Behind the Line
Topic: Inspirations
Culinary Inspirations
Time to crack open the ol' 1876 meats encyclopedia. Vintage cookbooks: ever use them for restaurant recipe inspiration?
- Nate Hamilton
- Chef de Cuisine
- Harvest
- Madison, WI
I inherited a bunch of old cookbooks - handwritten - from my grandmother. I like to dig through them for pickle recipes.
- John Anderes
- Chef
- Telegraph
- Chicago, Illinois
Yes, all the time. I have "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Childs and James Beard's "American Cookery" in the office at Telegraph.
- Perry Hendrix
- Executive Chef
- Chicago, IL
Yes quite a bit. My brother is a bit of an amateur book dealer has for a number of years been keeping me supplied with old cookbooks. The ones that I have been perusing for inspiration lately hav...
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- Jennifer Plank
- Toast
- Cleveland, Ohio
God yes... you need to look back into the basis of the food revolution, or back to the roots of a cuisine to truly understand its nature some times. Yeah its easy for chefs now a days to say they ...
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- Greg Biggers
- Executive Chef
- Café des Architectes
- Chicago, IL
Of course. I think more than exact recipes for me it's more about getting general inspiration from the kinds of books.
- Stephanie Samuels
- Pastry Chef/Owner
- Angel Food Bakery
- Chicago, IL
I do. I am an avid used book store patron, and am always on the look out for the odd, old cookbook. As a Food Stylist I loved to look at the old food photography from the early days, with the was...
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- Gerard Craft
- Executive Chef/Owner
- Niche Restaurant and BRASSERIE by niche
- St. Louis, MO
Yes, my grandmother often sends me vintage cookbooks. We also have vintage Missouri cookbooks that help us, as transplants, begin to understand our region.
- John Shields
- Executive Chef
- Chilhowie, VA
I have a copy of Fernand Point Ma Gastronomie?
- Matt Danko
- Pastry Chef
- The Greenhouse Tavern and Noodlecat
- Cleveland, OH
The white house cook book is one that gets opened frequently around here, and I also recently purchased a book about blue ribbon malt syrups.
- Jeremy Kittelson
- Executive Chef/Owner
- Denver, Colorado
Absolutely. One example ie reading an old roman cookbook and their use of "meat coulis". They used to make their meat sauces with meat and not bones to make their sauces. I started making sure all ...
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- Kevin Nashan
- Executive Chef/Owner
- Sidney Street Cafe
- Saint Louis, Missouri
I'm a cookbook freak, and yes new and old. The "oldies" are awesome into seeing the true history of a dish. Sometimes you find ingredients that either have been omitted over time or just skipped. I...
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- Josh Galliano
- The Libertine
- Clayton, MO
I'll go through my old cookbooks from John Folse, Edna Lewis, or Mary Land anytime I want to discover the roots of a dish. Sometimes, it's just to think about flavor combinations that can be trans...
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- David Katz
- Executive Chef/Owner
- Philadelphia, PA
Sometimes, yes. I have some pretty old James Beard books here and a few Richard Olney. My Larousse is from 1961.
- Craig Harzewski
- Pastry Chef
- NAHA and Brindille
- Chicago, IL
I have a variety of vintage pastry books. One that I have was my unofficial textbook during my apprenticeship. I need to get it rebound and it is about 4 inches thick. I enjoy looking at the pic...
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- Matt Haase
- Executive Chef
- Rocketbaby Bakery
- Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
All the time. I used old Charcuterie books for guides and ideas. I also really enjoy updating classic dishes.
- Troy Graves
- Chef/Partner
- Red Door
- Chicago, Il
One cookbook that I love to read is The Daily News Cookbook. It was published in 1896 by the Chicago Daily News Corp. The premise of the book is to provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for everyday...
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- Geoff Rhyne
- Sous Chef
- The Ordinary
- Charleston, SC
I have recipes from my grandparents and great-grand parents as well as from members of their churches/towns. It's fun to look back at those things, and sometimes, they provide a spark for a new dish
- Jill Barron
- Executive Chef/Owner
- MANA food bar
- Chicago, IL
YES!
My husband and I collect cookbooks. One of our treasured ones is Vincent Prices book on Famous restaurants of the day- Gourmet 1950's and 60's.
- Chrissy Camba
- Chef
- Bar Pastoral
- Chicago, IL
Absolutely! I love to imagine how food was back in the day. To read the way the recipes are written, the name of the ingredients, the name of the techniques and the dishes are like going back in ti...
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- Tony Priolo
- Executive Chef/Owner
- Piccolo Sogno
- Chicago, IL
I haven't used any vintage books but I would love to find some.
- Cary Taylor
- Executive Chef
- The Southern
- Chicago, IL
All the time - see junior league cookbooks
- Paul Fehribach
- Executive Chef/Owner
- Big Jones
- Chicago, IL
Actually I have three of them on this sofa with me right now - "Mrs. Hill's New Cook Book" from 1867, "The Carolina Housewife" from 1847, and The Receipt Book of Harriet Pinkney Horry, 1770. I love...
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- Jason McLeod
- Executive Chef/Owner
- Box Tree Restaurant, Inc
- San Diego, CA
yes all the time, I love finding old used cook books
- Carrie Nahabedian
- Executive Chef/Owner
- NAHA and Brindille
- Chicago, IL
Yes. Specifically, for a take on a classical dish or a punch or a confection that evokes a time period. We recently looked at a reproduction of a 17th Century cookbook for a punch we interpreted fo...
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