wd~50: The Cookbook – Iconic Recipes from Wylie Dufresne's Revolutionary New York Restaurant

by Wylie Dufresne, Peter Meehan

The first cookbook from one of the world’s most groundbreaking chefs and a pioneering restaurant on the Lower East Side—the story of Wylie Dufresne’s wd~50 and the dishes that made it famous
When it opened in 2003, wd~50 was New York’s most innovative, cutting-edge restaurant. Mastermind Wylie Dufresne ushered in a new generation of experimental and free-spirited chefs, and introduced a wildly unique approach to cooking, influenced by science, art, and the humblest of classic foods like bagels and lox, and American cheese.    A cookbook that doubles as a time capsule,  wd~50  is a glimpse into a particular moment in New York City food culture, embodied by a restaurant so distinct it inspired  New York Times  critic Pete Wells to compare its closing in 2014 to that of the notorious music venue CBGB, “with way nicer bathrooms.” With gorgeous photography, detailed recipes explaining Wylie’s iconic creations, and stories from the last days of the restaurant,  wd~50  is a collectible piece of culinary memorabilia. Fans of Wylie, food lovers, and industry insiders who have been waiting for a chance to relive the excitement and artistry of wd~50 can finally do just that. 

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food

352 pages, Hardcover

Published October 17, 2017

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wylie Dufresne is not your ordinary chef, so there is no way his first cookbook would be an ordinary cookbook. wd~50 is a work of art, an inspiration, and an absolutely breathtaking collection of recipes, photos, ideas, and stories. 

Dufresne grew up in and around New York City, his father in the restaurant business, so it's not a big surprise to find him in a professional kitchen. But the route he took to get there, and the way he approaches his dishes, makes him more than just a cook. He's a chef's chef, the man who other chefs turn to for inspiration. His background in philosophy and his love of Japanese culture shine through in his science-driven cuisine and his innovative plating designs. 

He is a man who fries cubes of mayonnaise to serve with sliced pickled beef tongue and an onion streusel. He uses coconut as egg white and carrot as egg yolk to create a playful egg on a plate, complete with an egg yolk membrane to fool the eye. He makes noodles out of tofu and spaetzle out of chicken liver. The level of Dufresne's creativity has no limit, and his expertise is legendary. And the only way he was able to bend the expectations of his diners like this and stay on top was to guarantee the finest flavors in his dishes. 

It would take an extraordinary home cook to attempt to recreate Dufresne's dishes. It could be done, of course, but I am not that interested in creating food this fussy for eating at home nor do I have the patience for it. But I could not tear myself away from this cookbook. It is a work of art, showing one chef's genius with food and his place in culinary history. 

Although his restaurant wd~50 is no longer open (I've heard its closing compared to the closing of the iconic star-creating bar and NYC legend CBGB), its legacy remains. It remains in the work of chefs who follow in his footsteps and use culinary gastronomy to stretch our ideas of what food is, what it looks like, and how should taste. His legacy remains in our expanded understanding of food as art, as the delicacy and refinement of his plating left us breathless with anticipation. And it remains in the pages of this beautiful cookbook, filled with the vision of a true original. Buy it and shelve it with your books on photography, history, art, and philosophy. If your other books can handle the pressure, that is. 



Galleys for wd~50 were provided by Anthony Bourdain/Ecco through Edelweiss, with many thanks. 

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are several types of cookbooks, most obviously the ones for home use and the ones for professional use, and this is firmly in the latter category.
The ones for professional use tend to sell less, since cooks are broke.

This book is one of the most interesting and in depth looks at hydrocolloid use in professional kitchens. I have been mining this for ideas for the last ten years and continue to do so, I have even used it for ideas in pilot scale productions of plant based meats, as well as frou frou tasting menus.

I lived across the street from WD50 for a number of years, and only went to the bar once - again cooks are broke, but I can say I went in once and had a bevvie.

The three main hydrocolloid books - Handbook of Hydrocolloids, Second Edition (Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition) Handbook of Hydrocolloids, Kymos, and this, serve different purposes. The thing that really shines through here is the creative application of the science. Handbook is, of course, based on manufacturing and industrial food design, which has been beautifully translated into fun and funny recipes here.

I like Wylie's puns a lot as well.

[Cory · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like I should begin this by saying that Wylie Dufresne is my husband's doppelganger. I should also mention that I enjoy Dufresne and always like to see him appear on cooking shows. However, this cookbook was so outside the realm of usability and what I would care to do with my time, that it was silly. All the ingredients are measured in grams, which is far too complicated for me. I hate to weigh ingredients! Every recipe consists of 4-8 different, smaller recipes that you have to make just to compose a plate with about 1.02 ounces of food on it. And you would need so many chemicals and weird ingredients just to make one dish! At the end of the day, the dishes weren't even tempting enough for me to even consider. I mean, if you include a recipe for something called "meat glue" I feel like you don't really want people to make this food.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an impressive book. The recipes are fairly complex, not the kind of fare you knock out for weekday dinners. But...the use of ingredients and combination of techniques give the book its weight, which is amazing. I've also become more aware of presentation as an art form and this book teaches a lot via its beautiful presented dishes and photographs. This is the real subtext of the book. The author is an artist with a well developed style.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes are obviously insane and complicated and largely inaccessible to the home cook, but it tells a great story of the author’s approach. And goddamn the raisin purée buried in the back in delicious.

[Rodd · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this book a Zero, I would. Pretentious. A waste of good paper. He says in the Introduction, "We weren't saying, 'Look what we can do!'" No. He is saying, "Look what we can do, but you can't!"

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading his voice. having eaten there it was a chance to savor the memories of amazing inventive food with good friends

[Botzatzis Aris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Culinary blast

Excellent mentality and great innovation.
Recipes that goes beyond traditional cooking but at the same time respecting the guest.
A must read for every cook.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW.

That was trippy.

Am I making anything out of this cookbook? Are you kidding me?

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will add this book to my collection of books. I wish I had eaten at the restaurant before it closed.

[Honest Mabel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first recipe is basically starts off with no one will make this again unless they are working their way up. So that’s good. But it’s fancy like not approachable fancy imho so no thanks

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such precision and interesting ingredients. Enjoyed reading it and understand now how some restaurant dishes are made.