Cooking: The Quintessential Art: 23 (California Studies in Food and Culture) - Tapa blanda

"An intellectual exercise wholly removed from food-entertainment television." Booklist "A quality addition to any bookshelf; it has much to contribute to the longstanding discussion of cooking as art, and of chefs as artists." Gastronomica Solid, intellectual and charming case for why food sits, and will remain, on the front lines of global artistic and cultural relevance. Denver Post "Composed with careful planning, unique ingredients and an element of novelty that will leave your taste buds in awe." World Literature Today "Art history linked with food and cooking philosophy, wrapped in a romance, wrapped in a mystery." Ochef.com "Food as intellectual proposition... Richly pertinent to the UCP series California Studies in Food and Culture. The World Of Fine Wine

From its intriguing opening question - 'How can we reasonably judge a meal?' - to its rewarding conclusion, this beautiful book picks up where Brillat-Savarin left off almost two centuries ago. Herve This, a cofounder (with the late physicist Nicholas Kurti) of the new approach to studying the scientific basis of cooking known as molecular gastronomy, investigates the question of culinary beauty in a series of playful, lively, and erudite dialogues. Considering the place of cuisine in Western culture, This explores an astonishing variety of topics and elaborates a revolutionary method for judging the art of cooking. Many of the ideas he introduces in this culinary romance are illustrated by dishes created by Pierre Gagnaire, whose engaging commentaries provide rare insights into the creative inspiration of one of the world's foremost chefs. The result is an enthralling, sophisticated, freewheeling dinner party of a book that also makes a powerful case for openness and change in the way we think about food.