Signature Dishes That Matter

Product Information

Each iconic dish is illustrated in hand-painted watercolours by renowned artist and trained chef Adriano Rampazzo with text giving the historical context of each dish. Take a look at the gallery below: Of course this slightly deferential naming convention and, “today the chefs themselves are usually honored by the dishes that become their signatures.” Indeed, at least on one occasion a chef has resorted to legal means to ensure a signature dish remains its creator’s property. That’s according to the unusual new cookbook Signature Dishes That Matter, in which eight food writers and critics have curated a list of dishes so influential that it’s hard to imagine any one of them having a single origin. And yet they do. In the case of chocolate lava cake, it even had a predecessor: the high-cuisine coulant au chocolat, a showstopper of a dessert invented by Michel Bras at his eponymous restaurant in 1981.

However, what bothered me the most was that it was written from a very westernized perspective. Most of the dishes came from Western Europe and the USA, a few from the Far East, and a couple from the rest of the world. How can a region as vast as the Middle East only have two dishes (A Turkish dish, and a modern dish from Israel)?! That is not nearly as comprehensive and representative of how diverse the food of the region is! Hummus, Falafel, Kebab, Waraq Enab (Dolma), Kunefeh, Baklava, Tahcheen, Maast-o Khiar, and so on and so on are famous worldwide, yet not a single mention of any of those! Some of the items included are not dishes! And some of the recipes are definitely missing crucial information. I think this book would have been better off without the "recipes" section. The fascinating compendium of dishes through the ages focuses on food actually deserving of that overused word "iconic"."― The Sunday Times (Ireland) Mitchell Davis considers how nouvelle cuisine, chef ego and social media fed into a culinary phenomenon

Publishers Text

Part cookbook, part travel guide, part historical record this fascinating book charts the most iconic dishes from the past three centuries... Each dish is printed alongside a hand-drawn illustration, making it a stylish coffee table book, too."― BBC Good Food A history of gastronomy, told through the most iconic restaurant dishes from the past three centuries... It is both a landmark cookbook and a fascinating cultural history of dining out."― Yes Chef magazine The artist behind Signature Dishes describes his route to our new book, via art school and restaurant kitchens His limited staff and kitchen made simple dishes that any cook could replicate a necessity. And because Sydney is essentially a beach town where people are conscious about looking good in a bathing suit, the food had to be healthy. So, Granger arranged avocado quarters on toasted slices of sourdough bread and added lime juice, olive oil, chili flakes, and cilantro (coriander). The dish—and his restaurant—soon became so popular that he opened other locations in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as London, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hawaii.” A fascinating read... An invaluable resource for chefs who want to learn more about the history of the world of cuisine and is perfect for dipping into."― The Caterer

Nor can we deny the negative impact such elevated status might convey,” Davis goes on. “In Bangkok, Jay Fai’s remarkable Crab Omelet was a sought-after signature long before Michelin anointed her stall with one of their coveted stars. Though the attention was welcome recognition of a lifetime’s hard work, the impact has been a lot to bear. Likewise, at Jiro Ono’s legendary sushi restaurant in Tokyo, the demand for tables is so great that they have had to suspend reservations altogether for the foreseeable future.” It's a fascinating, easy read about the origins of dishes that have become part of the culinary vernacular... It's a celebration of dishes that define cultures, eras and peoples."— The Globe & Mail Nor was the dish especially hard to make or serve. "Placed under the broiler (grill), the sugars caramelize into an amber shell while insulating the fish from overcooking,” the book explains. “The cod’s simplicity and spare presentation — placed simply on a banana leaf with miso dots and ginger — meant that as the restaurant spread across the world, a cook in Dubai could make it taste exactly as another in London or Kuala Lumpur.” A handsome, heavyweight volume with marbled endpapers and gilt lettering, Signature Dishes That Matter falls somewhere between a cookbook and an encyclopaedia... Illustrated in understated watercolour - a quaint analogue antidote to the proliferation of #foodporn on social media."— The Telegraph The recipe wasn’t new and the ingredients weren’t rare, but its simplicity enabled its chef to build an empire

Signature Dishes That Matter by Phaidon

The fascinating compendium of dishes through the ages focuses on food actually deserving of that overused word "iconic"."— The Sunday Times (Ireland) The gastronomic equivalent of an author finding their voice, a signature dish can often be, according to writer Mr Mitchell Davis, shorthand for a chef's particular style... Spanning different eras, geographies and genres, it paints an effective portrait of food culture through the ages."― Mr Porter Part recipe book, part travel guide and part encyclopaedia, this hefty tome attempts to identify the 200 key dishes that have shaped modern gastronomy. We start with the arrival of ice cream for the masses, with the opening of Le Procope café in Paris in 1686, and progress via Auguste Escoffier's peach melba at the Savoy hotel in the 1890s and Heston Blumenthal's snail porridge to end with Tomos Parry's whole grilled turbot at Brat in London. The ultimate foodie's I-Spy book."— Tony Turnbull, The Times