NEW YORK, Oct 7 — Triple Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura, who has been called the best chef in Italy, has released a cookbook “Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef” that takes readers inside the mind of one of today’s most artistic and creative culinary giants.

Published by Phaidon Press, “Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef” traces Bottura’s gastronomic career and how he’s been able to continually reinvent himself over 25 years — no small feat in a country where food traditions are so deeply entrenched in the collective consciousness that wayward ingredients in a classic recipe are often met with howls of objection.

But at Osteria Francescana, the Modena restaurant with a string of three Michelin stars, guests know to expect inventive takes on traditional Italian dishes that elevate — rather than displace — the country’s culinary heritage.

The cookbook includes texts explaining Bottura’s creative process, one that seeks inspiration from art and music.

At his restaurant, for instance, a dark and monochromatic plate of Alaskan cod dusted with powdered seaweed in a Japanese broth, dyed black with squid ink, was born after listening to a particularly frantic track from jazz player Thelonious Monk.

Divided into four chapters, the book features 50 recipes all with a story to tell, including Memory of a Mortadella Sandwich, Tortellini Walking on Broth, and Oops! I Dropped the Lemon Tart!

To promote the book, Bottura will be in the US for signings and seminars over the next two weeks, with stops that include Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.   

“Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef” is out October 6. — AFP-Relaxnews

Chef Massimo Bottura’s new cookbook ‘Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef’ traces his gastronomic career and how he’s been able to continually reinvent himself over 25 years. — AFP pic