Paul Liebrandt has been in my chef conscious since I first moved to the city and started cooking. I remember reading his review for Atlas restaurant and thinking how crazy and out there the food sounded. My friends and I use to joke and think of really weird combinations and say that is a Paul Liebrandt dish. After revisiting some of those crazy sounding menu items recently they do not sound crazy anymore but pretty mainstream. He is the real deal and a true pioneer. Looking at the dishes in this book I see how far over my head he currently is which is great. I love his story and read the whole book this afternoon. It is one of the coolest things ever a memoir and cookbook in one. He has worked with many of the legends and has great stories about those experiences. He is pretty humble and writes in a very relatable way for me as a cook/ chef. What I love most about this book is it brings me back to a time and place in NYC that I enjoyed, knowing lots of the people and places he talks about. His movie a matter of taste a few years ago made me realize how down to earth he is and this confirms that. His story is cool and universal and it feels good in a way that someone at the top level like this goes through the same highs and lows all the rest of us go through as we learn and compete in this industry. I Highly reccomend this book.
