Think Like a Chef
A Cookbook
With Think Like a Chef, Tom Colicchio has created a new kind of cookbook. Rather than list a series of restaurant recipes, he uses simple steps to deconstruct a chef's creative process, making it easily available to any home cook.
He starts with techniques: What's roasting, for example, and how do you do it in the oven or on top of the stove? He also gets you comfortable with braising, sautéing, and making stocks and sauces. Next he introduces simple "ingredients" -- roasted tomatoes, say, or braised artichokes -- and tells you how to use them in a variety of ways. So those easy roasted tomatoes may be turned into anything from a vinaigrette to a caramelized tomato tart, with many…
Tom Colicchio is an 8-time James Beard Award-winning chef and the owner of Crafted Hospitality, which includes New York City’s Craft, Temple Court, and Vallata; Las Vegas’ Craftsteak; and Small Batch in Garden City, New York. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Tom made his New York cooking debut at prominent restaurants including The Quilted Giraffe and Gotham Bar & Grill before opening Gramercy Tavern in 1994 and Craft in 2001. A vocal and outspoken social justice advocate, Tom executive produced the 2013 documentary A Place at the Table, and through extensive work in our nation’s capital, he has established himself as the leading “Citizen Chef” advocating for a food system that values access, affordability, and nutrition over corporate interests. Tom…