Adrià was the master chef behind elBulli, the recently closed Michelin three-star restaurant in Spain, and this collection is his coda: 100 recipes based upon “family meals” that the eatery’s staff would regularly cook up for their group dinners. The entries do not necessarily match the restaurant’s menu, but are simple main dishes, sides, and desserts that can work equally well as the basis for a meal for two or a feast for six dozen. Phaidon continues to push the boundaries of cookbook design, and this book employs hundreds of photos and reads like a graphic novel or a collection of the world’s most delicious infographics. The book is divided into 31 three-course meals. Meal 10, for instance, is miso soup with clams, mackerel with vinaigrette, and almond cookies, while Meal 28 is melon with cured ham, rice with duck, and chocolate cake. Each meal plan begins with a two-page photo spread of the necessary ingredients accompanied by a list of what is pictured and a time line indicating when to prepare each course. On the next page is the smallest of text boxes offering a hint or two, and adjacent to that are quantity guidelines listing amounts needed to feed 2, 6, 20, or 75 diners. Preparation instructions are nearly entirely photographic, nine photos per page, augmented with thought bubbles of text, creating the impression that, for instance, a plate of ribs is dreaming of being topped with a fine grating of orange zest. (Oct.)
"Deliciously hearty, the recipes in The Family Meal have nothing to do with the avant-garde for which elBulli is known, and the amply illustrated book explains them in an accessible, storyboard form."—Financial Times Weekend Magazine
"Generously illustrated with hundreds of new, specially commissioned photographs, The Family Meal is the book by Ferran Adria everyone has been waiting for!"—Hot Brands, Cool Places
"Even if you’re more comfortable navigating cobblestone streets in platforms than wielding a microplane in the kitchen, this book will show even the most harried and clueless of cooks how to prepare a simple dinner at home—and, as an unexpected bonus, it will also be a meal that will forever impress guests."—Vogue.com
"Wonderful... Good straightforward cooking."—Mark Bittman, The New York Times Magazine
"I’ve never been so excited about such a simple dish (Noodle Soup with Mussels): cooking and eating it crystalized what is unique and wonderful about Mr. Adria’s book... I learned an enormous amount about cooking from a master of the trade."—Katy McLaughlin, The Wall Street Journal
"This is the type of traditional food Ferran loves."—Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue
"A gem of a cookbook packed with fantastic recipes and tips from a master—the closest most readers will come to eating with him."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"Phaidon continues to push the boundaries of cookbook design, and this book employs hundreds of photos and reads like a graphic novel or a collection of the world’s most delicious infographics."—Publishers Weekly
"Simple, delicious recipes meant for the daily table."—People
"Add this one to your kitchen library ASAP."—Splendora.com
"Accessible and interesting... Elevating the step-by-step cookbook to a thing of beauty."—Salon.com
"Working families - if you add up the costs of frozen dinners and last minute take-out, you’ll probably end up healthier and wealthier by submitting to [The Family Meal]."—bigthink.com
"Easy to follow and beautiful to look at."—The Independent
"Home cooking at its simplest... 31 menus – each with a recipe for a starter, main and pud, with step-by-step photos for each – an old-fashioned idea, but a good one."—Sunday Times
"The layout is gorgeous and nostalgically arty... A big, bold monster and an adornment to the kitchen."—The Guardian
"Wonderful... Good straightforward cooking."—The New York Times
"I can't stop cooking from this book... The only downside is that I had to come to terms with splotching grease on its lovely pages."—The Atlantic
"An esteemed colleague once told me that the highest form of intelligence isn't complexity but simplicity... If this is true, then Ferran Adrià's new cookbook, The Family Meal, may be the most effective expression of his genius to date."—The Australian Financial Review
"...A refreshingly prosaic approach to food... Not just a collection of recipes but also an instruction manual."—Sydney Morning Herald
"Traditional recipes from the master himself."—Omar Allibhoy, founder of the Tapas Revolution chain, Shortlist
Anticipating El Bulli's July 2011 closure, chef and co-owner Adrià decided to collect and publish the world-famous restaurant's staff meals, which appear here as 31 three-course menus. In contrast to El Bulli's spectacularly complex haute cuisine, these meals are simple, practical, and relatively easy to prepare. Some menus require preprepared components and specialty equipment (such as a whipped cream siphon), but most can be completed within two hours using conventional, inexpensive ingredients. The recipes are given for two, six, 20, and 75 people, with captioned pictorial instructions. Recommended for foodies and professionals. For a broader look at staff meals, check out Marissa Guggiana's upcoming Off the Menu: Staff Meals from America's Top Restaurants. [Four-city tour.]
A deliciously dynamic yet approachable cookbook from arguably the world's greatest chef. Adrià (A Day at elBulli, 2010, etc.), head chef and owner of Spain's world-renowned elBulli restaurant (which closed in July 2011 but will reopen as a creativity center in 2014), is well known as a mad gastronomical scientist. However, his new cookbook does not require special gelatin processes or any of the laboratory techniques with which he is associated. Instead, this cookbook focuses on the simple but delicious meals Adrià shared with his restaurant staff before any guests arrived each evening. Examples of the three-course menus include: a potato chip omelet, pork loin with peppers and coconut macaroons; grilled lettuce hearts, veal with red wine and mustard and chocolate mousse. The most extravagant tool is a kitchen blowtorch, which is not actually required. Adrià does recommend a soda siphon to make his caramel foam, but ice cream will do. The majority of the ingredients can be found at the local market, with the exception of a few spices, and the author's easy-to-follow directions will help any home cook prepare base sauces and stocks. Each recipe includes photos of each step, a photograph of what the countertop should look like with all of the ingredients for that day's menu, a helpful organizing timeline to correctly time the preparations, measurements for two, six, 20 or 75 servings, possible substitute ingredients and a guide to how long sauces and stocks can keep in your refrigerator. A gem of a cookbook packed with fantastic recipes and tips from a master--the closest most readers will come to eating with him.