Relae: A Book of Ideas is marketed as a cookbook, but it’s so much more.
Chef Christian F. Puglisi, whose “bare-bones style” restaurant Relae in Copenhagen is the only fully organic restaurant to earn a Michelin star, doesn’t just hand us a collection of his favorite recipes. In fact, his highly creative and innovative recipes (such as celery root tacos and his beet, crab apple and seaweed dish, both pictured above) are more like an afterthought, all tossed to the back of the book in the Appendix. Instead, Puglisi is focused on sharing his creative process through bite-sized essays with titles such as:
Water (“After all, what’s the point of sourcing the greatest chicken for stock or the freshest green herbs for an infusion if you don’t have worthy water to cook them in?”)
Jerusalem Artichokes (“…our steady companion throughout the winter months…”)
Hiding on the Plate (“…we “hide” components by arranging them in layers, which helps us control how the guest enjoys the dish…”)
Challenging the Guest: Why You Shouldn’t Always Let People Choose What They Want
Similar to 3-star Michelin chef Christopher Kostow’s soulful writing in A New Napa Cuisine, Puglisi’s obsessive passion for food – its source, quality, taste and presentation – drips off every page and leaves us with appreciation and inspiration in the same way a painting can do. This textured, handsomely photographed book, like a few other “cookbooks” I’ve reviewed for Wink, is just as much a work of art to display on my living room table as it is a book that belongs on my kitchen shelf.