What do you think?
Rate this book
Once Upon a Tart ... : Soups, Salads, Muffins, and More
A cookbook in the tradition of The Silver Palate and The Barefoot Contessa . . .
In New York City, famous for its food and restaurants, locals are reverential about the bakeshop and café Once Upon a Tart. For more than a decade, they have been lining up at the store mornings and afternoons, waiting patiently for their signature scones, muffins, soups, salads, sandwiches, cookies, and—of course—tarts. And pretty much since the day the café opened, patrons have been asking—sometimes begging—the proprietors for their sweet and savory recipes. Good the wait is over.
In Once Upon a Tart , the café’s founders and co-owners, Jerome Audureau (a New Yorker via France) and Frank Mentesana (a New Yorker via New Jersey), go public with their culinary secrets (“We don’t have any,” says Frank. “That’s our biggest secret of all”) and recipes. They also tell their inspiring success story, from selling tarts wholesale out of a warehouse in Long Island City to opening their now-famous outpost in Soho.
In nine delicious chapters ranging from savory tarts to cookies, the authors instruct and advise home cooks on everything from how to make the flakiest tart crust (“keep the dough cold”) to making sandwiches (“condiments are key”) to how to diet (“you want half the calories, eat half the scone”). Once Upon a Tart is packed with more than 225 easy-to-prepare recipes, including all the store classics that have earned Frank and Jerome the devotion of their Caramelized-Leek-and-Celery Tart, Creamy Carrot Soup with Fresh Dill, Pork Loin Sandwich with Frisée and Rosemary-Garlic Aioli, Buttermilk Scones with Dried Currants, Banana–Poppy Seed Muffins, and Strawberry-Rhubarb Tart with Crisp Topping.
Says Frank, “We believe that deep down, everyone is a cook.” Adds Jerome, “And that a little butter in your life is a good thing.”
In New York City, famous for its food and restaurants, locals are reverential about the bakeshop and café Once Upon a Tart. For more than a decade, they have been lining up at the store mornings and afternoons, waiting patiently for their signature scones, muffins, soups, salads, sandwiches, cookies, and—of course—tarts. And pretty much since the day the café opened, patrons have been asking—sometimes begging—the proprietors for their sweet and savory recipes. Good the wait is over.
In Once Upon a Tart , the café’s founders and co-owners, Jerome Audureau (a New Yorker via France) and Frank Mentesana (a New Yorker via New Jersey), go public with their culinary secrets (“We don’t have any,” says Frank. “That’s our biggest secret of all”) and recipes. They also tell their inspiring success story, from selling tarts wholesale out of a warehouse in Long Island City to opening their now-famous outpost in Soho.
In nine delicious chapters ranging from savory tarts to cookies, the authors instruct and advise home cooks on everything from how to make the flakiest tart crust (“keep the dough cold”) to making sandwiches (“condiments are key”) to how to diet (“you want half the calories, eat half the scone”). Once Upon a Tart is packed with more than 225 easy-to-prepare recipes, including all the store classics that have earned Frank and Jerome the devotion of their Caramelized-Leek-and-Celery Tart, Creamy Carrot Soup with Fresh Dill, Pork Loin Sandwich with Frisée and Rosemary-Garlic Aioli, Buttermilk Scones with Dried Currants, Banana–Poppy Seed Muffins, and Strawberry-Rhubarb Tart with Crisp Topping.
Says Frank, “We believe that deep down, everyone is a cook.” Adds Jerome, “And that a little butter in your life is a good thing.”
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 22, 2003
2 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 10, 2020
BOOK REVIEW: Once Upon A Tart by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau
T.I.M.E. Favorite ✨😎✨
A real “behind-the-scenes” peek at the former charming and beloved New York City bakeshop café… Once Upon A Tart… One of my favorite destinations from my life in New York City.
Filled with page after page of wonderful muffins, soups, salads, sandwiches and tarts, of course… But the real treasure in this book is the inside scoop on how to make their signature scones.
I am a scone fanatic! I am completely obsessed… And these are my go-to recipes that I use to make my own favorite scones. Including the basis for how I build my own personal scone variations as well…
So whether you're looking for sweet or savory, you'll find a home with Once Upon A Tart’s recipes from their Classic Buttermilk Currant Scone all the way to their Cheddar Dill Scone… Yummy!
Once Upon a Tart ... : Soups, Salads, Muffins, and More by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau
T.I.M.E. Favorite ✨😎✨
A real “behind-the-scenes” peek at the former charming and beloved New York City bakeshop café… Once Upon A Tart… One of my favorite destinations from my life in New York City.
Filled with page after page of wonderful muffins, soups, salads, sandwiches and tarts, of course… But the real treasure in this book is the inside scoop on how to make their signature scones.
I am a scone fanatic! I am completely obsessed… And these are my go-to recipes that I use to make my own favorite scones. Including the basis for how I build my own personal scone variations as well…
So whether you're looking for sweet or savory, you'll find a home with Once Upon A Tart’s recipes from their Classic Buttermilk Currant Scone all the way to their Cheddar Dill Scone… Yummy!
Once Upon a Tart ... : Soups, Salads, Muffins, and More by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau
February 23, 2010
My boiler/heater is out today and I have been keeping my oven cranking out the heat for the house by doing lots of baking. I checked this book out from the library and I've already made about five of the recipes (within the last two weeks, not just today!):
banana-poppyseed muffins (so-so recipe)
leek and celery tart (good! and awesome crust - also, good way to use up the two things that accumulate in my crisper - plus, it turned out so impressively pretty)
carrot-pecan muffins (a bit heavy on the nutmeg. i also made the recipe using parsnips instead of carrots and who knew? they turned out even better than carrots, though i eliminated the nutmeg completely so it didn't taste like a xmas spice bread, and I used slivered almonds for the nuts)
apricot-fig scones (REALLY good scone recipe!)
I'm thinking I would love to get paid to be a cookbook recipe tester!
Would I buy this cookbook? Maybe. 4/5 stars because the banana-poppyseed recipe really disappointed me. But I loved the photography, the instructions, and the background on the recipes and their inspiration.
banana-poppyseed muffins (so-so recipe)
leek and celery tart (good! and awesome crust - also, good way to use up the two things that accumulate in my crisper - plus, it turned out so impressively pretty)
carrot-pecan muffins (a bit heavy on the nutmeg. i also made the recipe using parsnips instead of carrots and who knew? they turned out even better than carrots, though i eliminated the nutmeg completely so it didn't taste like a xmas spice bread, and I used slivered almonds for the nuts)
apricot-fig scones (REALLY good scone recipe!)
I'm thinking I would love to get paid to be a cookbook recipe tester!
Would I buy this cookbook? Maybe. 4/5 stars because the banana-poppyseed recipe really disappointed me. But I loved the photography, the instructions, and the background on the recipes and their inspiration.
Read
June 12, 2009i checked this one out at the library a while back and kept it long enough to think it might be worth buying
got this one today at the lovely new rhino booksellers
http://www.rhinobooksellers.com/
got this one today at the lovely new rhino booksellers
http://www.rhinobooksellers.com/
January 21, 2018
My new fave cookbook. This book is a treasure trove of very comforting recipes. Also fun commentary by the authors on the recipes and everything you could want on savory tarts, soups, sandwiches, salads, condiment, quick bread, scone, cookies, sweet tarts and instruction on how to roast a pork loin, very helpful. And other instructions on how to pit a olive ect. I love this book and can’t wait to dog ear and write in it more and stain it to pieces as I use it and learn from it. Very enchanting and magical.
February 24, 2019
A somewhat unusual cookbook, being centered on a tart bakery but with all their ancillary foods as well. I found the recipes good to great.
November 4, 2007
I really love this book, and I rely on it quite heavily, especially for soups. During cold, winter months, the Tomato Chickpea soup is a comforting staple. I've also made several lovely tarts, scones, and tea loaves. There is quite a variety of recipes ranging from soups, salads, sweet and savory tarts, scones, cookies, and sandwiches as well as spreads and dressing. The tone of the book is friendly and conversational, and it makes me want to go to New York to meet the two chefs.
For the most part, this is a fairly vegetarian friendly cookbook - there's one recipe for chicken stock and I think there's a chicken salad sandwich in there, but other than that, all the other recipes are vegetarian.
For the most part, this is a fairly vegetarian friendly cookbook - there's one recipe for chicken stock and I think there's a chicken salad sandwich in there, but other than that, all the other recipes are vegetarian.
January 10, 2015
I hate these gorgeous photos! Chocolate chip cookies are okay but somehow they've made them look so gd tantalizing. Good job. I liked the anecdotes prefacing each recipe because that's really what I'm looking for in a cookbook. I didn't make anything from this book because I don't totally trust a cookbook that asks you to separate the yolks from the eggs and there are at least two such recipes in here. Well.
December 3, 2007
I only made two things out of this cookbook, but I did learn how to properly clean leeks (actually quite a relaxing task). The Three-Onion Soup is yummy, but my house, my co-cook and I were heavily scented after.
November 26, 2012
I have had this book for about three years now and I highly recommend it. recipes of favor are the banana poppy muffins, carrot dill soup, orange and chocolate chip scones...the read is down to earth and humorous...
March 2, 2009
A cookbook that's as much fun to read as it is to cook from! I love that Frank mixes EVERYTHING with his hands...everything! And the carrot cake muffins will make your eyes roll back in your head, I promise.
July 21, 2010
First of all, I love New York and this is where this tart cafe is! It has a little bit of everything. When i feel like baking something new, this is usually the cookbook I grab. Some time consuming and some easy and fun. All from scratch.
July 29, 2011
There are tarts, salads, and soups, largely, so light fare--the tarts have alot of good ideas, and after making an old favorite, tomato tart, into a rustic crust and having it be delicious, I am eager to try other thing s(like the ratatouille tart in here)
March 3, 2008
I have made the scone recipes so many times from this fabulous cookbook that my book is covered with butter fingerprints--
August 5, 2009
Recipes are not difficult (though probably easier with a food processor), and the results are delicious (though one may be shocked at the amount of butter everything calls for). Fantastic pictures.
May 1, 2011
Wow. Delish, especially the Cheddar-Dill Scones. And the Candies Ginger Scones..... mmmm.
Will have to visit the restaurant next time I'm in NYC.
Will have to visit the restaurant next time I'm in NYC.
March 19, 2012
Not as cute as the name would imply, but still has lots of yummy recipes.
August 11, 2013
Fun, would like to own this one - but probably not good for my waist.
February 12, 2022
I return to this cookbook again and again. Its recipes for tarts, soups, salads, and baked goods are uniformly excellent.
August 22, 2009
A nice book for the home baker.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews