Although I love everything about the book, the food matching section is the one that is used most of all (well thumbed and well stained).
It is the one book (of many) that I would not like to be without. Well done, And thank you....'CULINARY ARTISTRY is my favorite book by far!'
I agree wholeheartedly. It never leaves my kitchen worktop."
— Dave (aka romany123) from Colchester, UK, on ChefTalk.com (February 7 & 8, 2007)
"Don't Know How to Cook, But Want to Learn? Here Are The Only Two Books You'll Ever Need: I submit...CULINARY ARTISTRY to enlighten on the rationale behind food combinations, spice and herb complementarity, ethnic food distinctions, and menu construction. This book in particular shows that almost all recipes found in pulp cookbook and magazine columns are rote rehashings of long-known food/spice combinations."
— Greg, TheSimpleDollar.com (February 6, 2007)
"I have an interesting relationship with cookbooks. I’m drawn to those that feature stunning pictures and mouth-watering recipes, but as a chef I challenge myself to craft my own creations. As my skills improve, I’m less inclined to purchase a 'cookbook' than a book that features techniques. My favorite culinary game is to pick an ingredient (typically one I happen to have in the fridge), turn to CULINARY ARTISTRY and come up with a unique recipe."
— Betsy, OvensToBetsy.com (February 3, 2007)
"Using my bible of the kitchen — CULINARY ARTISTRY — I figured I should accompany the foie gras with toast and grapes, which would go well with the pear sauce...I remembered that I once had foie gras with walnuts in France, and I double-checked good old CULINARY ARTISTRY — yup, walnuts go well with both foie gras and with grapes. So a quick sauté of the nuts in butter and then the grapes and rosemary joined the pan. I finished them off with honey and bourbon. A little 'fire in the hole' flambé, and the grapes were ready as well."
— Matt, Finarelli.com (January 26, 2007)
"What to Drink with What You Eat is not CULINARY ARTISTRY...but it's very close! I have used CULINARY ARTISTRY for quite a few years and it is still an
outstanding book. This new book is great as well...Overall another great addition by Dornenberg and Page! It is a very interesting
read and will be a great references for menu writing."
— N.B. "Lucan Chef" in Macau, China, on Amazon.com
(January 22, 2007)
"Most of my best food experiences come from random happenstance, it seems....By the time I had walked back to the Chef's restaurant, I had an idea. Together, we perused his copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY, his favorite book [as well as] mine. Jicama goes well with chiles and lime? Hm. When I left the door, I had a new recipe in mind. Time to go to the store. This is how we ate my new favorite dish for dinner last night: chilled millet with roasted jalapenos, mangoes, lime segments, and slivered jicama...."
— Shauna James, Gluten Free (January 19, 2007)
"
One of my students insists that we use CULINARY ARTISTRY. as a textbook next year!"
— Jim, culinary instructor in New Castle, Delaware, ChefTalk.com (January 18, 2007)
"In 1998 (I think), one of my sous-chef introduce me to CULINARY ARTISTRY....
When I look back, i think that reading BECOMING A CHEF and reading and Understanding all the food matchs in CULINARY ARTISTRY, was a big part in a big career move. Your books awake in me the desire to become more than what I was....Of all the cooking books I have, CULINARY ARTISTRY is the most used, pages are falling off and the cover is a pretty scratch. And it's from using it time and time again to make sure I dont make a Faux-pas when I make food Match while composing a dish. I have strongly suggested fellow worker to acquire it."
— Ben, Panonthefire, ChefTalk.com (January 18, 2007)
"My 10 Favorite Cookbooks...#3) CULINARY ARTISTRY (1996) — This is part cookbook, part textbook. One of its finer points is page-after-page of tables of what goes best with what. I use this thing constantly when I’m trying to figure something out. #2) Woman’s Home Companion Cookbook (1955) —...The first cookbook I ever used...1) Mom’s Three-Ring Binder."
— Dave Liske, BlogsMonroe (January 11, 2007)
"Personal Cheffing 101...CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg (sic). 'Flavor combining. This is one of my BIBLES."
— A. Feucht, Amazon.com (January 10, 2007)
"I’ve been drawn in to the cowardly act of picking a favorite book over the past year...It has occurred to me in the past that Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are quality writers. I’ve used CULINARY ARTISTRY as a reference for the past 5 years...."
— Michael Walsh, A View from the Kitchen (January 7, 2007)
"As some of you above, I collect cookery books (and am downright obsessed with food and all things culinary). My favourite cookbook criterion follow: Recipes that are challenging and that require unique and difficult-to-obtain ingredients. To me half the fun is to get my hands on lovely ingredients that I often must order for (I live in rural northern Canada). Books that challenge you to improvise and not necessarily use recipes. Encyclopedic cookery books jam-packed with the hows and whys of food science. I love books that I can read through like novels, over and over. These are amongst my favourites: The Flavours of Olive Oil, The Spice and Herb Bible, French Laundry, The Improvisational Cook, On Food and Cooking and Molecular Gastronomy, Club Cuisine, CULINARY ARTISTRY...."
— Chefathome, reluctantgourmet.com (January 5, 2007)
"My personal favorite cookbook is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It has almost no recipes in it though. Just extensive listings of flavor combinations and ideas of dishes from great chefs around the world. It is an invaluable tool for anyone who would prefer to just plain invent when they are in the kitchen. To me, this is the best cookbook, but it is not right for everyone."
— Matt Finarelli Duke '98, Deglazed (December 28, 2006)
"I often just use CULINARY ARTISTRY to come up with ideas of I would do for reductions for what I'm doing, and go from there."
— Flattop (Clarksville, TN), Chef2Chef.net (December 27, 2006)
"If it's liquid and flavorful, it'll probably reduce. So pairing flavors is what you're after and I can't think of a better source of ideas than CULINARY ARTISTRY, as Flattop suggests."
— DerekCooks (St. Louis, MO), Chef2Chef.net
(December 27, 2006)
"What is the most essential book? I have been cooking for 21 years, and I have found that most cookbooks are aimed at moms and paps. A professional does not need to be beaten on the head with recipes, but more inspired! CULINARY ARTISTRY is my favorite book by far."
— Martin Laprise, author, ChefTalk.com (December 4, 2006)
"At times when I go to put a dish together or when I need some clarification or
ideas for flavor pairings, I turn to one of my most cherished books. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is an extraordinary book that helps to keep any idea simple or turn it into something beyond what you initially considered."
— Kimberley Slobodian, graduate of Northwest Culinary Academy (Vancouver) (December 1, 2006)
"The last great book I read: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Wendy Ness (San Diego, CA), Yelp.com (December 2006)
"Five Stars. Flavor Artistry. A great resource if you are looking to understand pairings of ingredients,
complentary and contrasting flavors, building layers of tastes, etc."
— Michael T. Melloy (Philadelphia), Amazon.com
(November 9, 2006)
"Karen and Andrew are the coolest people on the planet.
I have incorporated this book [WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT] and CULINARY ARTISTRY [as] my absolute daily
'go-to' books for work."
— The Chef (New Jersey), The Sake Diaries
(November 2, 2006)
"It was quite a long time ago that I first read DINING OUT, an eye- opening aspect of the restaurant business for me since I was just a youngster then. A little time passed, and I realized this book called BECOMING A CHEF was also written by Dornenburg and Page, and I had enjoyed DINING OUT so much I read that one too. I’ve been using CULINARY ARTISTRY as a source of reference and inspiration over the past 3 years more than any other book. It has become indispensable to me especially when creating seasonally-minded menus, or thinking about that one elusive flavor that makes a dish successful. I continue to recommend CULINARY ARTISTRY to my co-workers; they have to go buy it though, as I can't take a chance lending out my copy. I can’t wait to check out the new book [WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT]; it’s on my short list of new culinary books I’d like to have."
— Michael Walsh, A View from the Kitchen (November 1, 2006)
"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 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)
"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, Chowhound.com (September 26, 2006)
"According to the book CULINARY ARTISTRY
(my favorite cookbook), the following spices/ingredients
bring out the flavor of duck...."
— Dominique (aka mdvegan), vegweb.com
(September 26, 2006)
"To start, I gleaned a bit of guidance and inspiration from a fabulous book
called CULINARY ARTISTRY. This is a book that lists all kinds of ingredients and provides a compilation of all the foods, herbs, and spices that pair well with each one. It's essentially like having a color wheel for food."
— Christa Carignan, Calendula & Concrete
(September 20, 2006)
"Q. I have recently picked up a book called WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT, which has been a great book for picking a wine to go with dinner.
The next thing that I want to start to learn about is how to match apps, sides, salads and desserts with the main dish. Does anyone have any suggestions on books or other resources I can use?
I don't want a cookbook that tells me this particular side goes with this particular main, but something that will help me learn on a more basic level so that I can decide for myself. —Mattheux A. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page is a wonderful book that delves deep into what flavors work with what foods and what the outcomes will be as well as what goes with what. I think you will find it to be a fabulous reference. Many people on this site keep it right beside their most dogeared cookbooks in the kitchen! Pros and home cooks alike!!!"
— Chef June, executive chef, discusscooking.com
(September 18, 2006)
"I was going to recommend CULINARY ARTISTRY also!
When I want to get new ideas of flavors to go with something,
that is the book I go for!"
— CJS, sous chef in Straits of Juan de Fuca on
discusscooking.com
(September 18, 2006)
"A really interesting discussion of the idea of chef as artist takes place in the
book CULINARY ARTISTRY. Various chefs explain their rationale for accepting or
rejecting the notion. Well worth the read to get an 'outside' perspective on the idea..."
— Dilettante Ventures, Blogspot.com (September 8, 2006)
"Part of the reason I love the book CULINARY ARTISTRY so much is that it frees me from being dependent on recipes. I'll refer to it for comfirmation of flavor pairings and then I feel confident enough with my technique to wing it."
— Bloviatrix, MouthfulsFood.com (September 8, 2006)
"...If you don't have it already, RUN, don't walk to the nearest store and get CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page. Absolutely the bible on what goes with what, and a terrific idea/pairing/menu-planning tool...."
— Derek Cooks, Ambassador, Chef2Chef.net (St. Louis, MO) (September 6, 2006)
"As a chef and graduate from a prestigious culinary school I feel that my praise
is very meaningful. In a business that is ever changing and constant competing
CULINARY ARTISTRY has always been there for me. The book covers a wide range of
topics that were not always covered in school. I'll even go as far as calling it
a companion to the real life culinary experience. From the insightful
testimonies to the multitude of helpful information contained in its charts and
lists it continues to give to the reader....Anyone from the every day home cook to the
passionate gourmet will fall under the spell held within the bindings of this
wonderful guide. Yes a guide. Where other books are just cook books, CULINARY ARTISTRY opens our minds to the creative side of the restaurant industry. All
this, and recipes from some of the best chefs in the industry, not only a good
read but one thing I would definitely place on my deserted island list."
— Vincent Smith, chef in Boston, on Amazon.com
(August 30, 2006)
"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 (John Wiley & Sons, 1996)."
— Stu Stein, chef (July 27, 2006)
"As a professional chef, I have used the food matching and seasonality charts in CULINARY ARTISTRY for years, to come up with specials and to jump start my imagination. My copy is falling apart at the seams....Thanks for the inspiration all your books have given me over the years."
— Duncan Firth, San Diego, CA (July 2006)
"I picked up CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page and I was not disappointed. In fact, I have been geeking out with this book since I bought it on Saturday. It's certainly not for the faint of heart....I'm sure my wife grew tired of me within the first few minutes of my cracking open this book. Every other paragraph seemed to say to me, 'Yeah brother, I know what you're talking about.' I would read an entire paragraph to her, basking in its profundity, and seconds later have yet another paragraph to read aloud. The side margins are littered with quotes from famous chefs, both alive and dead. I would often almost get frustrated at the sheer volume of information that was available on a single page, that I couldn't cram all into my brain that very second."
— Joseph Hall, blog.josephhall.com (June 21, 2006)
"- Dornenburg and Page's CULINARY ARTISTRY has been a great reference for me (thanks AskMefites for the rec) but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who's just starting to cook. About half the book is devoted to a comprehensive listing of what ingredients go well with what in near-phonebook listing form."
— JuneSix on AskMetafilter.com (July 13, 2006)
"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 magazine (June 2006)
"... 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, BeyondSalmon.blogspot.com (June 4, 2006)
"Q. What's your best cookbook find? A. My favorite is The French Laundry...Another fun one is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It's more like a reference book though, that tells you what herbs / vinegars / nuts / fruit would compliment your ingredient of choice. It's a great starting point if you want to create your own recipes!
Very cool."
— Lydia P., yelp.com (June 3, 2006)
"...CULINARY ARTISTRY — to understand what a true culinary 'artist' is, and an absolutely vital taste-pairing guide."
— BradNelson, metafilter.com (May 28, 2006)
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)
"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)
"The grand trilogy of culinary books that you should or must posess are (in no particular order): 1. The French Laundry; 2. CULINARY ARTISTRY; and 3. On food and cooking, Harold McGee...CULINARY ARTISTRY is sort of a food lover's encyclopedia that matches foods. Almost every vegetable, fruit and protein are listed alphabetically (and when in season)and thereupon listed below are what they can and traditionally are paired with. There are lists of what herbs and spices traditionally accompany what, basic staple of ethnic foods, salty-sweet-sour-bitter foods and menu items from well reputed chefs. There aren't any recipes in the book. It simply tells you what goes well together and how best prepared (grilled, braised etc...)."
— Poivrot Farci, DonRockwell.com (March 30, 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 (WA)
(March 16, 2006)
"My favorite way to cook is without recipes, using only ingredients on hand. I'm not sure if it's my personal genius, my innate laziness, or just an inability to take direction. In fact, my favorite 'cookbook' is Culinary Artistry which is more of a guidebook than a cookbook. You can look up an ingredient and it lists a variety of ingredients that complement it, as well as preferred cooking methods. It's a dream for someone like me. I've always used cookbooks for inspiration, rather than actually following a recipe. For example, I wanted to use sweet potatoes and some wild sockeye salmon steaks that I had on hand to make dinner tonight. I've already combined these for a great dinner in the past, making hash browns out of the sweet potatoes and poaching the salmon in wine. Tonight, I had no white wine. So, I poached the salmon in brandy (Culinary Artistry lists cognac as an ingredient with salmon - I fudged). I ended up making a puree of the sweet potatoes (a preferred prep/cooking method) using butter and cinnamon. Then, just for fun, I spread the sweet potato puree into a souffle dish, sprinkled brown sugar on top and stuck it under the broiler for a poor-man's brulee. Yum."
— CalifMom.com (March 5, 2006)
"Your favorite cookbook? My all time favorite is CULINARY ARTISTRY. Not really a traditional style cookbook, more like cooking philosophy and theory. I use it all the time as a reference."
— Cooking Light Forum (March 3, 2006)
"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)
"As the acting sous chef at Alexander's and the newly appointed executive chef at The Old Oyster Factory, [chef Chaun] Bescos personifies the drive and professional commitment needed to make it as a chef....Q. Some restaurants keep current with the latest food trends; others retain the same menus for years and years. How do you keep up with all the new things that keep coming up out there? A. I am always reading something. I buy new cookbooks, basically getting the ones from the top restaurateurs in the country. I like CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page."
— BLUFFTON TODAY EXTRA (SC) (February 23, 2006)
"Many chefs and cooks around the world have cited CULINARY ARTISTRY as the single most valuable reference book in their kitchens. 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...I just finished reading CULINARY ARTISTRY and I want to thank Chef Leonard (Executive Chef of The Moomba Restaurant); he gave me this book when I left Moomba."
— ChefAuJus (Singapore) (February 16, 2006)
"Books you can't live without: Now that I'm done and out [of culinary school], I go more for reference. I own CULINARY ARTISTRY which I go to to cross-reference flavour combinations."
— Bella on www.FreeThought-Forum.com (February 8, 2006)
"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)
"Favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Stephen R. of Groveport, Ohio, on Bravo's "Top Chef"
Web site (2006)
"A good place to go to learn some of the theories and info you seek is the very wonderful book CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page. I suggest you invest in that."
— ChefJune, Ambassador, Chef2Chef.net (January 29, 2006)
and
"I agree, June. That text should be in everyone's kitchen."
— HoosierChef70, Chef2Chef.net (January 29, 2006)
"By the way, CULINARY ARTISTRY is by far the best book I have purchased to date,
bar none!!!!!!!!!!!"
— ChefToBe, ChefTalk.com (January 12, 2006)
"There was a book we really enjoyed called CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew
Dornenburg and Karen Page. In the final chapter, they asked a bunch of four star
chefs what ten ingredients they would want if they were stranded on a desert
island, spontaneous answers only. Salt and tomatoes tied for number one! So
never underestimate the importance of salt."
— Patricia E., TheSpiceHouse.com (January 5, 2006)
"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
"Apres avoir consulte mon nouveau livre favori, CULINARY ARTISTRY, j'ai vu que le chocolat fait un tres joli mariage avec le gingembre. Alors j'ai decide de faire un Pudding au pain avec des petites pieces de gingembre confit. C'etait vraiment facile et le Pudding etait delicieux chaud ou froid, avec la sauce au chocolat, nature, ou avec un peu de lait."
— Lady Amalthea, noshesthoughtsreves.blogspot.com
(December 16, 2005)
"Favorite cook books or cooking related books: My xmas present to myself is a yearly spurge on cookbooks and/or food related books. Please post your top 3, and expound on why they're your favorites.
Me:
1) CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenberg & Page
Hardly a recipe in the book. It's more about food matches and pairing, and creating menus. And developing as a cook."
— N, Chow.com (December 15, 2005)
"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)
"I often find myself sitting and reading CULINARY ARTISTRY.
It is one of the best food reference books I have ever read. Whenever I travel somewhere that I know is going to require me to cook, but I do not know what the ingredients are going to be, this book travels with me. It provides a great deal of inspiration."
— StHitch, DonRockwell.com (October 5, 2005)
"The cross-referenced flavor and seasoning match charts in CULINARY ARTISTRY (a very valuable book for this sort of experimentation) pair vanilla with fruit, fish and shellfish, so maybe it might be worth trying on something like scallops or shrimp, which take to brandy nicely."
— KIPlog.com (August 2, 2005)
"...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)
"If you're short on cash, and still want to impress your Gourmet Girl, grab
Dornenburg and Page's CULINARY ARTISTRY, which will help you to score major
points."
— Mera Falcon on Amazon.com (April 5, 2005)
"Molecular gastronomy and kitchen chemistry: On this page you will find background material, books and links related to the popular science lectures 'Kitchen chemistry and everyday chemistry,' 'More kitchen chemistry' and 'Molecular gastronomy' given at the University of Oslo and other places.... These following books are written more like essays and are delightful reading. They all circle around food and include more or less about the science of food and cooking....Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page: CULINARY ARTISTRY (1996, 426p)."
— Martin Lersch, Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo (Norway)
(March 16, 2005)
"Even Top Chefs Learn From Cookbooks: Do professional chefs need to use cookbooks? Yes and no. Yes, since the alternative is to commit a slew of basic recipes to memory, and no, because experienced chefs don't learn anything new from duplicating another cook's work. However, many of our local kitchen pros are avid collectors and regularly slip between the covers to sniff out a new ingredient, a fresh flavour twist, or an inspiring reminder of what got them hooked on cooking....The gravy-stained pages in her copy of Marion Cunningham's The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1945) are proof, says Margaret Chisholm, executive chef at perpetually busy Culinary Capers catering, that she's 'nailed chicken cacciatore', adding that 'any book with 30 potato recipes is pretty great.' 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)
"Executive Chef Eric Shores, One Ninety One Club, Atlanta...What is your most used cookbook? CULINARY ARTISTRY, as more of a guide on pairings and technique."
— "Off the Menu," PrivateClubs.com (January / February 2005)
"Q. What are some of your favorite cookbooks? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page."
— David Maish, chef-owner, David's Bistro (Des Plaines), as quoted in the SECRETS OF CHICAGO CHEFS COOKBOOK (2004)
"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)
"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)
CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of the two most-used cookbooks (along with The New Professional Chef) of executive chef Matt Gambatese of the Shoreby Club in Bratenahl, Ohio.
— "Off the Menu," www.PrivateClubs.com
(November/December 2004)
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)
"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. 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)
"SUCCESS STORIES OF FEMALE CHEF ENTREPRENEURS: Q&A with Nicole Bissonnette of Bistro 157, Valparaiso. Q. How do you bring your kitchen staff along in developing their talents? A. I'm a big believer in positive reinforcement and am always open to my staff trying out whatever ideas or recipes they want. I have a huge library of cookbooks and I encourage them to look and understand flavor components and why certain flavors naturally go together. CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of our favorite books, because it gives a glossary of ingredients and what flavors work well with them. I try to teach my staff not to just follow recipes but to understand the method, then cook and taste along the way! They generally run ideas by me; we discuss the flavor components and I guide them if it's needed. I am the first to admit that I, too, still have much to learn and that we are all in it together.”
— Jane Dunn, LAKE magazine (Spring 2004)
"Most Favorite Cookbooks: I use CULINARY ARTISTRY on almost a daily basis...even after 10 years or so."
— Kelly Johnson, Chef2Chef.net (March 31, 2004)
"Most Favorite Cookbooks: 1. The French Laundry 2. CULINARY ARTISTRY 3. Mark Miller's Indian Market Cookbook."
— Chef Clevenger, Chef2Chef.net (March 31, 2004)
"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)
"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)
"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)
"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 & 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)
"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)
Interview with Eric Colgrove, Chef, Otto's Restaurant and Bar: "Favorite dish to prepare: Walnut-crusted salmon with tomato-fennel beurre blanc.
Last cookbook read: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page."
— Ronnie Hess, MADISON magazine (November 2003)
"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)
"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)
"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)
"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)
"These are the ways the berry of the season was found on Saturday at the Carrboro Farmers Market annual strawberry tasting. Strawberry season peaked last weekend in our area, so market...Not only were customers given fruit to taste, they were given ideas about what to do with it. A handout adapted from CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, listed the various foods, spices and alcohol strawberries have an affinity with, such as basil, guava, black or pink pepper, and Beaujolais."
— Sheila Dalton Neal, CHAPEL HILL NEWS (May 20, 2003)
"Very interesting discussion. One more thing to add . . . I think that to a large
extent people become too dependent on recipes, and they think that if they just
know how to cook enough dishes by following recipes verbatim, they will become
good or great cooks. Don't get me wrong, using and following recipes is critical
to build up a base of experience, confidence, etc., but at some point I think
that you have to learn about WHY certain dishes, spice combinations, etc., work
and why some don't, and once you have mastered this body of knowledge, you can
become a truly great cook, cooking without recipes or easily modifying them,
improvising with what you have on hand, etc. The thesis of the book CULINARY ARTISTRY is that there are classic food and flavor combinations that just work, the best of which are truly food/spice matches made in heaven, that have withstood the test of time (e.g. lamb and rosemary, or
garlic, tomatoes, basil) and you need to know what they are to become a truly creative and good cook. I highly recommend the book."
— Ann Vuletich, Chow.com (January 10, 2003)
"Just as the artistic community has over time shifted its center from Paris to New York City, so has the culinary community,' the authors wrote in CULINARY ARTISTRY. The Dornenburg/Page book continued the discussion of the evolution of cooking as art citing the intense seriousness among American chefs as evidence that the profession is moving to new levels of respectability and accomplishment. CULINARY ARTISTRY, a favorite book of Massett, by the way, suggested that not all American chefs are culinary artists, nor do they aspire to be. 'For the vast majority of America's three million-plus chefs and cooks, this (cooking) is a trade, typically defined as skilled work,' the authors stated. Other professional chefs approach their trade as a craft, where their skill is developed with care and experience, and the talent for preparing delicious food on a consistent basis is honed, Dornenburg and Page noted. 'And still other chefs may embrace both definitions while also seeing the potential for artistry at the highest practice of their profession. At this level, in rare but unforgettable instances, you can find chefs whose culinary skill, combined with unusual imagination and creativity, truly elevate their profession to an art,' the authors concluded."
— Tommy Simmons, THE ADVOCATE (January 9, 2003)
"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)
"Profiles: Chef Stephen Rouelle, The Orchid at Mauna Lani.
My favorite decadent meal: seared veal chop topped with foie gras with black truffle risotto and a great glass of port...My favorite cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page."
— HONOLULU ADVERTISER (January 2002)
___
"I love CULINARY ARTISTRY. In fact, I have just bought my fourth copy as I always
seem to be giving mine away to an intern or other young cook. It really gives a
great view of how chefs go about creating food and menus. Some of it is a very
concious act and some of it is very unconcious. I like to glance through it
because I always come away with wanting to try something new, something that I
haven't thought of before."
— Pete, cafe moderator, ChefTalk.com (December 12, 2001)
Testimonials from Readers:
CULINARY ARTISTRY has been cited as the single favorite and/or most used cookbook of chefs and culinary enthusiasts across the United States and around the world, including:
— Grant Achatz, chef of Alinea in Chicago, which was named the country's #1 restaurant in the October 2006 Gourmet (11/06, as per Chicago magazine)
— Shauna James Ahern, writer, glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com (Seattle)
— Cesar Balmaceda, chef, U.S. Marine Corps who's studied at The Culinary Institute of America ("by far the best thing I've ever read")
— Jennifer Biesty, executive chef, COCO500 and Season 4 contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef"
— Joanne Bondy, chef, Ciudad in Dallas ("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.")
— John Campbell, executive chef of the Michelin two-star restaurant The Vineyard at Stockcross (Berkshire, England) and author of Formulas for Flavour (8/03)
— Barb J. Cohan, lawyer and pastry chef at Paloma Fine Dining in Philadelphia (5/08)
— Julie Cucchi, Princeton alumna and co-founder, www.98pt6.com, a brand expression agency
— Gabriel Claycamp, instructor and co-owner, Culinary Communion (Seattle)
— Sheri Davis, chef-owner, Dish (Atlanta) in Chefs to Know
— Holly Dion, who worked at the Gatehouse for eight years and at Cheeky Monkey (Newport, Rhode Island) in addition to serving as head chef at Eclectic Grille (11/04)
— Duane Fernandes, chef, Gabrielle's at the Richmond Hill Inn in Asheville, NC (4/08)
— Matt Finarelli Duke '98, chef, Rustico (Alexandria, VA)
— Alfonso Fonseca, executive chef, Signature Room Grille (Woodridge, IL): "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."
— Earl P. Forton, on Amazon.com (4/08)
— Edward Fuchs, food service specialist, United States Coast Guard
— Matt Gambatese, executive chef, Shoreby Club in Bratenahl, Ohio (tied with The New Professional Chef)
— Scott Giambastiani, executive chef of Google's Cafe 7 and Cafe Moma (Mountain View, CA): "This is the best reference book I've used."
— Tommy Grant, chef de cuisine, Wellington's of Scarlet Oaks (Charleston, SC); Favorite cookbook: "I have lots of favorites, but the one I refer to often is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It gives a food item, then suggestions for all food to go with it. Reading it gets me thinking."
— Kelvin Gurr, chef instructor, Western Culinary Institute's restaurant Bleu (Portland, OR); Favorite unsung cookbook: "CULINARY ARTISTRY...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." (February 28, 2006)
— Joseph Hafner, executive chef, Gracie's (Providence, RI) "It's a great inspiration." (2/08)
— Glenn Harris, executive chef-owner, Jane (New York City) in Chefs to Know
— Jason Herbert, chef (Chicago) ("The Holy Grail of Cookbooks...inspiration on every page")
— Laura Hodges, Splash in the Pan Personal Chef Service (Southern California; 12/05): "CULINARY ARTISTRY is my favorite book out of the 200 I have collected. Whenever I feel uninspired, I open up that book and immediately I can plan a client's menu for the week. It gets my creative juices flowing. I love it so much, I bought it for another chef friend of mine for Christmas. Thank you for your gift of writing AND creativity!"
— Hal Holden-Bache, chef, Eastland Cafe ( Is there a book (or cookbook) that has been particularly inspiring? I have a vast culinary library, and I read quite a bit. Every book I read educates me and inspires me in different ways. The books I use most often are Food Lover's Companion (by Sharon Tyler Herbst, Barron's Educational Series, Incorporated, $16.99) and CULINARY ARTISTRY (by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, $29.95)." (April 23, 2008)
— Hung Huynh, 2007 contestant on "Top Chef" and executive sous chef of Guy Savoy in Las Vegas, tied with El Bulli
— Bob Iacovone, chef, Restaurant Cuvee (New Orleans) in Chefs to Know
— Rob Keener, executive chef, Flight Wood Grill and Wine Bar in Hendersonville, NC
— Jeff Keenliside, chef, Fire and Water (Vancouver)
— Dan Landsberg, chef, Tillman's Roadhouse in Dallas ("My favorite cookbook:
CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It’s great for creativity and food matches when you need some inspiration for specials.")
— Martin Laprise, author and chef for more than two decades ("essential...my favorite book by far")
— John D. Lee, chef (Chiang Mai, Thailand) ("The best cookbook I've ever read....I've been a cookbook junky for years, and I've read thousands, literally
thousands, of cookbooks.")
— Dale Levitski, 2007 contestant on "Top Chef" and former chef at Blackbird and Trio in Chicago
— Jackson Loos, executive chef, Cafe Louie (Boulder, CO)
— Chris Maher, chef-owner, Momentitos de la Vida (Albuquerque, NM)
— David Maish, chef-owner, David's Bistro (Des Plaines, IL)
— Joe Marcus, executive chef, West Bank Cafe (New York City)
— Pete Massett, chef, Camelot Club (Baton Rouge, LA)
— Jenny McCoy, pastry chef, Emeril's Delmonico (New Orleans): "Best Brainstorming Book: 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."
— Karen Molina, executive chef, Sunset Terrace Restaurant and Bar, Outrigger Waikiki Hotel (Waikiki, HI): "A great reference guide."
— Matthew Moore, chef, Souper Market (Cleveland)
— Peggy Morrissey, owner, Good Eats by Peggy (Shelton, WA)
— Brian Mottola, chef, Pop's New Orleans Cafe (Madison, NJ)
— Joey Nerenberg, president, Infusion Culinary Inc. (San Diego)
— Sara Nguyen, 2007 contestant on "Top Chef" and former executive sous chef at Boucarou who also cooked at Per Se (New York), tied with The French Laundry Cookbook
— Sean O'Brien, chef, Myth (San Francisco) and 2007 Food & Wine Top 10 Chef
— Cliff Ostrowski, Executive Chef, Windows, Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center (Oak Brook, IL) "My 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."
— Will Packwood, chef of Emilia's (Austin, TX), named one of Food and Wine magazine's 10 Best New Chefs for 2001
— David Peterson, head chef at three of the businesses operated by Bellingham, WA restaurateur Brian Tines: Main Street Bar and Grill, Fairhaven Pub and Martini Bar, and Big Fat Fish Co.
— Hilary Quinn, line cook, Shadow Ridge Country Club (tied with On Food and Cooking)
— Roger Radius, accomplished cook (Oakland, CA) "A thesaurus of food ingredients and their complements.... "
— Helen Rennie, cooking instructor (Cambridge, MA): "It's the most thought provoking food writing I've ever read."
— Stephen Rouelle, chef, The Orchid at Mauna Lani (Hawaii)
— Rob Seideman, owner, Cooking School of Aspen (Aspen, CO) "You know we’re your biggest fans. In fact, for our initial summer order, we just ordered 72 copies of CULINARY ARTISTRY (compared to no more than 4-5 copies of other books). Our staff refers to CULINARY ARTISTRY as Cooking School of Aspen ’s mandatory textbook! I’m sure we’ll move through those by mid-July and have to place a second order!" [May 2003]
— Julia Shanks, chef-owner, Interactive Cuisine (Boston, MA), tied with Larousse Gastronomique
— Eric Shores, chef, One Ninety One Club (Atlanta)
— Josh Silverman, co-chef, Nimbus (Bellingham, Washington)
— Adam Sobel, chef, Pure (Las Vegas) in Chefs to Know
— Jake Stearns, chef, Whole Foods in Nashville (4/08)
— Henri Viain, chef-instructor, French Culinary Institute (New York, NY)
— James Winberg, co-chef, Nimbus (Bellingham, Washington)
— Josh Wolfe, executive chef, Coast (Vancouver) (3/08)
It has largely been the passionate word-of-mouth praise of avid cooks — professionals and amateurs alike — over the past 10 years that has spurred sales of CULINARY ARTISTRY:
— "Ask Andy" on www.fudcourt.com: "I use this book almost every single time I am cooking or going to the market or thinking of a dish I'd like to make. Why? Because the entire middle of the book is a section called 'Food Matches Made in Heaven.' It is an alphabetical list of foods with extensive lists of other flavors that complement them well. No book or reference I have used has been more helpful and inspiring. While some combinations are obvious and familiar (lobster with butter) some seem a bit stranger (sweet potatoes with bananas). This section has given me more ideas than anything other than my own twisted mind. I used the lists as inspiration for my senior competency final practical exam in culinary school. It also has useful sections on flavors typical of various world cuisines, uses for herbs, and lists of ingredients chefs would take with them to a desert island."
— Chef Ron L. Askew, www.culinarycultures.com: "Loving your book CULINARY ARTISTRY!"
— Karen Barnaby: "An excellent book on the subject of 'cheffing'."
— Ellie Basch: "...Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, the husband and wife team of numerous award winning culinary books, including my favorites: BECOMING A CHEF and CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Kate Bird, incurable foodie: "Best Food Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY. Perfect tool to create your own dishes."
— Nicole Bissonnette of Bistro 157, Valparaiso: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of our favorite books, because it gives a glossary of ingredients and what flavors work well with them.
— Cosmas Bisticas, Chez Cosmo in Denver: "Exceptional.... Have you ever found yourself stumped trying to decide what goes with what? Are you confused about how to build flavors and balance out a dish? Cooking is an art and preparing a satisfying meal that you will be proud of when your guests rant and rave requires that you understand what you are doing and why. If you are able to understand the fundamentals behind the technique, you open the doors to being able to create your own masterpieces without the assistance of a cookbook using your artistic talents and knowledge. CULINARY ARTISTRY is a book that is required reading for any individual that wishes to understand the fundamentals of cooking and be able to move beyond basic usage of cookbooks following each step, basically blindfolded. It is a book that should be read from cover to cover but can also serve as a reference guide. On the surface you can look up various ingredients and see what goes best with what or you can read the entire book and gain valuable knowledge, as for example, why cranberry sauce goes well with turkey at your Thanksgiving dinner table."
— Alicia Bittner, MBA (May 2006): "Thank you for [CULINARY ARTISTRY]. I have never enjoyed a book about cooking as much as I have this one. Your book was magnificent, and that is not something that I usually say about anything. I look forward to seeing all your future endeavors. I will be buying all your books from now on."
— David Bowman, Scottsdale, Arizona: "Cookbook perfection: CULINARY ARTISTRY. ."
— Josh Brown, O'Leary's Seafood, Chesapeake Bay, Maryland: ""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."
— Howard Bulka, chef of Marche in Menlo Park, CA
— William L. Burge IV, chef: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of the finest culinary pieces that I know of, not just because of the conversations with the chefs which are great, but more importantly for the lists of food combinations/suggestions. As a young cook, they served as a sort of flavor wheel, when I felt that a dish could use just a little something more. A must-have for current chefs, aspring chefs, and anyone interested in expanding their palate of usable flavors."
— Jeff Cadieux, Houston, Texas: "Unique compilation of interviews and resources. Includes an incredibly useful collection of lists."
— Janine Chew, staff, Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks (Vancouver) names CULINARY ARTISTRY among her top five favorite cookbooks
— Margaret Chisholm, executive chef, Culinary Capers (Vancouver): "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.'"
— Chad Clevenger, chef (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
— Chris Commandant, chef (Canada): "I use this book every day, to assist me with compound flavour combinations."
— Andrea Corpolongo, 2004 Finalist, Michigan State University Libraries' Student Book Collection Competition: "[CULINARY ARTISTRY] aims to teach people how to cook as though cooking is an art and not a necessity. It is not a cookbook, although it does have a few recipes here and there as examples. The book explains how to 'compose flavors' and it contains a lot of information about pairing ingredients with their best possible partners as well as menu planning. It actually has a whole chapter consisting of lists of food matches suggested by the worlds most respected chefs. This is the book that I always turn to when I am planning my parents' anniversary dinner or a special meal for someone I love. When creating a really spectacular menu, only decades of experience could be more useful than this book."
— CTnightowl aka Peter of Essex, CT: "My most used cookbook is CULINARY ARTISTRY which encourages being creative when you cook and not following recipes."
— Mike Davis, chef, 26brix (Washington State): "CULINARY ARTISTRY is the only book that has made it through 8 moves, 4 jobs, 3 girlfriends and 2 cats. I actually had to buy a new copy because mine was so worn out."
— Jonathan Day (London): "One of the striking things about CULINARY ARTISTRY was that table of 'what goes with what' — the food pairings. It is unusually complete."
— Francois de Jong (Errington, British Columbia): One of my favorite books
— Jonathan Deutsch, PhD, Cooking, Food & Drink Moderator, BN.com: "In terms of what spices when, experiment but don't go nuts. Start with classic combinations you see in recipes and vary it/try other combinations to taste. If you're making a lot of something, try spicing just a little bit to try it before changing the whole dish. You can always add but you can't take away. The book CULINARY ARTISTRY has some great examples of various spice combinations." (December 2006)
— Patrick Diehl, intern, The Gingersnap Bakery (Phoenix): One of his top four favorite cookbooks
— Ruth Dondanville, cookbook author: "My Pick of the Last Decade: Culinary Inspiration"
— Tom Dowdy, CIA and Notre Dame alumnus: "This book comes the closest I have ever read to describing what cooking and dining at a top-notch restaurant is like. It also gives some insight into the minds of many of today's top chefs. The cross references of flavor combinations are also a nice way to kick your side dishes out of rut, or to put together a classic pairing."
— Kevin Dowling on eGullet.com: "Required Reading: Any of Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page's books, particularly CULINARY ARTISTRY. One of those books I just read over and over again the first year after I bought it.
— Ed Egan, Phoenix chef: "I just bought CULINARY ARTISTRY this past weekend and have not been able to put it down. Thank you for going where no food writer has gone....You and Karen are truly an asset to our profession."
— Brad Erdel, Indiana: "I just wanted to say that I love your book, CULINARY ARTISTRY. Of all the books in my library it is the one which I use all the time. It is such a great guide for someone like me who is just beginning his culinary career."
— Suzanne Fass, New York Restaurant School alumna: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of the best references and source of ideas I can think of for putting together dishes and menus. Totally inspiring."
— Jim Fogarty: "Get CULINARY ARTISTRY, (it really is a MUST HAVE for every pro or home cook)."
— Desmond Foo, chef (Singapore): "One of the best culinary books that I have read....It has reinforced what I have always felt was important to me as a professional chef, and created a better understanding, awareness and appreciation for my craft."
— Reg Forte: "My favorites in this vein are Cookwise, How to Read a French Fry, CULINARY ARTISTRY, and On Food and Cooking."
— Lissy Friedman, a keen amateur (Boston): "I especially like the charts you have where you show what flavors and ingredients go together. I've never seen anything like that in any other publication."
— Carlos Garcia, professional cook, Santiago, Chile: "A must have, because of the flavor combinations and the interesting opinions on food shared by many chefs interviewed by the authors."
—Toni Gifford, forum host, Recipezaar.com (February 7, 2007): "My copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY arrived today not ten minutes after I submitted my third and final recipe. Started to thumb it on the train this evening and already in love with it. There is a massive section that has lists of foods that explain what spices and foods combine well with each other. There are also long narratives where chefs explain their creative process in developing new recipes."
— Benjamin Paris Grossman, CIA alum and chef of The Cub Room (New York City): "Helps me with my menu creations, gives some inspiration."
— Dan Gullickson of Spearfish: One of his two favorite food guides.
— Tracy Hall-Ingram (Illinois): "This makes it so much easier to cook when I'm tired of the same ol' stuff....Wonderful work."
— Elena Hernandez (Panama): "One of my most treasured cookbooks...." "CULINARY ARTISTRY is an excellent reference book that every culinary arts student and chef should have. This is one of the books that I have used the most and recommend to every single person that takes a class at my school — it has a section that lists the most important food products and the ingredients they match with — useful for creating recipes and menus that have sense. I would recommend it also for anyone that loves to cook at home but with advanced knowledge of culinary techniques."
— Sandra Heuckroth: "Your book is on the top of my must-haves for the kitchen...I'm even typing in all the food matches so that I can download them onto my PDA for quick reference on the job." (4/04)
— Steven Hitchcock (Arlington, VA): "CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page is my 'go-to book' when I need an idea of what to cook. It is not really a cookbook, but one of the greatest reference books I have ever found. The book has a large section about what ingredients go with one another."
— June Jacobs, CCP, author and host of Feastivals.com: "BECOMING A CHEF and CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page...[are, in my opinion] essential reading for anyone interested in a career in this industry."
— Jack, Chef Apprentice, Auberge Du Pommier (Toronto): "There is this book that I refer to as the 'bible,' the book is called CULINARY ARTISTRY. Like Priests or Fathers, they carry a bible around and refer to it for help, I carry my 'Bible' around when I go into competitions or work. You wouldn't believe how useful this book is. It tells you all the matching flavours and or ingredients that will pair well with which, and also the seasons of each ingredient. But this cook is more technical, it's more advanced." (4/06)
— Matthew Jennings, NECI alumnus: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is pure inspiration in print! A definite read for any serious foodie, and I thank you so much for your intense research and writing. At times, the books seem so personal — as if they were written for me. With the publication of books like this, I see our profession in a whole new light."
— Kelly Johnson, Evans Street Station (Tecumseh, Michigan): "I use CULINARY ARTISTRY on almost a daily basis...even after 10 years or so."
— Jeff Keenliside, chef, Fire and Water (Vancouver)
— D.T. Lane (Columbia, SC): "Anyone who loves cooking will love it even more with the wealth of knowledge that CULINARY ARTISTRY imparts to the reader. It will take every aspiring chef, or home cook, to a higher level."
— Dave Lanthier (Cochrane, Ontario): "I picked this book up, thinking it might be an interesting guide to the techniques required to create those wonderful plated presentations we enjoy in the finest of restaurants. Instead, this book has become an important part of my cookbook collection for an entirely different reason. When it's time to be inventive, or when you are trying to figure out a new way to put ingredients together for a dish — this is the book to turn to. You simply select an ingredient, herb, spice, etc. or other key ingredient from the well organized sections or index. What then follows, for each listed key entry is a complete list of complementary ingredients, spices, herbs and flavours that you can pair and combine. Although many cookbooks discuss the pairing of flavours, this book gives you the raw data while still being interesting and appealing. Manys a time I've winged it with this book. The authors also have chapters devoted to composing flavours and matching foods with anecdotes from professional chefs who describe how they compose dishes and menus. Don't buy this book as a cookbook. Buy it for what it is — an excellent detailed resource to help you go beyond the written recipe. While not every experiment is a success, this book has given me the confidence to strike out on my own in the kitchen and cooking is a lot more fun!"
— Jim at Red Tavern (Chico, CA): #6 on his "Unofficial Top Ten-ish Cookbooks" list
— Paul Lee (Fairview, NJ): "Favorite books: CULINARY ARTISTRY"
— Jody Ann Limback, chef-owner, Cafe Driftwood (Evansville, IN)
— Lisa, RestaurantWidow.com (Columbus, OH): "Five (Cook)books that Mean a Lot to Me: #5) CULINARY ARTISTRY, for awakening my imagination."
— RestaurantWidow.com (December 15, 2005): "Books to Buy Your Favorite Foodies: CULINARY ARTISTRY is great for sparking creativity and learning flavor pairing and seasonality."
— Liz Lynch, author, 102 Secrets to Smarter Networking: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of my favorite cookbooks. I'm always referring to the food matches chapter....I really love the book. In fact, it helped me give up coffee this summer because I found a substitute that works fabulously well with the chocolate croissant I have for breakfast every day — iced verbena tea!"
— Marc C. Lyons, executive chef, South Louisiana: "Great books to begin a culinary education: CULINARY ARTISTRY [for] food and flavor pairings."
— Jeremy Mason, Seattle: "This book is perfect for advanced cooks looking to really expand their presentation, flavor pairings and artistry."
— Sandra Mason: "Q. The ONE Book You Would Recommend Would Be? A. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page"
— Rusty Mattison, chef: "Since I graduated from culinary school, this book has not left my side."
— McDee, on CookingForEngineers.com: "I also appreciate CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page for a quick reference on which foods have an affinity for others."
— Brad Messier, chef at Fischer's Baslow Hall in the UK: "One of my all-time favorite reference materials."
— Matthew Moore, chef-owner, Souper Market in Ohio City: "A compendium of complementary food and spice combinations."
— Richard Moorey, The Chronicle-Journal (Ontario): "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.
— Devon Morgan: "A reference book that is great for everyone....If you seek a new way to enjoy food, this is a book for you."
— J. Muser: "A must have for any food lover. Throw away your recipes and pair and match. This book brings the Chef out of the cook, from the home to the professional. GET IT!"
— Richard P. Newton, catering manager: "Fabulous book; absolutely the best reference available to help develop special menus for my clients. Extremely well written and organized."
— Kathleen Norman, ecookbooks: "This book is an invaluable addition to any serious culinary library. As a chef-in-training, I find myself turning to it again and again. The flavor pairings are right on the money....a great guide for both novices and professionals."
— Jessica O'Kief, staff, Metropolitan Community College in Omaha: "Jessica O'Kief...recognizes CULINARY ARTISTRY as the book that made her think outside of the recipe 'box'."
— Paul O'Vendage, professional chef: "[One of] my cornerstones." (4/04)
— Ben Parr, executive chef, Southwest of Disorder (Jackson, Mississippi): "CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg (sic): Truly amazing."
— Christopher Perry, professional chef: "Food is art."
— Monica Pope, chef-owner, Boulevard Bistro (Houston, TX)
— Paul Prejean, of Baton Rouge: "Want to know when a particular food item is in season, or what goes well with what? This book is the tool that should be in every cook's kitchen."
— Lloyd Ronick, serious home cook, Rockville, Maryland: " Not a cookbook, but a great reference on how to think about food and ingredients."
— Melissa Rosati, editor, Van Nostrand Reinhold (January 1997): “You are true road warriors....I just learned that CULINARY ARTISTRY was VNR's #1 title in 1996! Congratulations!”
— Derrick Schneider: "I use a bunch of cookbooks when I plan a menu, sometimes for inspiration, sometimes for recipes....But my main resource isn't a cookbook. I've mentioned CULINARY ARTISTRY before, and I still use it heavily. The book has lots of features, but my favorite is pages and pages of ingredients and compatible flavors. What goes well with cured salmon? Smoked salmon is close enough. Eggs, potatoes, onions, herbs. An appetizer platter suggested itself: gravlax with hard-boiled eggs, glazed pearl onions, steamed new potatoes tossed in a mustard vinaigrette, and Acme Herb Slab. All served with a Prosecco, the crisp and attractive sparkling wine from Northeast Italy that is the true base for a Bellini."
— Earl Shay: "I had to say how much I have enjoyed CULINARY ARTISTRY. I was fortunate in picking up an autographed copy when it first came out. Since then, it has become a constant reference book in my kitchen, and whenever I am working with a recipe I consult it. Thank you so much for a valuable reference, and a book that has changed my cooking habits for the better."
— Caroline Shin, alum of Boston College and CSCA (La Crescenta, CA): "Favorite books: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— David Sidwell: "Finally! A book that transcends recipe-sharing! Not a recipe book, but a book of cooking options/palates/choices. Indispensible as a chef's guide to combining foods and ingredients as an artist would."
— Matthew Sievert, of Springfield, Missouri: "I am taking cooking classes at a community college for the simple desire of learning how to cook food properly. Your book CULINARY ARTISTRY is the textbook for our second-year meat, fish and poultry class. I wrote in my journal about how your book does not teach people how to cook, but teaches people who already cook how to expand their boundries. Your book is an invaluable reference tool." (4/04)
— Paul Silva, chef of Toronto: "I too count my CULINARY ARTISTRY as one of my most-thumbed books on my cluttered shelves. I know many other chefs who keep a copy stashed in their office, and when the culinary muse is quiet, they use it for inspiration." (4/10/04)
— Kimberley Slobodian, Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver (12/1/06): "At times when I go to put a dish together or when I need some clarification or ideas for flavor pairings, I turn to one of my most cherished books. CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is an extraordinary book that helps to keep any idea simple or turn it into something beyond what you initially considered. The book categorizes foods into seasons and identifies the basic flavors that represent sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. It lists the flavor pals of spices and provides information from every angle when composing a menu or single dish. For almost any ingredient, it offers a variety of flavor companions and highlights matches that are made in heaven. It also provides a guide on ways to prepare each ingredient. I look at this book often, especially when tackling projects at school like putting menus together, whether they are savory or sweet. It helps me every time I host dinner parties and often I use it for weeknight meals. For instance, if I wanted to make a guava tart (I don't know...just opened the book to any page) and wanted to have a sauce accompany it, I would look at that section and see all of the flavors that pair well with guavas. Perhaps I could make a pineapple or papaya sauce. I can look at the list and see what grabs my attention and automatically my mind starts imagining what these flavors would taste like together and the ideas start to flow. If you wind up making the same old boring halibut dish, you can scan the list and try things that you haven't before...maybe give rosemary or mangoes a try this time. Or, take scallops – depending on what mood you are in, maybe you will make a rich curry dish or keep it light and simple with lemon and olive oil. It takes experience, curiosity, and a good palate to know that a certain spice, fruit, or vegetable goes well with a particular ingredient. Even by using ingredients that may not be your norm, you can easily and comfortably explore with them and often reap great results. It is a fabulous tool that gives you a sturdy foundation to work from to pair flavors. If you feel a little clueless or want to start exploring with an array of flavor combinations, check this book out. I think it will make a great addition to your library."
— Julia Smith, graduate of The Culinary Institute of America: "I would like to applaud you for writing BECOMING A CHEF and CULINARY ARTISTRY. I have never been so fascinated by two books before in my life!"
— D. Speck, New York chef: "My favorite things: CULINARY ARTISTRY. A good reference for finding combinations — a lifesaver in my kitchen."
— Heidi Swanson, culinary photojournalist and site administrator on 101cookbooks.com: "What an amazing book — gives your creative juices a real jolt." (Sept. '05)
— Brian Storey, Graduate Assistant, Kendall College (April 26, 2004): "A few months ago I recommended highly your book CULINARY ARTISTRY (as I usually do) to a group of students I was lecturing in the PCC program at Kendall College. I was excited to see the scope of my recommendation when they began reading and purchasing the book. They recently met you at the Spice House in the Chicago area. I was upset I did not know you would be in town, but very excited that they had a chance to meet the authors of the book I had previously spoken so much about. Thank you very much for all your hard work writing and compiling all the information in CULINARY ARTISTRY. This book is my daily creative reference point before creating specials and new flavor profiles and pairings. It is also the base point for so many successful new dishes I serve on a daily basis. I cannot express enough my gratitude for all your hard work. Thanks again!!"
—Chuck Taggart, GumboPages.com (February 6, 2006): "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."
— Ty Tanji, a junior at Hawaii Baptist Academy on Oahu: "I have in my library two of your precious books: CULINARY ARTISTRY and BECOMING A CHEF. I treasure CULINARY ARTISTRY mainly because of the 'flavor pals' section and the chapter on 'Composing a Dish.' Invaluable stuff."
— Derek Thomas: "[CULINARY ARTISTRY is] not a scientific tome at all. Interesing reading, and then a long catalog of ingredients, and the pairings that go well with them. HIGHLY recommended to one and all!" (May '06)
— Jon Tseng, eGulleteer: "Loved CULINARY ARTISTRY — a book which asks 'why' rather than tells you 'how.' A rarity in today's world."
— Rhonda Viani, pastry chef, West (Vancouver): "Revisits 'those great flavour maps' in CULINARY ARTISTRY 'to spark an idea then see where it leads'."
— Drew Vogel, www.drewvogel.com: "After reading CULINARY ARTISTRY, I understand the food industry, and specifically the mindset of culinary professionals, better than I did before. Especially valuable in this book is the listing of 'flavor pals,' which is an excellent quick reference for matching flavors. It spreads the palette of food flavors before you, allowing mixing and matching of complimentary (or disparate) taste elements in your own creations. This is a very handy reference book, and one that I recommend strongly."
— Dan Walker, graduate of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (Vancouver, CAN): "After reading this fantastic and extremely interesting book, I knew I was in the right profession....An incredible book. I hope that [the authors] keep writing excellent books like this in the future."
— Andrea Walters, Minneapolis: "I think it is wonderful."
— Patrick Wang, cooking enthusiast: "Cooking Lit Shopping List: CULINARY ARTISTRY and BECOMING A CHEF"
— Daven Wardynski, executive sous chef: " An absolute must for any chef or chef-to-be!"
— Tor Westgard, University of Minnesota alum: "Put simply, your books have done nothing less than change my life. BECOMING A CHEF and CULINARY ARTISTRY are my new bibles. Thank you for the mass of knowledge and inspirations that have sent me down the right path."
— Michael S. Williams, CHE, chair of the Hospitality and Tourism Program at the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute
— Carrie Winscott, San Francisco: "This is a long overdue thank-you for BECOMING A CHEF and CULINARY ARTISTRY. Three years ago, I was given BECOMING A CHEF for my birthday, and I credit it with giving me the 'push' I needed to pursue a culinary career. Albeit scary at times, I have made it to the other side! CULINARY ARTISTRY is the book that keeps on giving. The incredible ingredients cross-reference lists have provided valuable brainstorming inspiration. Thanks again for providing these valuable tools!"
— Tamela Wolff, certified culinarian: "I also used this book in culinary school. It is essential if you want to find out about what food goes with what and what spices and herbs go together. This book is great."
and of others who have shared their praise anonymously on Amazon.com or ChefTalk.com or eGullet.com or elsewhere on the Internet:
— 22tango: "Here's my 'Save From a Fire' list...CULINARY ARTISTRY, for brainstorming."
— A on Phatduck.blogspot.com: "Claudia Fleming appears to be an inspiration to many, continuously. Her book and CULINARY ARTISTRY really influenced me a lot.I did a white chocolate and lavender ice cream with a strawberry galette that was quite good. I bought a lavender plant that lives on my porch and the smell is so wonderful in the air, lavender biscuits for strawberry shortcake are good too." (May 2006)
— A reader in Dallas, TX: "I am a student learning how to compose menus and different dishes at a restaurant. This book helped a great deal on what goes with what when making a dish taste and look good. This is a book you must have even if you're just working as a caterer or at home."
— A reader in Mendocino, CA: "If you cook or plan on cooking, get this book. It's outstanding help and well written."
— A reader in Portland, OR: "I used this book as a reference for my hot foods classes in culinary school. It is well written and gives you many, many hints on how fully cultivate your talents in the kitchen. This book is a must buy for any culinary student."
— A reviewer, a food enthusiast : "A-1. I discovered this book thru a business associate. What a treasure! You get the tools you need to think & create your own style. Plus a lot of eye opening information. It would, however, be helpful if the authors included where to find the recipes of the suggested menu combinations. Many, many thanks!"
— A reviewer, a professional chef: "One of the best culinary reference books of all time. CULINARY ARTISTRY is a modern-day Escoffier or Larousse, an extraordinary reference book that absolutely, positively deserves a spot on the bookshelf of every serious professional chef or home cook. It's required reading at top cooking schools as well as in top restaurant kitchens across the country."
— Alexandria "Guided Gourmet": "Great book for chefs but it's not a cookbook. This book will tell you what flavors go well with each other, what starch and veggies will match well with a protein, and there are a few recipes. This book is great for developing your own recipes."
— AlexisBobexis in Somerville, MA: "Creative cooks (both professional and home) will find this an amazing resource...The authors present us with more than 100 pages of ingredients' matches like that which, while not something that is a page turner, is incredibly valuable to have on hand when you are in the creative process in the kitchen...For those interested in the creative process of cooking (especially for those in the business), I strongly recommend CULINARY ARTISTRY. The lists are an incredible resource and I have not seen anyone try to break down the mystique that is flavor matching in such a robust way before."
— Amalfi Coast Girl on Amazon.com: "A serious foodie that has been perfecting her cooking skills for the last 25 years in her home kitchen writes this review. My favorite cookbook is The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America. I am also a cookbook collector, with more than 500 books in my cooking library. With the many books in my cookbook collection I find that I am frequently disappointed in my recent purchases. That was not the case with this purchase. I was absolutely blown away by this book. I read the entire book in one sitting, fixating on each new idea. I have never enjoyed another book as much as I have enjoyed this one. If you are one of those people that never follows a recipe as written (guilty as charged) you are going to love this book. This book might just be my new favorite cookbook. Although this book is not a cookbook in the most literal sense of the word, it is more a guide to cooking than a cookbook. Yes, there are recipes in the book, but not as many as a traditional cookbook....The tables that are included in this book are amazing. I have already copied some of the tables and moved them into my kitchen to use this evening with dinner. The table that the authors titled 'Flavor Pals' is just wonderful. If you have ever been in the kitchen and wondered if particular spices and/or herbs go together, there is a table that answer those questions. There is another table titled 'Flavor Enemies' that is extremely helpful. If you have ever tried to make Sauterne and Oranges because you didn't have peaches and wondered what went wrong, you know there are just some things that don't play well together. The table tells you which combinations are difficult to get right. There are too many tables in the book to discuss them all. But suffice it to say; I think that all the tables are fantastic. I will be ordering more of these for all my foodie friends that love to cook. This book would help anyone that loves to cook, and doesn't want to be constrained by a recipe. There is a great comment by Todd English that sums up how I feel about recipes, it is as follows, 'having to follow a recipe was, to him, like being put on a leash.' If this sums up your philosophy, quick buy the book. You will not be sorry." (May 12, 2006)
— Anneke in Canada, when asked "If you had to choose only five books to have as reference to all things culinary in your library what would they be?": CULINARY ARTISTRY
— Asrielle3 on MySpace.com: "CULINARY ARTISTRY (highly recommend)."
— Babyluck: "I want to thank you for CULINARY ARTISTRY. One day, about 9 months ago, I suddenly decided that I would apply myself to bringing my cooking to a new level, especially in combining flavors and menu planning. Your book popped up as if by magic — exactly what I was looking for. I've read it cover to cover several times, forward, backward, and at random. My cooking is starting to evolve in just the way I had hoped."
— Bachef (Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada): "This Book Really Entices You to Think! This is a fabulous book, filled cover to cover with creativity. It really helps you to get into there, use your brain and creativity to produce fabulous dishes. It would be an excellent book for culinary students." (11/29/06)
—BestDamnGrillCook (Jed) on MySpace.com: "Two books every chef should read at least once in their life: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page, and Cooking One on One by John Ash."
—BIZ in Rochester, New York, on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY and all culinary books..."
—Bjcotton: "It'll really surprise you with some of the flavor combinations in CULINARY ARTISTRY. I first thought, "That book is just too complicated for me.' But after a while I realized a lot of the flavor combinations I now use came from there....There is a long list of pairings for ingredients. I, now, sit and browse the book several times a week (it lays on the floor next to my armchair). Go to the library and browse through it (or the bookstore), you'll have to have it." (May '06)
— Blinded by the Darkness (CIA student in Hyde Park, NY) on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: A great read is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It tells of what is involved to be a chef, and essentially, how one thinks."
— Blogon (at norling.blogspot.com): "My favorite way to cook is without recipes, using only ingredients on hand. I'm not sure if it's my personal genius, my innate laziness, or just an inability to take direction. In fact, my favorite 'cookbook' is CULINARY ARTISTRY which is more of a guidebook than a cookbook. You can look up an ingredient and it lists a variety of ingredients that complement it, as well as preferred cooking methods. It's a dream for someone like me. I've always used cookbooks for inspiration, rather than actually following a recipe. For example, I wanted to use sweet potatoes and some wild sockeye salmon steaks that I had on hand to make dinner tonight. I've already combined these for a great dinner in the past, making hash browns out of the sweet potatoes and poaching the salmon in wine. Tonight, I had no white wine. So, I poached the salmon in brandy (CULINARY ARTISTRY lists cognac as an ingredient with salmon — I fudged). I ended up making a puree of the sweet potatoes (a preferred prep/cooking method) using butter and cinnamon. Then, just for fun, I spread the sweet potato puree into a souffle dish, sprinkled brown sugar on top and stuck it under the broiler for a poor-man's brulee. Yum."
— Bloviatrix: "If you Google eGullet you'll discover that this is a favorite book among many of us. It's a fabulous reference book."
— Boz of St. Louis: "If you are beginning to create your first specials I would go out and buy the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. It will help you understand how different flavors work together. It was suggested to me by the fine people at C2C, and now resides in my toolbox at work."
— Brilux of Waterford, CT: "I agree; this book is one of the best food reference guides I've had in a long time. Want to know when a particular food item is in season, or what goes well with what? Then this book is the tool that should be in every cook's kitchen."
— Bubba on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: All food books, especially CULINARY ARTISTRY. Gotta have it."
— Cactusmaggot: "The #6 most important book in a chef's essential library...Awesome reference...Forget recipes!"
—Calidore (aka Chris in Edmonds, Washington) on MySpace.com: "You should check this book out: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page...Seriously, every great chef should know this book cover to cover..."
— Caschaake: "...When Saturday night rolled around, I still had a rack of lamb with just my usual pantry plus some fresh herbs. I looked through CULINARY ARTISTRY to get some flavor ideas, and decided a mustard sauce should pair well with the lamb. Plus, I had fresh herbs I could toss in, as well as some garlic and shallots...." (November 9, 2007)
— CH: "Books I like that I recommend...CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— ChefATL: "...CULINARY ARTISTRY is also excellent. I use mine on a daily basis and as a source for ideas, too."
— ChefAuJus on Friendster.com: "Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY & BECOMING A CHEF (Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page), The Professional Chef 8 Edition."
— ChefHeather812 on MySpace.com: "CULINARY ARTISTRY. This book is fun book when you are trying to create your own pairing of foods or if you are writing your own menu."
— Chef J-rod: "Favorite cookbooks...CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Chef June: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is a must-have and must-read book that will provide you with at least two lifetimes of flavors to try!"
— ChefMagicJ (aka Joe from Pittsburgh) on MySpace.com: "Favorite books: The French Laundry and CULINARY ARTISTRY (every cook should own those 2 books)."
— ChefRob34: "CULINARY ARTISTRY — cannot live without for sparking creative juices."
— ChefTom: "I have two [copies of CULINARY ARTISTRY] — one I accidently dropped into 40 gallons of chicken tortellini soup (goodbye soup!) and the other is so highlighted and tabbed that it looks like some kinda CIA secret document. I kept the one I marinaded with soup — ran it through the dish machine then let it dry into a large CULINARY ARTISTRY throw pillow / conversation piece."
— ChefVegetable on MySpace.com: "Favorite book: CULINARY ARTISTRY (it's my fukken bible.)."
— ChrisGould2005 on MySpace.com: "Favorite book: CULINARY ARTISTRY (the bible)."
— Cinnamon: "Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page have written a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY. It's been out for years. I've worn out my first copy and had to buy a new one. It's not recipes, just lists of ingredients that taste good together, lists of classic spice combinations, lists of regional flavors for different culinary traditions around the world. It's not a book for people to learn cooking techniques. It doesn't give directions. 10 years ago I couldn't have used this book. But once I mastered real cooking, the creation of new experiences and flavors, it became as much a part of my tools as my chef's knife. I don't know a chef who doesn't own it."
— CJS: "CULINARY ARTISTRY — what a wonderful sidekick to have in the kitchen with you!" (May '06)
—Clawedla (aka Claude in Los Angeles) on MySpace.com: "The first time I had my own kitchen (right out of college) I found a book that really helped me find a way to put together things in the 'right' way and how to think about food from a more thematic or ingredient based point of view. CULINARY ARTISTRY is a great book, and I'll write about it in another post, but it has oodles of information on flavor combinations (albeit from a very euro-american standpoint), and menu planning. I can't think of the number of times I've picked it up to come up with an idea of something to do with an ingredient."
— Clement at alacuisine.org: "A great reference for flavour and ingredient matching, and menu planning."
— Coffeesnob (Cambridge, MA): "The most tattered book in my kitchen!"
— Cusina: "A very engaging read....I think it will help me to appreciate on a deeper level the amount of skill, creativity and experience needed to create really fine cuisine. Plus, it's making ME a better and more confident cook. Bonus!"
— czh-ga: "CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page...is divided into sections that discuss and reach out to chefs to join in that discussion of such ideas as the chef as artist, dealing with sensory perception in food, composing with flavors, putting a dish together, putting together an entire menu, and standing back to admire the growth of a personal cuisine. This is thoughtful material. It is not how-to material. These guided conversations are made practical for the home cook by charts such as which foods are in season and when, the basic flavors of foods (bananas are sweet; anchovies are salty), food matches made in heaven (lamb chops with aioli or ginger or shallots), seasoning matches made in heaven (dill and salmon), flavors of the world (Armenia means parsley and yogurt), common accompaniments to entrées (beef and potatoes), and, most fun of all, the desert-island lists of many of the chefs quoted so extensively throughout the text. Many recipes accompany the text."
— Damagg at TuckerMax.com: "The perfect book for anyone who cooks. This is not a cookbook, but more of a set of tools and 'rules' to follow that will allow you to expand your abilities without needing classes. It contains charts and lists of foods and flavors that work together, do not work together, and and even optional ingredients that prvide flavors (think bananas for sweetness)."
— Davebr from Shreveport, LA, on egullet.com: "One of the most used books in my house: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dorenburg and Page. I buy this book for every one of my cooks."
— DeliciousDays (Munich): One of top 10 favorite reference cookbooks
— DerekCooks: "CULINARY ARTISTRY", A+++++++" (June '06)
— Disco75 (State College, PA): "Perhaps the best available reference for learning about the traditions of combining flavors and food groups."
— Drew: "Check out CULINARY ARTISTRY, a book by Andrew Dorenburg and Karen Page. It's a great, basic primer on 'flavor matching', among other things (including some spectacular recipes)."
— Drinkboy: "The way that I see it, there are four different "categories' of bartenders (borrowed and expanded upon from the book CULINARY ARTISTRY)...." "CULINARY ARTISTRY truly is a great book. I have one suggestion for you, however, on new editions: cut page edges. My friend actually took his in to Kinko's and had the pages evened out. In a book where you so often want to use it as a reference, it's rather annoying to not be able to flip through."
— Duncan: "Sometimes it's a bit pretentious, and a little pompous, but all in all it gives me the feeling i'm standing at the beginning of something vast and beautiful."
— ExtraMSG: "Q. Which one cookbook do you use most? A. Another excellent book that's not really a cookbook, but a wonderful resource is CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Flattop: "...CULINARY ARTISTRY...the book rocks!"
— Food Enthusiast on BN.com: " A-1. I discovered this book thru a business associate. What a treasure! You get the tools you need to think & create your own style. Plus a lot of eye opening information. It would, however, be helpful if the authors included where to find the receipes of the suggested menu combinations. Many, many thanks!"
— Foolcontrol: "One of my favorite professional reference books. (Great for flavor development.)"
— FPZ: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is a great book — not only as a great read, but an invaluable tool for the young chef. I'm 25 and have been in the biz since I was 18. I just got my first Exec Chef job at a new restaurant. I had never put together an entire menu, and let me tell you, that book was so helpful helping me organize my ideas, and keep my head straight when I was thinking about the other 10,000 things I had to do besides menu. I keep 3 books in my kitchen at all time: CULINARY ARTISTRY, Joy of Cooking, and Larousse Gastronomique."
— Frenettik: "i believe i can safely categorize myself as an artisan. can you tell i am reading CULINARY ARTISTRY by dornenburg & page? for them, it is an important distinction."
—Genesis (Woodside, CA): "If you really find food fascinating — the idea of food, working with food, and the eating of food — then CULINARY ARTISTRY should be on your bookshelf."
—GourmetNosh aka David of Melbourne, Australia: "I would recommend purchasing CULINARY ARTISTRY, I bought it last week and can't put it down. So far I have being able to do a couple of specials at my place and combine good flavours that don't drown the flavour of the fish or chicken."
— HabaneroLuvr: "#2 favorite....Impressive!"
— Heidi, 101Cookbooks.com: "CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dorenburg and Karen Page. What an amazing book — gives your creative juices a real jolt." (Sept. '05)
— Helenas: "...CULINARY ARTISTRY, which I literally use every day."
— Ironchef: "I also recommend this book...It is still a very good starting point and reference tool..."
— Ironick: "Not a cookbook, but a great reference on how to think about food and ingredients."
— Japanese-Steakhouse-White-Sauce.com: "I have over 700 cookbooks in my collection. Here are some of the best (still in print), sorted by category. [First mentioned:] CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This is an outstanding book about creating your own recipes. It covers what ingredients and spices compliment each other and how to creatively use contrasting tastes and textures to improvise your own tasty inventions. Also covers how to make your masterpiece as beautiful as it is delicious. Highly recommended!"
— Jbind (aka Joshua in Westlake Village, California) on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (I love this one). "
— Jdogginla: "There is a gr8 book out there called CULINARY ARTISTRY. While it is much more useful from a savory point of view, it is still helpful on the pastry side. It lists the item you want to use and all the possible matchings and pairings that go well with it."
— Jean on chef2chef.net: "I suggest you buy CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg & Karen Page. This wonderful books gives you all kinds of ideas of what goes with what - example - here are a few "flavor pals":
- Allspice: curry, ginger, juniper berries, nutmeg
- cayenne: cilantro
- sage: anchovy, garlic, parsley, rosemary, thyme
- summer tomatoes go well with: arugula, basil, chives, lovage, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, tarragon, thyme
This book will have you trying foods you've never heard of!"
— Jeebus, in answer to the question "What cookbook do you return to time and time again?": "Not a cookbook per se but a copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY never leaves my desk." (May 2006)
— Jeremy, assistant cook, Vancouver: "Another great book is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. It's not a recipe book, more like a text book (though it does have recipes) that teaches flavour combining, why certain foods match and how to bring a plate together. It is geared towards restaurant cooks and chefs (there are sections on menu designs and menu composing) but the compiled lists of main ingredients and herbs and veggies and starches are fantastic."
— Jetburst in Minnetonka, Alabama, on MySpace.com: "Favorite books: CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Jon (Vermont): "I have a tattered copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY in my restaurant's kitchen. Whenever my brain shuts down, I pick it up and refresh myself. Same with BECOMING A CHEF. I turn any new cook onto both of these."
— Kate, Incurable Foodie: "Best Food Books: #1) CULINARY ARTISTRY: Perfect tool to create your own dishes."
— Kendall College culinary school graduate (Evanston, IL): "I think that whoever came up with this idea is a genius! There is an ultra-helpful section in [CULINARY ARTISTRY] that gives you a nice and pretty comprehensive table of ingredients and all of the possible things that will accompany them or compliment them; for instance, they will have rosemary as the header and then under that, an extensive list of what goes well or what foods can be paired with that (like lamb, chicken, brown sauces, etc.)... There are a good number of items also, ranging from herbs, spices, vegetables, and fruits to actual meats...I think that this book is invaluable to those dinner party throwers/culinary adventurians that like to use spices but need a new idea or fresh perspective! If you are a culinary artisan (beginner or experienced), you will find that this table/index will spice up your ideas in no time at all! I highly recommend this book; it is well worth your money, extremely reader friendly, and it assists you whether you are an expert, a novice or a beginner! So get it and have a good time with it. It also makes a great gift to any foodie that you know out there!"
— Keta from Seattle on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY (I recommend to any aspiring chef)."
— KIPlog.com: "Most recommended? CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page. When I'm done reading this one, I'll give it a proper review, but this thing is an anti-cookbook. Sure, there are recipes in it, but it's about learning how to cook artistically, rather than learning how to cook a recipe or a style of cuisine. It's more about creating, than copying. I love its 'teach a man to fish' philosophy — to be a great chef you need be able to walk through a market and come away with the ingredients that compose a great meal without needing a book. Lots of lists of ingredients, flavors, food pairings and menus that serve as composing and inspirational guides. Tons of interviews with chefs that pick their brains for their experience and advice. I'm convinced this book will inspire you to close your other cookbooks for awhile and see what you can come up with on your own."
— Kitchen Garden Company (Shaw Island, WA): "[CULINARY ARTISTRY is] one of our favorite books at the moment."
— Kuisine77: "Re: CULINARY ARTISTRY book. Definitely a must have for any chef — probably my favorite book that I use more frequently than any other! $20 is a bargain! This book has it all."
— Kyousif (Oak Park, MI): "CULINARY ARTISTRY is one of the best books in my collection...I really cannot say enough good things about this book."
— Kyzr: "Best Books for Cooks: CULINARY ARTISTRY is a great book to reference from; helps you understand flavors and matching ingredients."
— Linehog: "For those of you who are a little more adventurous like AndyBoy who likes to take an idea and just go 'freestyle,' CULINARY ARTISTRY is a great book to own. It's not a cookbook in the traditional sense. Although it is geared more toward the professional chef, it's a great source for inspirational cooking at home as well. It breaks down almost any food you can think of into 'flavor pal' groups. Pick a protein, vegetable, or starch, and it lists components, herbs, and spices that compliment it. It also tells you when ingredients are in season and touches on ethnic cuisine and ingredients. It makes for a great read as well because they interview famous chefs and you get some insight on how they compose dishes and design menus."
— Lisa from Portland, Oregon, on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: Most are food-related: CULINARY ARTISTRY (I have bought five copies now)..."
—Listen2 on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY is a helpful read. Usually I am pulled to anything that will inspire my mind and make me think."
— Looking California but Feeling Minnesota on MySpace.com: "My two cookbook must-haves: CULINARY ARTISTRY, for an able cook, this book will help you take your dishes to the next level; it's all about what tastes complement each other...."
— Markeicha from Bedford, Ohio, on MySpace.com: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is my favorite book!!!"
— Lydia P.: "What's your best cookbook find?...CULINARY ARTISTRY. It's more like a reference book though, that tells you what herbs/vinegars/nuts/fruit would compliment your ingredient of choice. It's a great starting point if you want to create your own recipes! Very cool." (June 2006)
— Making Sense on Chowhound.com: "There's a great book — CULINARY ARTISTRY" by Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page — that examines the creative process of culinary composition. It works from seasonal foods and lists methods of cooking, herbs use, sauces, etc. Salsify, for example, is normaly boiled or sauteed, and the book lists the sauces, herbs, spices, cheeses, etc. that would pair well with it. From the list, you can infer that you probably wouldn't add chipotles to this vegetable. The authors include interviews with some of America's top chefs on how they create new dishes and menus. I'm an instinctive cook, using recipes only for guidance on ingredients and rough method, but this book is one of my favorites. Real 'food porn.' I love Jean-Louis Palladin's restaurant inventory for 1/10/96.
The section on top chef's 'what 10 items they would want' if stranded on a desert island is a blast to read!"
— Mateo3: "An invaluable reference."
-- Matty (aka Wan-Go Man) from Houston on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: The French Laundry, Bouchon, and CULINARY ARTISTRY are some of my favs."
— McDowell: "The CULINARY ARTISTRY book is good in that it has abundant ideas for flavor pairings, some that might not be so obvious until you read them and have one of those 'hey, yeah' moments. Great book that I take off the shelf...to just browse for inspiration. I do think that you need to be able to riff a sauce or be comfortable throwing ingredients together without direction and in a way that sounds good to you to be able to use the book effectively (though there are recipes within)."
— Meatball, Forums.Cooking.com (January 29, 2007): "I recently purchased a book called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. I wished I'd had this book long ago."
— Melissa, DavidLebovitz.com: "...I read their book, CULINARY ARTISTRY, from cover to cover while I was in cooking school in Chantilly!" (October 3, 2006)
— Menards (on UKTVFOOD.co.uk): "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."
— Miahoyhoy: "Inspirational....Just good reading!"
— Miss Tenacity: "Favorite Cookbook: CULINARY ARTISTRY AND A New Way to Cook. Indispensable references, both."
— Mixed-Masala: One of my favourite cookbooks
— Momomoto: "...The big list of charts in the most excellent book CULINARY ARTISTRY, which has a great amount of information on ingredients and flavours that are totally BFF." (May 2006)
— Moopheus in Somerville, MA: "CULINARY ARTISTRY is probably the most circulated book at the library where I work."
— Moselle: "Chiming in on CULINARY ARTISTRY; what everyone said, Love it for all the above reasons! In the back chapters of the book there is a 'Desert Island List.' The authors asked several chefs if they were stranded on a desert island for the rest of their lives what 10 ingredients would they feel they couldn't live without. They also asked what three cooking techniques they would choose to use for the rest of their lives. I think the answers are riveting, you can really 'see' how each chef thinks when you see their list. Like Billy said; you just pick it up and read and re-read it. Mine is on my desk, or on the kitchen counter with plastic tabs marking the different chapters so I can quickly flip through." (5/06)
— Mottmott: "If you like to improvise in the kitchen, you'll keep on lovin' it."
— NickaWicka on MySpace.com: "Reading is the best, ok so i am a dork.... but come on, every chef needs her companion CULINARY ARTISTRY!!!"
— NYFirePatrolChef: "I've taken CULINARY ARTISTRY as my holy grail...."
— Osiris in Australia: ""
— Pat aka Sleepy Dragon: "I'm also reading CULINARY ARTISTRY, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. [It] is actually a required text at school, but I'm reading it beyond what's called for in our assignments just because it's so interesting. Especially with regard to having these big lists of ingredients accompanied by flavorings and combinations that work with them. Reading something like that, it's impossible to not find inspiration for whatever is at hand."
— Peederj, Fanatical Home Chef and Book Junkie: "You'll be amazed what can work when you understand how to pair and balance....Ideas can be found in CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Pete (Fond du Lac, WI): "Though I am familar with most of your books and have enjoyed them, CULINARY ARTISTRY is by far my favorite. In fact, it sits on the shelf delegated to my most often used cookbooks and references."
— Pete on ChefTalkCafe.com: "I love CULINARY ARTISTRY. In fact, I have just bought my fourth copy as I always seem to be giving mine away to an intern or other young cook. It really gives a great view of how chefs go about creating food and menus. Some of it is a very concious act and some of it is very unconcious. I like to glance through it because I always come away with wanting to try something new, something that I haven't thought of before."
— Pheebs55: "Indispensable to anyone in food arts...Fantastic 'cheat-sheet' for menu ideas."
— Philip, culinary arts apprentice in Indiana: "There's a great book called CULINARY ARTISTRY....If you want to know the answer to that question of what makes food tastes good and how to get to there, read it. It'll give you info on everything from what goes good with mushrooms to how to plan out a menu. Knowledge is power, my friend." (Feb '06)
-- Pick in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY (my fucking bible!!!)"
— Professional Chef on BN.com: "One of the best culinary reference books of all time. CULINARY ARTISTRY is a modern-day Escoffier or Larousse, an extraordinary reference book that absolutely, positively deserves a spot on the bookshelf of every serious professional chef or home cook. It's required reading at top cooking schools as well as in top restaurant kitchens across the country."
— PSBoston7 (Upland, CA): "Cookbooks no home should be without....[CULINARY ARTISTRY is] the perfect reference book ."
— Queen of Grilled Cheese (NJ): "I want to thank you for CULINARY ARTISTRY. One day, about 9 months ago, I suddenly decided that I would apply myself to bringing my cooking to a new level, especially in combining flavors and menu planning. Your book popped up as if by magic — exactly what I was looking for. I've read it cover to cover several times, forward, backward, and at random. My cooking is starting to evolve in just the way I had hoped."
—Raspil of Bluecad: "Three books on food I Love: The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, I'm Just Here For the Food, CULINARY ARTISTRY."
—RegForte: "My favorites in this vein (of books on cooking, as opposed to cookbooks) are...CULINARY ARTISTRY."
— Robert on DrinkBoy: "One of my Christmas presents this year was the book CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. Yes, this book is about cooking. Not a drop of information in it about Cocktails, and the only mention (that I've seen so far) of spirits is in how they can be used in cooking. But when I was reading through the first couple of chapters, I just couldn't help but think of some of the concepts that I think are important about cocktails and bartending. It's almost as if the author is looking at the role of modern chef's and struggling with some of the same issues that face us when we look at the modern bartender. While the specific topics may not directly relate to cocktails and mixology, I think the concepts of flavor, tastes, combinations, and most specifically artistry will translate well into our medium. I highly recommend this book to the rest of you."
— Robert on eGullet: "On the topic of flavor combinations, I might take a moment to recommend CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. I think it is a fascinating look into cuisine, flavor pairings, and insights into how a number of renowned chefs 'think' about the cuisine they create."
— Roger Ramjet: "Every chef I know has this book in their arsenal."
— Rosie_One: "The other cookbook I think is a must read is CULINARY ARTISTRY. It's a creative manual, gets you really thinking about food and inspired to experiment. Their listings of flavor combinations never fail to inspire me."
— Shimmer (on ChefTalkCafe.com): "I have been reading this great book....It's called CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. I also want to be creative but beyond substituting ingredients or changing amounts in recipes, I can't be confident enough to start from scratch. Anyway, this book has chart after chart of flavor combinations — herbs with herbs, herbs with foods, peak seasons for foods, etc, etc."
— Silvercliff_46: "I just received my new favorite cookbook the other day, CULINARY ARTISTRY by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This is the book I have been searching for... for years. This book tickles the thought process by giving you food matches on every level. If I cook every day the best I could do is make 365 (366 this year) meals a year. A professional does more than that in a week. The professionals often spoke of this book and how it whet their creative juices, that's why I bought it. For the first time, I planned a meal and new why it would work instead of hoping it would work. Even my wife got into actively planning our meals. This book isn't the end; it is better than that, it's the beginning. I have the parts, NOW, I can start learning how to put it together. LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!! Thanks to all of you who recommended it to me."
— Spoonbread (aka Chef Mike): "CULINARY ARTISTRY is in my library as well, another must have." (4/9/04)
— Squeat Mungry: "I loved CULINARY ARTISTRY so much I had to run out and buy BECOMING A CHEF!"
— Stacey on eskillet.com: "Favorite books: larousse, CULINARY ARTISTRY, as well as both of thomas keller's books."
— Stephen (Fair Oaks, CA): "If the experience of an entire career can be written down, then CULINARY ARTISTRY is it! Each reading, something else pops out and improves my cooking!"
— Steve: "I often find myself sitting and reading CULINARY ARTISTRY. It is one of the best food reference books I have ever read. Whenever I travel somewhere that I know is going to require me to cook, but I do not know what the ingredients are going to be, this book travels with me. It provides a great deal of inspiration." (10/05)
— Sthitch (Arlington, VA): "The one book I could not cook without is CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenburg and Page. This is not really a cookbook as much as it is a reference book. The ingredient matching charts contained in this book have become the inspiration for some of the best meals I have ever made."
— Tenacity: "I highly, *highly* recommend the book CULINARY ARTISTRY by Dornenberg & Page (I might be misspelling those names...). The tome is 25% dish conception, 25% meal conception, and 50% food pairing lists. Completely indispensible in my kitchen. 'Hmmm, I've got some celery to use up. Oh, walnuts go with it? Weird....Guess I'll make celery walnut soup.' And it is one of my favorite soups to this day.'"
— Theo, graduate student in mathematical physics at Berkeley, The Orange Juice Files: "...Is it a bad sign that I'm already fantasizing about dropping out and starting a restaurant or bakery? On my bookshelf, waiting to be read cover-to-cover, is a copy of CULINARY ARTISTRY, which is about cheffing. Dorenburg and Page distinguish between three kinds of cooking: 1. 'Cooking as a trade', where your primary goal is sustenance, and with your limited repertoire you're hoping your customers go away thinking 'I'm full.' 2. 'Cooking as craft', the style promulgated in the greatest cookbooks, has its main goal enjoyment; a chef should have a wide repertoire of classic dishes, and hope that the customers go away thinking 'That was delicious.' 3. In 'cooking as art', on the other hand, a chef prepares her own recipes, and any given night the menu will be very limited; customers should be entertained, and go away thinking 'Life is beautiful.' This trade/craft/art distinction is useful in other disciplines. Everyone should be able to (but many can't) do mathematics at the most basic of trade levels — monetary arithmetic, being duly suspicious of newspaper statistics, etc.... To do original, beautiful research, however, requires the creativity of an artist (and lots of crafts- and tradesmanship). A calculation can prove a new theorem, just like a recipe can create a new meal; a few geniuses create new recipes, new fields, new mathematical insights. If I can learn to be a mathematician-as-artist, then I will stay in research." (September 3, 2007)
—TheRick22 from Portland, Maine, on MySpace.com: "Favorite Books: CULINARY ARTISTRY (any chef's bible)."
— Todd, professional chef, Mas, New York: One of my favorite books
— Trip and a Half: "I can personally vouch for Dornenburg and Page's CULINARY ARTISTRY. It has elevated my own cooking ability by an order of magnitude."
— UnkeysMuncleVeil on MySpace.com: "Favorite books: CULINARY ARTISTRY and a vast range of cooking books."
— Vegetable Man (on Blogger.com): "One of my favorite books."
— WallyElway on MySpace.com: "Andrew Dornenburg's CULINARY ARTISTRY (all you aspiring gourmands need to recognize and get some!)"
— W.C. Bryant on amazon.com: "Terrific reference and companion....Understand food pairings, learn to branch out above and beyond recipes."
— WendyN. from San Francisco on yelp.com: "Last great book I read: CULINARY ARTISTRY." (2007)
— Zakklee (on smilepop.com): "Favorite books: Kitchen Confidential, CULINARY ARTISTRY"
 |
