Relæ: A Book of Ideas

Interesting ideas, a nice story about how he and his restaurant got where they are. A little stiff in the writing and a little too much "I thought of this first" kind of feeling for thing that probably predated his birth. But enjoyable nonetheless. There are no "recipes" per se - there are descriptions of dishes with general outlines of how they're made, but no proportions or measurements or detailed methods. It's more of a chef's workbook.Oops - I have to edit this. It was a vagary of the Kindle format - when it hit the end of these chef's workbook notes, it flipped to "rate this book" as if it was over. I was about to delete it when I realized that it showed I was only 60% of the way through the book - I went back into it, and all the recipes are there, detailed, as an appendix, which the Kindle format had coded as outside the text of the book. So, there are recipes!

This is my first book review. I don't really write reviews for much of anything. But this book is far and away my favorite cookbook, so I felt compelled.If you're looking for a book with simple recipes, this isn't the book for you. Heck, even if you are looking for recipes, this book might not be for you. But when you approach this book as a chef's toolkit rather than a cookbook in the traditional sense, you'll find so much value from every page. I use this book for inspiration: how can we manipulate the simplest ingredients to form something amazing? I typically will find an ingredient in my pantry, search the appendix of this book for examples of its use and/or Puglisi's thoughts on the ingredient, and get experimenting.This book explains the 'why' as much as the 'what', so it equips you to be creative even after you've put the book down. If that sounds like what you're looking for, then don't hesitate. Plus, it's a beautiful coffee table book.

I can't believe the amount of information in it for the price.It starts with some general essays about his philosophy and restaurant history, then there are 175 pages of essays on everything from how he uses different textures, to meats, water (benefit of filtered water vs. tap for example), influences, land, ways he manipulates things, and it goes on and on. Every topic gets a page write up. Then he puts the recipes and page numbers at the bottom that deal with the topic (idea) he is referring to.Then he gets to the dishes. He write a page or so on every dish, explaining its process, influence, and whatever else is applicable. I think an experienced cook could cook from the essays he writes on each dish (kinda like the l'Astrance cookbook). There are about 70 dishes.After all of this, he then gives you detailed recipes for every dish he just wrote about. All 70 or so with weight measurements and very specific details. Every recipe also comes with a thumbnail of the dish so you can also remember what it looks like without needing to flip back and forth.This book is probably set up better than almost any other book I have. So much information, laid out so clearly (the ideas section even has those half moons cut outs on the sides of the pages to help you flip to a section, like a big dictionary would have to help you find the letter you are looking for). This book is over 400 pages and every page is packed. Very little extra photographs of stuff for the sake of looking artsy.Ability to cook from it? Sourcing some ingredients may be a challenge, but I'm willing to give that a pass as the amount of inspiration and knowledge in the book is enough to directly affect my cooking of any dish almost immediately (once I take the time to really sit down and read it/take notes). The Thermomix is used a lot, but every time I've seen it used so far it is just used as a blender (purees, etc., no heating element, but I'm sure that occurs in places).I don't see any reason not to buy this. I never bought the NOMA cookbook as I don't see how much it would give back to me aside from plating inspirations (which I can Google image if I need to), but this book, while also from Copenhagen and dealing with some more local (but not nearly as locally centered as NOMA) ingredients, gives so much back to the reader that it truly isn't something I would be comfortable listing as a negative.

What a wonderful inspiration to learn from and explore with my own food and cooking.Going through this book is an experience with the way it is laid out.While I am an avid home cook I do plan on using the recipes more of how it will influence my own cooking more so than following the recipes - so I will say that this resource is to help with my own creative journey with food and cooking more so than what I will feed my family with.

A great addition to my cookbook collection. Inspiring - but won't be trying any of the recipes.

Not only the book provides recipes which can be followed exactly, but the dishes alone are so inspiring and the story behind the creation of certain dishes definitely sparks one's own imagination and creativity.

More than a book about food, an extraordinary life companion. The alternative title could be "Zen and the art of food". With "Tartine Bread", this book is one of the few I like to read randomly, just to remember that details are everything, and that the simplest things can also be the most difficult to grasp, and the most rewarding to accomplish.

Perfect book.

Having read Christian Puglisi’s “A Book of Ideas”, I fast-tracked Relae to the top of my restaurants in Copenhagen to try and on my third visit to the city went for lunch. Compared with all the glossy covered, large format, restaurant chef cookery books, Relae (the book) stands out as refreshingly different. And the presentation of the book reflects the raison d’etre behind Relae the restaurant. The opening of the book, about how Christian Puglisi moved from Noma to finding his own voice and launching his own restaurant, is written in a captivatingly casual and honest manner that is very endearing. The book does not open like a cookery book by a great chef but it reads more like a “how to” guide to starting your own business and seemingly despite the odds, making it hugely successful. As a restaurant consultant I tend to read a lot of what the top chefs are writing and this book is amongst the best I have read: it is articulate and reads easily, it gives you a clear insight into what drives this particular chef and it also relays ideas about food and cooking principles in a way that keeps one's attention and interest. If you wish to read my review of the restaurant, go to my website blog at Mark Slanaey Associates. The book itself is thoughtfully designed and a pleasant change from the inevitable coffee-table style cookery books by some chefs from certain notable restaurants.

This book is not structured like your average cookbook, here Christian F. Puglisi has written it as a collection of essays and articles that describe his thought processes around each topic and how his solution came about.I have been a chef for many years and rarely read through recipes at this stage in my career, instead i just flick through and look at flavour combinations and preperation ideas etc.I read this book cover to cover the day i recieved it and i must say its simply brilliant.as a chef this is exactly what im looking for in a cookbook. Little to no emphasis on dish recipes, instead focusing on the method and creative thought. 5 stars!

I don’t normally write reviews but I am a cookbook obsessive and a working cook and I genuinely think this is the most important cookbook of the last 20 years. The philosophy it puts forward - something like no deliciousness without thoughtfulness, and the format of the recipe writing, are seminal. If you care about cooking for other people, read this.

Is the most original cookbook i own. Lots of knowledge and iformations in it. Ambitious recipes where the vegetablez are the protagonist. I think no chef would get disappointed with this book.

For the professional