Gift Suggestions for
FOODIES

This is a rather eccentric collection of items I’ve given or received  with great pleasure:
Books § Fantastic and unexpected

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 Books

Larousse Gastronomique: The New American  Edition of the World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia. If you dine out or read about dining out, you need this 1,350-page volume: an amazing combination of dictionary, cookbook, and history text, with superb illustrations. Everything from Black Forest gateau to types of cabbage to kulfi to wild boar.

RUHLMAN, Michael. The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection. Ruhlman, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, analyzes the rigorous Certified Master Chef exam and has extensive interviews with several top-notch chefs, particularly Thomas Keller at the French Laundry. Ruhlman co-authored Keller's French Laundry Cookbook. (See below, under Keller.)

BOURDAIN, Anthony. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.  Very different from Ruhlman's book: the sliced-and-diced, burnt-fingered, gossipy side of the restaurant world.

STEINGARTEN, Jeffrey. The Man Who Ate Everything: And Other Gastronomic Feats, Disputes, and Pleasurable Pursuits. Steingarten, a lawyer by training who became food critic at Vogue, tackles everything from mashed potatoes, ketchup, salad, Olestra, choucroute, Waygu, granita, bistrots modernes, recipes from the back of the box ("Milky Way Bar Swirl Cake"?!), apple pie and more. Includes many recipes.

STEVENS, Stuart. Feeding Frenzy: Across Europe in Search of a Perfect Meal. On a bet, Stuart and a friend drove across Europe in red 1965 Mustang, attempting to eat at 29 Michelin 3-star restaurants in as many days. Daft idea, but his comments on the car and the food are very entertaining.

HUGHES, Holly, ed. Best Food Writing 2001. Not every essay appeals, but this a great anthology for finding writers you might have missed. The Andrew Goldman essay  "Who's in Chris Walken's Kitchen?" is worth the purchase price.

ALFORD, Katherine. Caviar, Truffles, and Foie Gras: Recipes for Divine Indulgence. History, production and quality standards of all three, plus recipes, a resource list for hard-to-find ingredients, and mouth-watering photos. Champagne-poached oysters with sevruga, white truffle risotto, steamed lobster with truffle beurre fondue: as Abraham Lincoln once said, "For those who like this kind of book, this is the kind of book they will like."

GINOR, Michael A. Foie Gras: A Passion. History of foie gras since Roman times, plus over 80 recipes by renowned chefs including Emeril, Jacques Pepin, Charlie Trotter. A coffee-table size book with splendid illustrations. Ginor, whose name (the dust jacket advises us) is "synonymous with foie gras," is the co-founder and co-owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the only East-coast producer of foie gras. They'll ship some to you, if you can't resist these recipes.

KELLER, Thomas, with Susie Heller and Michael Ruhlman. The French Laundry Cookbook. This book is the next best thing if you don't want to spend an hour on the phone, 2 months in advance, getting a reservation at the Napa Valley restaurant that's been voted best in the country. Of course, after you've tried a few recipes, you may consider the phone time and the plane fare a reasonable investment. Keller's inventive in a way few chefs can match. The photographs are superb. See also Ruhlman’s Soul of a Chef.

RIDGWAY, Judy. The Cheese Companion: The Connoisseur's  Guide. History and production of cheese; cheese directory with color photos and 1-2 page descriptions of major types, including suggestions for wine.

McCALMAN, Max, and David Gibbons. The Cheese Plate. McCalman, the fromagier at Picholine (near Lincoln Center in Manhattan), tells you everything you need to know about cheese from production to buying, storing and serving, plus wine suggestions and a 50-page annotated list of favorite cheeses.

See also the works by Peter Mayle and Calvin Trillin in Gift Suggestions for Travelers.

Fantastic and unexpected

Buy your favorite foodie a membership in the James Beard Foundation. Amazing food almost every night, for less than you’d pay at a decent New York restaurant. They have out-of-town memberships, too.