Read "Kitchen Creativity," the new book by Karen Page, and you're likely to come away with:
A yoga position.
A meditation practice.
Quotes by Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle.
And a lot of miscellaneous information about food and chefs.
Page, known for such landmark books as "The Flavor Bible" and "Culinary Artistry," and Andrew Dornenburg, her husband and photographer, have dedicated this new book to chefs and how they create.
They've come up with a collection of random information that you can dip into now and then for an entertaining snippet. Or you can check out lists such as blue food, red food, winter food, ingredients that add sweetness, umami ingredients and so forth.
When the couple appeared at Melissa's Produce, Page talked about presenting the essence of a dish in a new way. For example, the caramel apples in the photo could be transformed into an apple martini rimmed with caramel and chopped nuts.
Or gazpacho (above) could be modified by changing its essential acidic element, usually tomato, to something else, such as Wolfgang Puck's carrot-orange gazpacho.
The three stages of creativity, each with a section in the book, start with mastering skills. Next is alchemy, "converting the common into the precious," the book says. The final stage is creating from scratch something that is "new, useful and surprising," the hallmarks of creativity, according to Page.
A simple example at "Melissa's" was grilled "chicken-on-the-side" Caesar salad, shown on the plate along with gazpacho, which was elevated by garnishing with grilled shrimp, and garlic mashed potatoes.
Tools include lists of ingredients favored by top chefs and what they consider the top 20 culinary books.
Another list, "The Kitchen Creativity 50," gives 50 quick tricks for transforming a dish into something new.
An A to Z section covers a grab bag of topics including Ayurveda, chickpea water, Ramadan, social consciousness, Super Bowl and waffles, but not potatoes, soup, ghee, tofu or vegan. It's for browsing, not a comprehensive guide.
The international cuisines listed under Ramadan represent countries with large Muslim populations that observe Ramadan. The book doesn't explain this, though. Like other lists in the book, it's shorthand to nudge the brain into action.
The yoga position? Check the photo of Rick Bayless doing a hand stand on a kitchen counter. The meditation practice? Mindfulness and meditation provide the calmness that allows fresh ideas to come forth. Two pages in the book are allotted to comments on meditation by Eric Ripert, who has a meditation room in his home.
The Chopra and Tolle quotes? These and other non-food philosophical remarks provide encouragement and enlightenment. "One of the most important ways to triple your creativity is through choosing to be happy," Page said.
You'll like this book if you're a chef follower, a high-end food admirer, a cooking show devotee, a student of the creative process and/or a fan of previous books by Page and Dornenburg.
It's not a how-to guide and contains no recipes. As Page says, it's "a brainstorming tool," a collection of check lists and chef tips to help when you want to do something more than throw dinner together at the last minute.
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