Food for Thought with Alex Bielak-Cookbooks: Essential friends, new friends

In the last column I wrote about Chef Daniel Pascoa of Eatalia saying the cookbook “NOMA – Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine” was “one of his must-have references and inspirations.” I also alluded to the fact that although I have this hefty volume, I have not actually cooked anything from it, partially a reflection of the very specific Nordic ingredients Chef Rene Redzepi sources locally and partially because of the complexity of the preparations.

I don’t know how many cookbooks I have, but it is a lot. This was driven home when a house stager told us to cut the number of books on the shelves by half!  Some of these books are ones I’ve barely skimmed. Others I use for as little as a single recipe. And yet others I’ve read cover to cover, more than once, to the point the pages are loose or stained with sauce.

I pick cookbooks up for new ideas, time-tested recipes, inspirational photos, insights to the minds of exciting chefs, great writing, and techniques. If I strike the jackpot, a book might have most of those things. If I had to choose the best, my favourite, or the last one I’d let go, I’m not sure which I’d pick. And yet I put that

Food for Thought with Alex Bielak- Global Tastes, Local Tastes

Chris M with Chef Redzepi by Tom Motz

So the last column set readers a culinary challenge. But got nary a nibble.

I’ll admit it was probably completely unfair to expect anyone to guess the mystery cover photo was of barbequed cucumbers adorned with liquid nitrogen-frozen ants (and tiny flowers?), a dish served at one of the top restaurants in the world, NOMA, in Copenhagen.

In the photos section accompanying this offering I have included several other shots taken by my friend Tom Motz who recently partook of the Nordic cuisine served up by Chef Rene Redzepi. The plating is extra-ordinary and Tom described the meal and setting as up there with anything he has eaten anywhere.

The twenty courses included such things as “Nordic coconut”, Moss and cep, Flower tarts, White cabbage and samphire, Caramelized milk and monkfish liver, Æbleskiver, lovage and parsley, Burnt leek and cod roe, Shrimp and goosefoot, Radish and yeast, Cured egg yolk, potato and elderflower, Turbot and nasturtium, and even a graphic Beef tartar and ants. (Tom said the ants offered a nice acidic contrast!)

The rarified world of restaurant food at the top level may seem a bit distant and disconnected to us here in