Reviews

Arzak, Recetas by Juan Mari Arzak

rosecityreader's review against another edition

5.0

Restaurante Arzak in San Sebastian is legendary. It has had three Michelin stars, the most awarded, since 1989. Arzak + Arzak is a gorgeous new book celebrating New Basque Cuisine, the Arzak family, and Restaurante Arzak. The first half is narrative, with behind-the-scenes black and white photos. It tells the story of Juan Mari, who earned his first Michelin star in 1972 and has been a cutting-edge chef since then. That section also describes Elena Arzak's career from her work in other famous kitchens to co-chef with her father as Restaurante Arzak looks to the future.

The recipe section is certainly beguiling, even if daunting to all but the most ambitious of home chefs. Each of the 64 recipes is accompanied by a dramatic color photo, most of them full page.

For those diners lucky enough to enjoy Arzak in person, Arzak + Arzak would be a perfect keepsake. Even for readers like me who have never been there, the story of Arzak and its father/daughter chefs is absorbing. It is exciting to learn about running a famous restaurant with a history tied so deeply to a particular region.

danperlman's review

5.0

Part of a trio of books put out by Arzak, in some ways, despite being an excellent book, this is the least interesting of the three. This is the recipe book and that's pretty much what it is. Each recipe gets two facing pages, the left side with the standard list of ingredients and a step by step instruction, one really nice touch, for each there are 3-5 small photos alongside illustrating key points or ingredients that readers might not be familiar with. The right side is a large photo of the finished, restaurant style plated dish - but best is, right below that photo, is a "trick of the trade" - something about the main ingredient or a technique, explained in detail in a paragraph. Overall a brilliant way to organize a recipe book.