In the immortal words of Inigo Montoya: Let me 'splain:
Grant Achatz is a chef from Chicago. He was formally a sous chef at The French Laundry, then he went on to be the chef of Trio in Chicago. After some time at Trio, he opened his own restaurant, Alinea. Alinea is known for being heavily involved in "molecular gastronomy" and related food preparations. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, it's basically a way of using science in order to understand how food works and then changing the way it's prepared to come up with new results (things like fruit "caviar" and flavored foams and instantly-frozen sorbets and ice creams). It's not necessarily all that easy to do and it requires a lot of specialized ingredients and equipment. Adding to the complexity, Alinea offers a 28 course tasting menu daily.
Anyway, he recently wrote and released The Alinea Book.
This book is ridiculous.
I mean that in a good way, but with just a hint of negativity. First off, it weighs six and a half pounds and it's over 400 pages. That's a lot for a book, especially a cook book. Even for the Encyclopedia Britannica that's a lot.
Let me say that I own nearly all of the different chemicals called for in the book (things like sodium alginate, tapioca maltodextrin, agar-agar, xanthan gum and soy lecithin), and I still wouldn't be able to recreate even a quarter of whats in there. Mostly because he uses custom-made, highly expensive equipment to achieve very precise and refined results. I don't own an immersion circulator, pacojet or anti-griddle and I can't think of anyone else I know who does either. I don't even know of any restaurants that do (except for those specializing in this type of cuisine).
Don't get me wrong, the book is beautiful. The photography is exceptional. There's 400 different recipes which chronicle individual steps as well essays by many people (including the chef himself) explaining the ideas and processes behind the food, but I think it just makes me a sad deep down inside to know I'll probably never be able to create most of the dishes in the book. [Although there is a woman who is going to attempt to make every recipe in the book, cover to cover. That'll be interesting to follow.] Incidentally, on Amazon, it's only $30, which is an awesome price for what you get. if nothing else, I figure I can use it for reference.
If anyone out there wants to donate money to the "Help Nargi Buy Really Expensive Kitchen Equipment Fund" let me know and I'll point you in the direction of my bank account. Or maybe Grant will invite me into his kitchen. I suppose only time will tell.
For a more detailed account of the life and times of Mr. Achatz, I direct you HERE.
Also, his book has its own website.
Lastly, here's a really great thread about someone's dining experience at Alinea, complete with many photos. I belong to this "food community" (eGullet) and it's proved an invaluable resource.
Grant Achatz is a chef from Chicago. He was formally a sous chef at The French Laundry, then he went on to be the chef of Trio in Chicago. After some time at Trio, he opened his own restaurant, Alinea. Alinea is known for being heavily involved in "molecular gastronomy" and related food preparations. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, it's basically a way of using science in order to understand how food works and then changing the way it's prepared to come up with new results (things like fruit "caviar" and flavored foams and instantly-frozen sorbets and ice creams). It's not necessarily all that easy to do and it requires a lot of specialized ingredients and equipment. Adding to the complexity, Alinea offers a 28 course tasting menu daily.
Anyway, he recently wrote and released The Alinea Book.
This book is ridiculous.
I mean that in a good way, but with just a hint of negativity. First off, it weighs six and a half pounds and it's over 400 pages. That's a lot for a book, especially a cook book. Even for the Encyclopedia Britannica that's a lot.
Let me say that I own nearly all of the different chemicals called for in the book (things like sodium alginate, tapioca maltodextrin, agar-agar, xanthan gum and soy lecithin), and I still wouldn't be able to recreate even a quarter of whats in there. Mostly because he uses custom-made, highly expensive equipment to achieve very precise and refined results. I don't own an immersion circulator, pacojet or anti-griddle and I can't think of anyone else I know who does either. I don't even know of any restaurants that do (except for those specializing in this type of cuisine).
Don't get me wrong, the book is beautiful. The photography is exceptional. There's 400 different recipes which chronicle individual steps as well essays by many people (including the chef himself) explaining the ideas and processes behind the food, but I think it just makes me a sad deep down inside to know I'll probably never be able to create most of the dishes in the book. [Although there is a woman who is going to attempt to make every recipe in the book, cover to cover. That'll be interesting to follow.] Incidentally, on Amazon, it's only $30, which is an awesome price for what you get. if nothing else, I figure I can use it for reference.
If anyone out there wants to donate money to the "Help Nargi Buy Really Expensive Kitchen Equipment Fund" let me know and I'll point you in the direction of my bank account. Or maybe Grant will invite me into his kitchen. I suppose only time will tell.
For a more detailed account of the life and times of Mr. Achatz, I direct you HERE.
Also, his book has its own website.
Lastly, here's a really great thread about someone's dining experience at Alinea, complete with many photos. I belong to this "food community" (eGullet) and it's proved an invaluable resource.
1 comment:
Nargi,
Read the introduction... you don't need the expensive equipment... that is only because we are a restaurant that serves 90 people per night.
PacoJet can be replaced by a home ice cream maker.
AntiGriddle = frozen sheet pan
You get the idea. Be creative. None of it is that hard ( and I am not a chef ).
-- nick
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