Early in Lee\u2019s career, a fellow cook encouraged him to buy this book to bulk up on classic French cuisine. The 10-pound tome of recipes, techniques, and gastronomic history helped shape Lee\u2019s career, landing him at the head of two-Michelin-starred Saison. \u201cI hold what chef Alain Ducasse has done for food in such high regard,\u201d Lee says. \u201cI love taking inspiration from the past and applying more modern techniques or ingredients.\u201d He admits that the pricey encyclopedia may be a little \u201cdry\u201d for the casual home cook, but he \u201creally enjoys nerding out on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Source: Ulysses Ortega for The StandardDana Younkin, executive chef, Boulevard<\/p>\n
Essential cookbook: \u201cJapanese Cooking: A Simple Art\u201d<\/a> by Shizuo Tsuji<\/p>\n If you task Younkin with narrowing down the list of cookbooks she can\u2019t live without, she\u2019ll give you a roster of selections, including details of how she discovered each one. The lineup includes \u201cBaking with Julia\u201d by Dorie Greenspan, which she encountered while cooking at her mom\u2019s cafe in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and \u201cThe Joy of Truffles\u201d by Patrik Jaros, which she found in Nancy Oakes and Pamela Mazzola\u2019s office at Boulevard. When it comes to \u201cJapanese Cooking: A Simple Art,\u201d she has fond memories of cooking from the book in her mom\u2019s kitchen. To this day, she references it for historical explanations of recipes and meticulously described techniques. \u201cFor a book without modern food photography, it offers an amazingly detailed explanation of Japanese cuisine,\u201d Younkin says. \u201cIt will forever be in my library.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Sayat Ozyilmaz, chef and owner, Dalida<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cOn Food and Cooking\u201d<\/a> by Harold McGee<\/p>\n \u201cAs chefs, we are endlessly curious,\u201d Ozyilmaz says. \u201cBut with our attention constantly in demand, even the smallest curiosity becomes a luxury to explore.\u201d That\u2019s why, in his free time, he turns to McGee\u2019s book to dive deep on topics like starch conversion and the life cycles of fruits and vegetables, which inform new menu items at Dalida. He tells chefs training at the restaurant to use the cookbook as a kind of textbook \u2014 a solid resource for how to make halloumi, kaymak, cr\u00e8me fraiche, and other dairy products unique to Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sincere Justice, chef and owner, Tacos Sincero<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cBar Tartine: Techniques and Recipes\u201d<\/a> by Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns<\/p>\n \u201cBuild your larder, and creating your own dishes will become effortless,\u201d Justice says. That\u2019s one of his key takeaways from the 2018 cookbook inspired by acclaimed Mission restaurant Bar Tartine. The ideas in this book had a tremendous impact on the well-traveled, well-read Justice, who\u2019s known for his singular, cross-cultural dishes. On every page, he learned something new \u2014 koji as a means for fermentation, how to blend Hungarian and Japanese influences, how to use burnt bread powder. \u201cI love, love this book,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a cookbook ahead of its time.\u201d<\/p>\n James Yuen Leong Parry, chef and owner, The Happy Crane<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cShark\u2019s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China\u201d<\/a> by Fuchsia Dunlop<\/p>\n Before working at a three-Michelin-starred Benu and opening one of the most highly anticipated restaurants of the year<\/a>, Parry was just a college kid in the U.K. \u2014 and, he admits, not a big reader. But when a friend gave Parry this memoir, he couldn\u2019t put it down.\u00a0 Reading about a British woman\u2019s travels to China to learn Sichuan cuisine transformed the way that Parry, who grew up in London and Hong Kong, thought about his future. \u201cI often credit both my friend who bought me the book and Fuchsia Dunlop for inspiring me to pursue cooking professionally,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Kristina Costa, pastry chef, Loquat<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cTartine Bread<\/a>\u201d by Chad Robertson<\/p>\n In 2011, Costa sought out a bread apprenticeship with a baker in Asheville, North Carolina, after a failed attempt at making desserts and sourdough for a Thanksgiving potluck. At the bakery, she saw a tattered copy of \u201cTartine Bread.\u201d \u201cAs I flipped through it, my jaw hit the floor,\u201d Costa says. \u201cIt made working in a bakery look like a dream. With my fine arts background, baking felt like the perfect fusion of working with my hands to create tangible art, hard work, and adventure.\u201d She doesn\u2019t use the book as much as she did when she was starting out, but she credits it for shaping her career. \u201cIt opened the doors to what is now a pillar of my identity: a baker.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Suki Skye, owner, Dacha<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cIllustrated Quick Cook<\/a>\u201d by Heather Winney<\/p>\n While Skye loves Anna Voloshyna\u2019s \u201cBudmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen\u201d for inspiration for Dacha\u2019s Eastern European menu, Winney\u2019s book wins out at home. \u201cThis is probably the most-used cookbook on my shelf,\u201d Skye says. Skye often turns to this book, which is chock-full of practical recipes and time-saving techniques, to make healthy, simple, and satisfying meals.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jason Halverson, chef and owner, The Vault Steakhouse<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cLa Technique<\/a>\u201d by Jacques P\u00e9pin<\/p>\n Though first published in 1978, \u201cLa Technique\u201d remains a go-to reference for revisiting fundamentals. \u201cIt\u2019s the ultimate manual for cooking,\u201d Halverson says. Early in his career, he worked for Roland Passot, an acclaimed French chef and restaurateur in San Francisco, who handed him a copy of this classic. To this day, Halverson holds his copy in high regard. P\u00e9pin\u2019s book describes classic techniques that serve as the starting point for more modern ones. Halverson turns to it every four to five months, when he wants to go back to basics. \u201cIt may not be glamorous, but it\u2019s grounding,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Val Cantu, chef and owner, Californios<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cEl Cocinero Espa\u00f1ol<\/a>\u201d by Encarnaci\u00f3n Pinedo<\/p>\n The first Mexican American cookbook published in the U.S. came out in 1898 in San Francisco. \u201cEl Cocinero Espa\u00f1ol\u201d was a landmark text, offering a glimpse into the kitchens of California-born Mexicans who were creating innovative, complex cuisine. Pinedo, who was writing for immigrant communities that moved to California during the Gold Rush, crafted recipes that featured local produce and ingredients. \u201cBecause she had created this cuisine in the 1800s, I felt free to do what I loved when I was first working on Californios,\u201d Cantu says. \u201cThe recipes and lessons that she shares are still relevant today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Nicole Krasinski, pastry chef and owner, State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cThe Last Course<\/a>\u201d by Claudia Fleming<\/p>\n Krasinski devoured the pages of Fleming\u2019s dessert-focused cookbook as she got ready to start her first job in 2001. As a young pastry chef with no previous restaurant experience, Krasinski relied on this book as she developed her own style. \u201cClaudia was the first pastry chef to put out a cookbook that spoke not only to home cooks but really to professional pastry chefs looking to say more with less,\u201d Krasinski says. Under Fleming\u2019s unofficial tutelage, Krasinski learned about exercising restraint when it comes to garnishes and how to alter recipes to incorporate different ingredients. \u201cHands down, this is the book I recommend to all of my pastry assistants,\u201d she says. \u201cI call it pastry plating 101.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Maz Naba, owner, Ilna<\/p>\n Essential cookbook: \u201cThe Lebanese Cookbook<\/a>\u201d by Salma Hage<\/p>\n