READ THIS: CHANTERELLE: The Story and Recipes of a Restaurant Classic by David Waltuck and Andrew Friedman

At Whom You Know, we embrace all things beautiful and excellent and this includes cookbooks!  Chanterelle is a prime example of what a premium cookbook should be: based on a unique idea (the restaurant itself!), lovely photography, recipes that make people like Peachy Deegan who don't cook run out to his/her grocer with a list to aspire to, and charm that suits the best Manhattan coffee tables as well as kitchens. 

This is a 2009 IACP Cookbook Award Winner in the Chefs & Restaurants Category & Food Photography & Styling Category.  In 1979, David Waltuck and his wife, Karen, opened the restaurant Chanterelle, which was originally housed in a small, elegant storefront in the SoHo district of Manhattan.  Ten years later, the restaurant moved to its current, larger quarters, in the grand 19^th-century Mercantile Exchange Building in TriBeCa, where David and Karen uniquely combine quiet sophistication with downtown spirit in both menu and ambience.  Although we find the cookbook extremely stately and accomplished, we did not have the opportunity to review Chanterelle for Peachy's Picks.  This is the only thing we did not like about the book!  It was such a tease.  Perhaps another restaurant will open?

David’s innovative, French-inspired food has earned him international acclaim and accolades such as the 2007 James Beard Award for “Best Chef in New York City” and one of the “Top 20 Most Popular Restaurants in New York City” by Zagat 2007, as well as continuous praise for nearly 30 years from food critics across the globe. 

Even if you aren't in Manhattan and able to dine at Chanterelle, you now may savor its marvelous dishes at home with CHANTERELLE: The Story and Recipes of a Restaurant Classic (The Taunton Press; October 14, 2008; $50.00) by David Waltuck and Andrew Friedman, with a foreword by Adam Gopnik of the New Yorker.  In CHANTERELLE, the artistry of one of America’s top chefs is illustrated in more than 150 dazzling recipes, accompanied by beautiful photographs.  With the charming anecdotes David shares about his early days as a chef and how he met his wife, Karen, who shared his dream of opening a restaurant and is an integral part of its success,CHANTERELLE is as much a love story as it is a tribute to the restaurant. 

For the first time, David Waltuck shares the secrets behind his acclaimed food and in CHANTERELLE, he reveals how to recreate the sublime dishes that the patrons of his restaurant enjoy.  Organized in a user-friendly format, with chapters that follow the normal progression of a meal—from hors d’oeuvres, salads and appetizers, to main courses and desserts—readers can prepare a full, five- or six-course meal or present a recipe as a freestanding offering to be relished on its own.  David also includes sample menus based on seasonality, which he notes should be as much a consideration in menu planning as your own sensibility and palate.

So pull out all the stops and begin a meal with Squab Mousse with Juniper & Green Peppercorns, a Trio of Hot Soups, or Scallops with Duck Fat, Tomato & Basil; pair Brined Roast Pork Loin with Fennel Jus & Fennel Flan with Chive Mashed Potatoes as a main course, and finish with Bartlett Pears Served Two Ways: roasted with cool, creamy ricotta cheese and in a beignet (fritter) topped with truffle honey.  Or for a lighter, more simple meal, start with the Duo of Tartares with Red & Golden Beets, followed by Spiced Snapper Sauté with Vegetables “Escabeche,” and top it all off with Rose Petal-Infused Parfait with Cantaloupe Sorbet & Summer Raspberries for dessert.  With dozens of recipes that excite the senses and impress on the plate, whatever choice is prepared is sure to delight and is simpler than you would imagine.

In addition to the tempting recipes, CHANTERELLE also succeeds in capturing the energy and ebullient enthusiasm of the restaurant itself and the personalities of David and Karen Waltuck, who are the key to its appeal and longevity.  Neighborhood patrons, celebrities and tourists alike enthusiastically go out of their way to eat at Chanterelle, but this book, filled with the warmth, passion, creativity, and refinement, makes it clear why the Waltucks have endured and, after three decades, continue to inspire.   Whom You Know recommends CHANTERELLE!

About the authors:

David Waltuck is the chef and co-owner, with his wife Karen, of Chanterelle, which has garnered critical acclaim since it opened in 1979. He is the winner of numerous James Beard Awards including Best New York City Chef and, for the restaurant, Outstanding Restaurant, Service, Wine Service, and Sommelier.

Andrew Friedman has co-authored cookbooks with Alfred Portale, Tom Valenti, and former White House chef Walter Scheib, among many others. He also co-edited the popular anthology Don’t Try This at Home, and collaborated on The New York Times bestselling memoir Breaking Back.