Three Food Studies Alum, collaborate and write "Culinary Improvisation: Skill Building Beyond the Mystery Basket"
A must-have for culinary students, professionals and home cooks interested in expanding their skills, Culinary Improvisation: Skill Building Beyond the Mystery Basket is now available. Loaded with tips and exercise, and printed on CD-ROM, the book is incredibly practical, easy to use, convenient and easily accessible.Culinary Improvisation is a culinary resource of improvisational, interactive exercises designed to build culinary skills. Culinary Improvisation provides a guide for culinary improvisation and kitchen creativity, with many of the guides in chart format for easy reference to flavor partners and seasonal ingredients by region. This book is also a great reference for serious home cooks looking to take their cooking skills beyond recipe replication.
Authors Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., Sarah Billingsley and Cricket Azima make up a team with a wide variety of experience as professional chefs, writers, editors and culinary instructors. They have the know-how to lead readers through improvisational skill development, crucial to finding one's own style and being successful in the kitchen.
In Culinary Improvisation readers will:
Learn how to think through and solve real-world problems faced by professional chefs.
Expand their culinary creativity through targeted exercises and games.
Gain insight into the workings of a professional kitchen through case studies.
Learn how to develop essential skills that go into creating a successful chef: problem solving, palate development, teamwork and communication.
About the Authors:
Jonathan Deutsch is a classically trained chef and is Assistant Professor in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality and Center for Economic and Workforce Development at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York and the Doctor of Public Health Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. After studying culinary arts and hospitality management at the Culinary Institute of America and Drexel University, he earned his Ph.D. in Food Studies and Food Management at New York University. He is the author (with Rachel Saks) of Jewish American Food Culture (Greenwood, 2008) and editor (with Annie Hauck-Lawson) of Gastropolis: Food and New York City (Columbia University Press, 2009). He worked in a variety of foodservice settings including catering, institutions, product development, restaurants and luxury inns, both in the U.S. and abroad. He currently cooks, teaches, writes, and consults on food and foodservice.
Sarah Billingsley is a cookbook editor, food writer and experimental home cook. She earned her Master's degree in Food Studies and Food Management at New York University and is a member of San Francisco Professional Food Society. She worked at an editor on the 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking, and was a dining critic and food writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she has worked in publishing, public relations, product development and market research. Sarah currently lives and works in San Francisco, where she cultivates a backyard food garden during the endless California growing season.
Cricket Azima is a dynamic young professional chef who specializes in cooking for and with children. She is the founder of The Creative Kitchen, Food Editor for Kiwi Magazine, Family & Kids Editor for The Nibble, Director of Kids' Programs for Kidfresh, and Director of Culinary Curriculum and Recipe Development for Batter Up Kids Culinary Center. She is also the author of Everybody Eats Lunch. Since 1999, Cricket has been teaching cooking classes to over 1000 children of all ages at various locations in New York City. As an instructor, Cricket is one of a kind. She strives to teach more than a recipe or basic cooking technique, with a teaching philosophy that is based on the educational benefits of cooking. Cricket developed her cooking and teaching philosophy while pursuing her Master's degree in Food Studies and Food Management at New York University (NYU). She is also a graduate of Boston University and The Institute of Culinary Education.
About The Creative Kitchen:
The Creative KitchenTM is a multi-media company focused on culinary skill-building. Its approach teaches people about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. The curriculum, that targets children ages two and older as well as adults, includes a series of books, television show concepts, DVDs, and related products that present educational content through recreational food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, inspires people to express themselves creatively through cooking, the arts and using all senses in the learning process.
Culinary Improvisation:
Skill Building Beyond the Mystery Basket
Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D. and Sarah Billingsley with Cricket Azima
The Creative Kitchen, May 2009
www.thecreativekitchen.com
$34.95 CD-ROM
ISBN-13: 978-0982413906
ISBN-10: 0982413904
Available on www.amazon.com
Sample chapters are available at www.culinaryimprovisation.com.
Contact erin@thecreativekitchen.com for desk copies or to book an author lecture.