Beth Vlasich Pav

After French culinary school I worked on the line at a Japanese/American restaurant. At that time there were very few books if any at all that demonstrated the flavors of the Asian pantry & kitchen. This book helped me navigate my way through the Asian pantry and understand the subtleties of the Asian flavor dynamic. To this day, I still refer to it!

Hands down it has the best Chocolate Pots d'Creme recipe! Which can be multiplied and multiplied and still come out perfect. And then I could talk days about how divine the Zuni Roast Chicken w/ Bread Salad is... great for dinner parties.

Every Fall & Winter I pull this book out to make Harira & Tagine - I crave them. For a cuisine that is not commonly seen in the US the recipes are extraordinarily comprehensive & doable in both a commercial and home kitchen.

A go-to for any caterer or home cook looking for best practices and the right equipment for making classic bites for a party. Mine is so messed up and sticky noted....

It's a culinary school textbook wrapped in a pretty package sharing everything tapas; history, types, technique & doable recipes that can be used everyday in any kitchen.

The first time I saw *The Naked Chef* (his first cookbook) at Books for Cooks in London I refused to buy a cookbook with the word naked in the *title*! I'm not a prude but really? Then I saw his TV show, then I bought Jamie at Home and fell in love; not with Jamie, his recipes. It's hard for me to say but the recipes I've used are *awesome*!

For one of my catered events I made her potato chip recipe for a party of about 100. While most of us in the biz UNDERSTAND that's not cost effective, the result was pure perfection. Her technique is classic and simple. Her recipes represent this over and over again.

Joanne understands the anatomy of a recipe, how to pair flavors and write so the home cook understands both completely. Her recipes are awesome.

I haven't cooked from it - yet! However, I've read it and I KNOW I'm just going to enjoy cooking the *shiz* out of it. It's simmering right now on my shelf waiting to be savored.