The Chef Special

Two terrific cookbooks. An interview with Rene Redzepi. Eric Ripert's favorite pan. And a vintage menu.

Now for something a little different. For the past few days you’ve been with your families, eating turkey, enjoying homely pleasures. But this week La Briffe is all about chefs. They are, in my opinion, some of the most interesting people on the planet.

On Tuesday I had the great pleasure of talking to Rene Redzepi about his new book, Noma 2.0. It’s gorgeous - and unlike anything I’ve seen out there, filled with fascinating and inspiring ideas. When I asked Rene if he expected people to actually cook these arcane, wildly imaginative and complicated dishes he said, “I would be very surprised if I started getting Instagram images on a Saturday night with pictures people have cooked of a three course meal from the book. That would shock me. I might even invite them to Noma.”

So start cooking.

“Excerpted from NOMA 2.0 by René Redzepi, Mette Søberg, and Junichi Takahashi with Nate French (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2022. Photographs by Ditte Isager.”

Here’s the wide-ranging discussion. I began by asking Rene what season he likes best.

One of the things Rene says he wants his chefs to do is “head out into the world to hone our beginner’s minds.”

Oddly, Heston Blumenthal says much the same thing in his new book, which is called Is This a Cookbook?: Adventures in the Kitchen.

He introduces Little Heston, a symbol of the inner child, the one who doesn’t play by the rules. His hope, he says, is that the book will feed your spirit your energy and your passion. A celebration of the imagination.

As Heston says, “it also has some pretty good recipes.”

Here’s one of them.

Here’s a gift suggestion from another great chef. Eric Ripert has just made his favorite pan available to us. He’s even personally seasoned it. It’s perfect for cooking fish, and while it’s not cheap, it’s a gift that will last for generations. Proceeds go to City Harvest.

Finally, and just for fun, here’s a menu from another chef I admire. Wish I could remember what this special meal was celebrating….