2007 IACP Cookbook Awards Finalists Announced

American Category
Cookbooks that focus on ethnic, cultural, historic, or regional cooking in the United States.

Dishes From the Wild Horse Desert: Norteño cooking of South Texas

Author: Melissa Guerra
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Editor: Anne Ficklen

Winner
The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: stories and recipes for southerners and would-be southerners
Authors: Matt Lee and Ted Lee
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Editor: Maria Guarnaschelli

Sharing the Table at Garland's Lodge
Authors: Amanda Stine and Mary Garland
Publisher: Garland's Oak Creek Lodge
Editor: Carol Haralson

Bread, Other Baking and Sweets Category

Cookbooks that focus on bread making, desserts, confections and sweet or savory pastries or doughs.

About Professional Baking
Author: Gail Sokol
Publisher: Thomson Delmar Learning
Editor: Matthew Hart

Baking: from my home to yours
Author: Dorie Greenspan
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Editor: Rux Martin

Winner
Bread Matters: The State of Modern Bread and a Definitive
Guide to Baking Your Own

Author: Andrew Whitley
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Editor: Louise Haines

Chefs and Restaurants Category
The California Table Grape Commission Award
Cookbooks by or about chefs, collections of recipe's from chefs,
or books that focus on the cuisine of specific restaurants.

Winner
Allegra McEvedy's Colour Cookbook
Authors: Allegra McEvedy and Fred Dickieson
Publisher: Kyle Cathie Ltd
Editor: Sophie Allen

Happy in the Kitchen
Authors: Michel Richard, Susie Heller and Peter Kaminsky
Publisher: Artisan
Editor: Ann Bramson

Heston Blumenthal: in search of perfection; reinventing kitchen classics
Author: Heston Blumenthal
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Editor: Nick Trautwein

Compilations Category
Cookbooks comprised of material previously published in another format, or compiled by a staff of writers or editors.



The 150 Best American Recipes: Indispensable Dishes from
Legendary Chefs and Undiscovered Cooks
Author: Fran McCullough
Molly Stevens
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Editor: Rux Martin

Winner
All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
Publisher: Oxmoor House
Editor: Anne C. Cain


The Professional Chef/the Culinary Institute of America-8th Edition
Author: The Culinary Institute of America
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Editor: Pam Chirls

First Book: The Julia Child Award
Cookbooks by writers who have not previously authored, co-authored,
or significantly contributed to a food or beverage related book.


Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: treasured foodways, modern flavors
Author: Andrea Quynhgiao Nguyen
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Editor: Aaron Wehner

Winner
The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: stories and recipes
for southerners and would-be southerners
Authors: Matt Lee and Ted Lee
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Editor: Maria Guarnaschelli

Memories of Philippine Kitchens: stories and recipes from far and near
Authors: Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Editor: Marisa Bulzone

Food Photography and Styling Category
Awarded to a photographer and stylist for food photography and styling that clearly, accurately and artistically represents the book's recipes or cooking techniques, enhances the text with stimulating visual images and reflects the overall tone of the book.

The Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate
Photographer: Deborah Jones
Food Stylist: Susie Heller
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Editor: Leslie Wells

Secret Destinations: Asian spa cuisine
Photographer: Edmond Ho
Food Stylist: Susie Donald
Publisher: Foodstyle Editions
Editor: Poppy Fields

Winner
Simple Chinese Cooking
Photographer: Earl Carter
Publisher: Penguin Group - Australia
Editor: Alison Cowan

Food Reference/Technical Category
Reference books of culinary terms, histories, techniques or ingredients.

Culinary Biographies
Author: Alice Arndt
Publisher: Yes Press, Inc
Editor: Alice Arndt

Winner
Modern Garde Manger
Author: Robert Garlough
Angus Campbell
Publisher: Thomson Delmar Learning
Editor: Matthew Hart

The Spice and Herb Bible, Second Edition
Author: Ian Hemphill
Publisher: Robert Rose Inc
Editor: Sue Sumeraj

General Category
Multiple-subject recipe books, including all-purpose cookbooks and personal recipe collections.
The Filipino-American Kitchen: traditional recipes, contemporary flavors
Author: Jennifer M. Aranas
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group
Editor: Holly Jennings

Winner
The Improvisational Cook
Author: Sally Schneider
Publisher: HarperCollins
Editor: Harriet Bell
Opera Lovers Cookbook: menus for elegant entertaining
Author: Francine Segan
Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Editor: Leslie Stoker

Health and Special Diets Category
Cookbooks and diet books that focus on healthful eating, nutrition, dietary concerns
and special or restrictive diets.
Winner
Lunch Lessons: changing the way we feed our children
Authors: Ann Cooper and Lisa M. Holmes
Publisher: HarperCollins
Editor: Mary Ellen O'Neill

Spa Cuisine by Charlie Trotter
Author: Charlie Trotter
Editor: Sari Zernich
William-Sonoma New Healthy Kitchen: Desserts
Author: Annabel Langbein
Publisher: Free Press
Editor: Suzanne Donahue

International Category
The Le Cordon Bleu Award
Cookbooks that focus on foods of a particular geographical region or cultural
identity outside the United States.
Winner
Cradle of Flavor: home cooking from the spice islands of
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore
Author: James Oseland
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Editor: Maria Guarnaschelli

Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: treasured foodways, modern flavors
Author: Andrea Quynhgiao Nguyen
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Editor: Aaron Wehner

The Soul of a New Cuisine: a discovery of the food and flavors of Africa
Author: Marcus Samuelsson
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Editor: Pam Chirls

Literary Food Writing Category
The Cuisinart Award
Non-fiction or fiction food or beverage books that are distinguished by the quality of their prose.
These books may or may not include recipes.

The Kitchen Diaries: a year in the kitchen with Nigel Slater
Author: Nigel Slater
Publisher: Gotham Books
Editor: Erin Moore

Winner
My Life in France
Authors: Julia Child Alex Prud'homme
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Editor: Judith Jones

The United States of Arugula: how we became a gourmet nation
Author: David Kamp
Publisher: Broadway Books
Editor: Charlie Conrad

Single Subject Category
Cookbooks that focus on specific foods, cooking methods, techniques or appliances.
Hot Chocolate: 50 heavenly cups of comfort
Author: Fred Thompson
Publisher: The Harvard Common Press
Editor: Valerie Cimino

Winner
A Passion for Ice Cream: 95 recipes for fabulous desserts
Author: Emily Luchetti
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Editor: Bill LeBlond

Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen
Author: Deborah Madison
Publisher: Broadway Books
Editor: Jennifer Josephy

Wine, Beer or Spirits Category
Books on the history, evaluation or production of alcoholic beverages; mixology; serving or pairing with food.


Perfect Pairings: a master sommelier's practical advice
for partnering wine with food
Authors: Evan Goldstein and Joyce Goldstein
Publisher: University of California Press
Editor: Blake Edgar

The Ultimate Bar Book: the comprehensive guide to over 1,000 cocktails
Author: Mittie Hellmich
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Editor: Bill LeBlond

Winner
Winner Cookbook of the Year
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
Authors: Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
Publisher: Bulfinch Press
Editor: Michael Sand

Dialogos de Cocina - Kitchen Dialogues: the report

IACP member Kate Hill travelled to San Sebastian , Spain, to attend Dialogos de Cocina - here she tells us about her experience.

Thanks to having subscribed to the alerts on the IACP Global News Blog (that discrete subscription button under the archives on the right of the blog)
I saw the information posted and immediately made my plans to attend the Dialogos de Cocina or Kitchen Dialogues in San Sebastian, Spain.

Why should I, a dyed in the wool traditionalist, go to the heart of this new wave of technological cooking to a congress of ‘New Cooking’ chefs?
a. I am not a restaurant chef and have never worn a toque. Although I cook, teach and write about it, I am not a restaurant groupie.
b. I live in the heart of a strong gastronomic tradition in Southwest France and promote these old ways through my cooking classes and writing.
c. And I have been heard to say on more than one occasion how I am not fond of this new technology that invades every European kitchen like a plague and if I see one more foamy thing ill-placed on a menu, I’ll scream.

So what was I doing jumping in my car and heading to San Sebastian, home of bacalao pil-pil and the best pintxos bars in the world, to attend a congress of scientists, farmers and cooks? Because of you dear reader. Because I believe that the IACP needs to look outward toward our fellow culinary associations to cross pollinate our own fertile fields.

I trust you all would have been infected with the same kind of creative energy, hope and respect that I was having returned from this Euro-toques gathering- dialogos de cocina. I was there for you, and ate your share of great food and good wine.

As president of Euro-toques, famed Basque chef Pedro Subijana (Akelare restaurant) welcomed the 200 cooks and others assembled in a modern congress auditorium set up for simultaneous translation of Spanish, French, Italian and English. Setting the tone for the two day congress, he enjoined the audience of cooks to listen to these twenty people who were brought together– farmers, scientists, thinkers, journalists, and other cooks. Juan-Mari Arzak (Arzak restaurant) added that “We cooks speak a lot; we have to listen now.” And so at that admonition, we listened for the next day and half and late into the night around their kitchen tables.

“From the kitchen, the dining-room and the vegetable garden, we try to establish links with people from other worlds who have things to tell us.”

This quote is from the driving force behind Dialogos de Cocina—Andoni Luis Aduriz (Mugaritz restaurant ) who invoked an atmosphere of “trust in which we can dream and act”. This atmosphere was to prevail as speaker after speaker presented his role or point of view on issues that ranged from the defense of autochthonous breeds of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats and preserving endangered organic farming practices to the fostering of creativity and innovation based on scientific techniques developed with laboratories and in think tank ‘summer schools’.

Each speaker presented a 30-minute presentation culminating with a one-hour round table and Q&A session. On the first day, a working lunch served in the open atrium behind the auditorium, became yet another forum for dialog around a table of diverse nationalities and disciplines. My Anglophone table of immigrants reflected Swedes living in England, English living in Spain, an American in France and a Japanese in Spain as well as Basques and Spanish locals. Conversation ran as fast as the courses of carefully prepared and thoughtful food.

Star chefs, both Spanish- Albert Adriá (El Bulli restaurant) and Joan Roca (El Cellar de Can Roca restaurant) and international- Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck restaurant) and Michel Bras (Michel Bras restaurant) set on the round table discussions and contributed the link between farm and laboratory to kitchen.

The first morning’s discussions were defined in the program as Product, Raw Materials, the Environment, and the Cultural Environment. Incorporating traditional cultural roles, education of the public via geographic and quality labels, and preservation of slow food dynamics dominated these presentations. Informing and educating the public via the kitchen underpinned the impassioned conversations. A level of emotional attachment ran high at the round table as gastronomy itself was defined, defended and tethered to the local earth- the farmer and his products. Jose Uranga (organic farmer) defined his own passion as “my madness, now intertwined with other madness here.”

The afternoon sessions on Technology, Technique and Science began with two very disparate foundation presentations- the Fundacion Alicia- and the Fundacion Azti. The role of research and development of techniques is simmered down in the spoken goal of Toni Massanes of Alicia statement,

“The investment is in the future tools for cooks to help then innovate and safeguard our traditions and products; to educate in a holistic approach incorporating gastronomy and everyday cooking so that everyone can be happier and healthier, everyday.”

Here there was no support of technique for techniques’ sake. To the contrary, and almost to a man (there was only one woman speaker although a strong female presence in the audience), the presentations turned on an emotional context, of preserving culture through gastronomy, of using science for self-fulfillment. American Harold MacGee illustrated the role of science and gastronomy with a series of historic examples of early collaboration between science and the art of cooking. The molecular gastronomy term, defined in 1992 for a conference in Sicily, has little to do with the sort of innovated and creative understanding of cooking talked about this week in the Basque countries. MacGee encouraged cooks to consider that “ the whole world is their larder” and that these new kitchens- Adria, Roca, Blumenthal, are kitchens defined by people and not just the place.

Italian scientist David Cassi defined his presentation, Other Ways of Seeing It, when he announced that “Cooking has to be an art, to please us. Science can be useful to achieve that goal.” And so science serves the kitchen and not the other way around.

Heston Blumenthal concurred as he had flown in from England to participate and support his fellow Euro-toques. “Science has influenced how I learned to cook … but you still need someone to stick his or her nose over the test tube and smell.” Later, in talking to Heston, he touched on what he felt was the heart of the congress, an honesty and willingness for cooks to share information “If I get something new, I feed it back into the system. Chef friends I’m close to have a similar spirit. The topical issue is the danger of technique for technique’s sake. This congress raises this issue.”

You can check out the video of this round table here.

The next morning’s presentation on Visions, Values and Soul was the logical sum of what we were hearing as innovation and creativity were defined by experts Jose Luis Larrea of Iberamatica and Igor Calzada of Creative Capital Summer School . Here Igor Calzada firmly places this crowd of cooks in a “value chain of farmer, cook, diner and society.” It was then Luc Dubanchet, French journalist and publisher of France’s Omnivore magazine, that delighted the until now sober crowd by truncating his planned presentation on ‘Exchange and Debate’ and invited Michel Bras, as “father of French cuisine” to join him at the table and talk. Bras had been invited as a special guest to sit on the round table discussion but there had been no other means made to let him speak directly. Dubanchet gets credit for using his time to encourage Bras to speak, like a prophet directly and poetically to his disciples.

Michel Bras spoke of his beginnings, his life in the “desert” of his native Aveyron in the central massif of France, and how, through cooking, he allowed others to come close to him. In a very personal dialogue, he revealed the steps it took for him to develop the very clear and crystalline ideas to take risks. Bras talked about his network of producers and the link between gastronomy and the earth, on nostalgia of a very personal nature that defines and is translated into a dish. Again, honesty became the topic and Bras reminded that “We can not lie to our guests, nor deceive them. A dish is the result of our feelings. It might not be the same feeling that a client has, but it is honest.”

Next, both Santos Bergana and Benedict Beaugé brought a sort of ‘gourmet voice’ to the table. The use of words and images as present in the collaborations of Tabula and Beaugé’s world press view took their place at this congress’ end. And just as the way in which we transmit this information from the ephemera of gastronomy to the durable word happens- in print and now on the web the Dialogos team has made video downloads of the presentations on the web at the Dialogos de Cocina site, with future materials to be available.

Below are a list of links from speakers and cooks who clearly understand the viability and value of web presence to help make themselves understood. Although I rarely use even an electric mixer in my own French Kitchen, I eagerly took the message from these Kitchen Dialogues home. I will be posting some further quotes on my own blog (see below)- the sort of poetic energy that came from these fine cooks in San Sebastian talking with their mouths full.


Interview with Andoni Luis Aduriz- Mugaritz:

I asked Andoni Luis A- a few questions about this congress, his responses were characteristic of his thoughtful and passionate nature. I ask his forgiveness if the double translated quotes are not as eloquent as his own words.

KH- Andoni, why have you called this meeting, brought these people together, now?

AA- This is the 20th anniversary of Euro-toques. There are many questions between cooks. Michel Bras and I talked. We would like to open this, these minds, to these questions.

KH- Who is here; who came and why?

AA- Cooks are very busy. It’s hard to get into and hard to get out of the kitchens. There are many barriers to break through. They came because they are trying to submit, to stop working, to listen. The people who have come to speak are accessible here, like Harold MacGee.
A lot of cooks are very ego driven and think that success equals money. But money isn’t the only way. Success is having a good life and restaurants should benefit everyone, guests and cooks. The people who have come here are ambitious, sensitive, innovative, creative, brave and idealistic. We have to transmit this information to everyone.

KH- Tell me why you brought these farmers, these scientists here to talk to these cooks.

AA- I admire all of them. There are two kinds of speakers, local and international. The problems for both are the same although the details vary. I wanted to create an opportunity. To look for the best of here and the best from outside. The most important thing was to do it. Now we must talk about it all. That is the dialog about cooking.

KH- is there something you would say to this IACP global audience?

AA- answers with heartfelt and quiet elegant gestures-
Sometimes blogs and the internet forums are an easy way for people to be critics, people who don’t really know. It can harm a lot of people. It makes me feel sad. To build something is the important thing. To be positive, not to access everything with criticism. I’d like to see an open spirit, good values to be extended, and to transmit this contact with these speakers with the audience. If only we can do this with generosity.

In this spirit of generosity, which was extended to me by the Basque members of Euro-toques, the wonderful translations of Vanessa and her team, the many scientists, farmers and other speakers who traveled from farm and far, and especially cooks who traveled on their few days away from the kitchen I offer these notes.

Links:
Euro-toques- http://www.euro-toques.org/

Andoni Luis Aduriz- http://www.mugaritz.com/
Pedro Subjiana- http://www.akelarre.net/web/index.htm
Juan-Mari Arzak http://www.arzak.info/index.html
Joan Roca- http://www.cellercanroca.com/
Albert Adria- http://www.elbulli.com/
Heston Blumenthal- http://www.fatduck.co.uk/
Michel Bras- http://www.michel-bras.com/

Benedict Beaugé- http://www.miam-miam.com
Santos Bergana- http://www.navarrorumtabula.com
Jose Larrea- http://www.ibermatica.com/ibermatica
Fundacion Alicia- http://www.alimentacioiciencia.org/
Fundacion AZTI- http://www.azti.es/default.asp
Creative Capital Summer School- http://www.elcapitalcreativo.org
Luc Dubanchet- http://www.amazon.fr/Carnet-route-omnivore-tables-cuisine/dp/2352550114

by Kate Hill
Gascony, France
visit Kate's blog http://katehill.blogspot.com

Cooking with Kimchi

I managed to avoid kimchi for the greater part of my life. My mother always had some in the fridge, and it was one of the first aromas that would hit me whenever I opened up the door. This was not a pleasant experience.

Several years back, though, in the heat of the summer, a Korean-Japanese friend of mine named Ko whipped up a huge pot of kimchi chige soup. I thought he had lost his marbles. Who in their right mind would want to eat a steaming bowl of spicy kimchi soup? Ko had worked hard at making it, however, so I asked for a very small bowl. While it was hot and spicy, it was rich in umami and had a lot of depth to it. Beads of sweat congregated on my forehead, but I went back for more. It was almost masochistic, but I was converted. Click here to read the rest of this article.

By Yukari Pratt
Japan

photo by: AkumAprime

Pasión por el Café wins Gourmand Award

We are very happy and proud to announce that Pasión por el Café, written by IACP member Patricia McCausland, has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for "Best Single Subject" in Latin America. The book will now be competing for the "Best in the World" Award. The results will be announced on April 7 in Beijing, China.

Patricia is of Colombian origin but moved to Panama seven years ago and is an active member of the Panamanian IACP group. She is passionate about coffee and travelled the coffee plantation regions of Colombia and Panama while conducting research for this book.

Her first book, Secrets of Colombian Cooking, was published in the United States after she met her agent during the 2002 IACP Conference in San Diego.

Congratulations Pachi!


by:
Elena Hernandez
IACP International Committee Chair

Back to the Future with Enrique Olvera

Leading Mexico City chef and restaurateur Enrique Olvera of Restaurante Pujol, has a rare talent for re-imagining traditional Mexican food, including delights mostly seen alongside streets and roadsides. His guides: the elements of flavor, texture, temperature, aroma, and color.

Together with Mexico's country coordinator Ruth Alegria, Olvera, 31, will show how to marry classic technique with an understanding of characteristic Mexican ingredientes to yield new and sublime results. His stunning re-interpretations -- drawing on his intimate knowledge of regional diversity -- are infusing new life to Mexico's cuisines.

Olvera graduated with honors from the Culinary Institue of America, Hyde Park in 1999, where he was awarded the Gold medal of the Societe Philantropique of New York; the M.K. Fisher Award for the best thesis of his generation and the Jacob Rosenthal Leadership Award.

Enrique Olvera and Ruth Alegria will present a cooking class entitled: "Mexican Cooking: Back to the Future", on Saturday April 15 at Kendall College in Chicago, IL, during our 29th IACP Annual Conference. The workshop has been sold out for a few weeks now.

The Global News blog was lucky to get a peek into the menu that will be presented. Those who signed up, are in for what looks like an exquisite selection of Mexican dishes, the 21st century style. Some of them are:
-Squash Blossom Capuccino- Coconut Milk foam and Nutmeg
-Esquites with Mayonnaise gelatine
-Striped Bass Ceviche, roasted Tomatoes
-Rack of Lamb with Chocolate crust, Black Beans and Mole sauce

In December of 2005 Enrique founded TEO (Taller Enrique Olvera), a creative workshop to promote gastronomical culture.

Creative Gastronomic Dialogues

Alimentary technicians, producers, institutional representatives, technology center directors, chemists and physicians, gastronomy opinion makers, feature writers and cooks, will meet in San Sebastian, Spain on March 12 and 13 to discuss three basic concepts:

1. Products, raw materials, environment, surroundings and culture.
2. Technology, techniques and science.
3. Visions, values and soul.

Among the speakers: Harold Mc Gee, Heston Blumenthal, Carlo Petrini, Joan Roca, Michel Bras.

The event is organized by Euro Toques Spain and will be transmitted to 100,000 people around the world through the internet. Log in at www.dialogosdecocina.com

Dianne Jacob

It's always exciting to receive e-mail from our members indicating that they are visiting this blog. This space was created by and for our membership, with the idea of showing the World who we are as an organization.

IACP is composed of 4,000 food professionals from 35 countries: from Malaysia to Argentina; from Spain to the United States. We are food writers, chefs, entrepreneurs, cooking school owners and teachers, food photographers and stylists, food scientists, culinary students, and more. We are unique in the sense that we represent different areas of the profession, different parts of the planet, united by one common denominator: food.

One of the greatest advantages of belonging to the IACP is to have access to continuing educational opportunities, not only in the specific area that we move in, but to extend our possibilities to other areas within our field.

The first book I read about food writing in English was Will Write for Food, by Dianne Jacob. I devoured the book in a week. Then I signed up for Dianne's workshop on writing last year at the IACP Conference in Seattle, but I was unable to attend at the last minute. So, when I learned that Dianne will be teaching a week-long class next summer on food writing in one of my favorite parts of the world, the South of France, I was very interested. How could I miss this unique opportunity to learn with one of the best food writing teachers around? Plus the cooking in this part of the country is so good: Cassoulet, Coq au Vin, Foie Gras...delicieux! je veux être là!

I set myself to find out more about Dianne's class. I found out it will take place from June 9-16 at a place called the Lot Valley. Dianne will teach about how food affects memory, place, and identity. You might write about cooking, meals around the family table, restaurants, travel, your mother’s kitchen or friendships - whatever inspires you. You will stroll around the local markets to get inspired by the people and the food, you will visit wineries and medieval villages. If you are already at work on a cookbook idea or writing a book, this workshop makes room to pursue your project.

I want to be there!

If you want to go (like me), please read the complete program and details by visiting Dianne's website here.

If you want to meet Dianne you might want to sign up for one of her two very interesting workshops during our Chicago Conference next April: Pizza, The Heart and Soul of Chicago and Eco-Gastronomy. For more information, click here. If you are not an IACP member and wish to attend our Conference this year, we are offering for the first time ever a special fee that includes a 6-month trial membership plus registration. Come to Chicago and celebrate the world of food with us!

And please keep those e-mails coming.

by Elena Hernandez
Chair, International Committe

Homaru Cantu

Postmodern Cuisine in IACP's 29th Annual Conference
by Elena Hernandez
photo taken at Madrid Fusion 2006

One of the workshops that I am looking forward to attend during our upcoming Conference in Chicago is "A Savory and Sweet look into Postmodern Cuisine" on Thursday April 12.

The presenter in no other than world reknown chef Homaru Cantu, of Cantu Designs and Moto Restaurant in Chicago. He will be joined by Ben Roche, Moto's pastry chef.

But, who is Homaru Cantu, some of you may be asking yourselves? And what is all this business about "postmodern cuisine"? According to the Star Chefs website, "since opening Moto, Chef Homaro Cantu has attracted much attention with his interpretation of Postmodern Cuisine. While Postmodern Cuisine is in its infancy in America, it seems that many diners and critics weighing-in on this new style of cuisine still view it as the Wild West of whimsy. And this is true at Moto, because the sky is the limit as Cantu stretches known scientific and gastronomic boundaries.

Postmodern Cuisine, often times referred to as Avant-Garde cuisine, found its roots in Spain with Ferrán Adrià of El Bulli leading the evolution. With the exact definition of Postmodern Cuisine still open for interpretation, it is safe to describe this culinary movement as one that reacts against earlier modernist principles. It reintroduces traditional or classical elements, typically carrying modernist styles or practices to extremes. Or Chef Cantu simply describes it as, “The human race has been eating the same way for hundreds and hundreds of years. At Moto, we strip away the rules, stretch the imagination and entice guests with never-before seen dishes. It’s about being open-minded and having a lot of fun with food.” To read Homaru Cantu's biography and a list of his inventions, click here.

I had the chance to see chef Cantu in action last year at Madrid Fusion, and he blew everyone's mind off. Do NOT miss this workshop.

To tickle your curiosity about what his presentations are about, here is a video to watch.

Norway celebrates "The French Chef" anniversary

Oslo Reporting on a Julia Child Celebration
by Scott Givot

A lively group of Norwegians gathered this evening in tribute to the memory of a beloved icon of the culinary world and particularly for all she invested in IACP.

Ingrid Espelid Hovig, the equivalent to Julia Child in Norway and former recipient of IACP's Lifetime Achievement Award launched the evening with a Champagne toast, followed by playing an American Public Television documentary on Julia Child's visit to Norway. In the film, Ingrid meets Julia and recalls the days when she and her husband, Paul Child, lived in Oslo in post war 1950's. Ingrid has always humbled herself in the towering shadow of the US diva, however, Julia Child is known to many Norwegians as the Ingrid Espelid Hovig of the US.

I began my day in preparation of the evening meal on page 263 of Julia Child's classic, from Julia Child's Kitchen, a first edition numbered and signed by both Julia and Paul Child. There was just one twist. Instead of beef, I selected reindeer. Accompanying the French inspired stew was a root vegetable mash and more than one glass of aquavit with a good Norwegian Pilsner from the arctic region.

We recalled our various treasured memories and encounters with the late Julia Child, which took us on a journey around the world from Paris to Philadelphia and from Venice to San Antonio. Somehow I feel that in the spirit of creating great company, delicious food and appropriate grog, we have done this lady a great tribute, which she so surely has deserved. We salute our heroine. Skål! Long may her spirit wave in our hearts and minds!