Imagine having experienced and patient friends who happily answer kitchen questions of any sort. All they want to do is encourage you to cook, and to cook better, so that you can eat happily.
Daniel Holtzman and Matt Rodbard want to be those friends for you. Food IQ address a range of issues that you might otherwise secretly Google, only to find conflicting advice from sources as varied as a traffic cop who claims to have once written Alice Waters a parking ticket and a dude on Reddit whose handle is u/mybigkniferulz.
Holtzman's professional resume runs from training at Le Bernardin and the CIA to opening The Meatball Shop and running a pizza joint in LA. Rodbard founded the James Beard Award-winning online magazine and podcast . The guys have been around and know their chops.
In a smartly conversational tone they treat head on questions which are often relegated to the background in other books, offering clear and concise answers, and supplementing their insight with appealing recipes.
Food IQ will answer questions such as:
- How do I make great coffee and do I need to spend $300 on beans and a grinder
- How do I strategize a "clean out the fridge" meal
- Why shouldn't I always use olive oil?
- What is a gastrique?
- Why is my whole roast chicken always dry?
Throughout the book sidebars introduce you to other authorities worth knowing (Eric Ripert, Deb Perelman, and Ligiya Mishan, for example), and the clearly written recipes encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and try something new.
Encouraging and smart.
Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.
