Product Description

Taking inspiration from the surrealists, and adding a twist of twenty-first-century technology and a love of good food, photographer Jan Bartelsman turns his lenses on the United States' star chefs, traveling from coast to coast to photograph, interview, and collect recipes from such culinary luminaries as Julia Child, Thomas Keller, Charlie Trotter, and Daniel Boulud. Bartelsman captures each chef's unique personality in hand-tinted photomontages enhanced by fanciful digitally generated elements to create a gallery that Food Arts magazine calls "fresh and spontaneous." Baby carrots rain down on Jean-Georges Vongerichten as he stands against the Manhattan skyline. Dancer-graceful Suzanne Goin strikes a pose with a Martha Graham-inspired carrot. The chefs' recipes and comments are as lively as their portraits. Ming Tsai spices lobster with garlic and pepper, and serves it with lemongrass fried rice; Lydia Shire's gorgonzola dolce ravioli are paired with roasted summer peaches. This book is truly a delectable dish, the complexity and taste of which readers can savor for years to come.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1636838 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-04
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .4 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Magic in the Kitchen by Jan Bartelsman, offers a cheerier look at creative spirits 40 top American chefs, including Tom Colicchio and Nobu Matsuhisa. Bartelsman provides whimsical photographs (Joachim Splichal sports a potato peel hat; Lydia Shire floats on a flying carpet), while the chefs offer spunky autobiographies (Daniel Boulud's begins, "I am not a butter freak") and signature recipes.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap
Magic in the Kitchen Taking inspiration from the surrealist painters, and adding a strong dose of twenty-first-century technology and a love of great cooking, Dutch photographer Jan Bartelsman turned his lens on the esteemed chefs of the United States. Coast to coast, he photographed, interviewed, and collected recipes from dozens of luminaries of the food world. Amid four-star meals and dreamworld images, he reveals the very essence of each personality in this witty - and admittedly bizarre - portrait gallery. With photographic sleight of hand and great humor, Bartelsman plays off the personalities of one great American cook (Julia Child) and thirty-nine great chefs to create images that are spirited, insightful, and always unique: Rotund geese appear at Daniel Boulud's feet; the French Laundry's Thomas Keller hangs out garlic on a clothesline; Suzanne Goin strikes a graceful pose with Martha Graham - inspired carrot! But the truest portrait of a chef is in his or her food. Among the more than seventy recipes... - Lydia Shire introduces us to veal tenderloin, a restaurant cut, and prepares it in a simple yet luxurious way guaranteed to turn into a staple for home entertaining. - Todd English creates a pepper-scented tuna so foolproof and delicious that you'll never prepare tuna any other way. - Christine Keff turns soft-shell crabs with Thai curry and green papaya salad into a positive addiction. Accompanying the portraits and recipes are the chefs' fresh and spontaneous comments on everything from their love of the game to the road not taken, adding yet more magic to the book. Eric Ripert reminds us of the difference between cooking for an ingredient and cooking with it; Nobu Matsuhisa reflects on how a fire in his kitchen affected his culinary destiny; Wylie Dufresne reveals what he might have done had he not become a chef. And everyone freely shares favorite snacks, memorable meals, and the tools and ingredients they couldn't live without.

About the Author
Dutch photographer Jan Bartelsman has published two books of photomontage portraits in Europe, one with chefs from Belgium and one with German chefs, through his company, Fotostudio Jan Bartelsman. His other publications include books of photography on caf?? life, a cookbook for children, and a guide to Berlin.