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The Art of Flavour: Practices and Principles for Creating Delicious Food
'Mandy Aftel's latest work with Daniel Patterson is a masterpiece on the science of cooking from an olfactory and culinary perspective through the same lens. This book is a must for any chef or cook looking to find new inspirations and a deeper understanding of the way flavours work together.' Pratap Chahal (@thathungrychef), Flavour Bastard, Soho, London'Am counting down the days till your book arrives!' Nigella LawsonDaniel Patterson, a chef, and Mandy Aftel, a perfumer, present a revolutionary new approach to creating delicious, original food. Aftel and Patterson are rock stars in their respective Patterson has won two Michelin stars for his San Francisco restaurant Coi and numerous James Beard and other food awards, and his new path-breaking co-venture Loco'l is attracting national interest; Aftel has been profiled in the New York Times T Magazine and other publications and is constantly featured and quoted in magazines and blogs. In a world awash with cooking shows, food blogs and recipes, the art of flavour has been surprisingly neglected. The multibillion-dollar flavour industry practises its dark arts by manipulating synthetic ingredients, and home cooks are taught to wield the same blunt salt, acid, sugar, heat.But foods in their natural states are infinitely more nuanced than the laboratory can replicate - and offer far greater possibilities for deliciousness. Chef Daniel Patterson and natural perfumer Mandy Aftel are experts at orchestrating ingredients, and here they teach readers how to make the most of nature's palette. The Art of Flavour proceeds not by rote formula but via a series of mind-opening and palate-expanding tools and using a flavour 'compass' to find the way to transformative combinations of aromatic ingredients; pairing ingredients to make them 'bury' (control) one another and 'lock' (achieve an alchemy that transcends the sum of the parts); learning to deploy cooking methods for maximum effect; and the seven 'dials' that allow a cook to fine-tune a dish. With more than sixty recipes that allow the cook to grasp each concept and put it into practice, The Art of Flavour is food for the imagination that will help cooks at any level to become flavour virtuosos in their own right.From The Flavour Bible on, flavour has been a particular focus of recent interest, but no one has Patterson's and Aftel's unique perspective on it, their combined expertise, or their winning blend of ideas, information, recipes and cooking and perfuming lore. The Art of Flavour is a thinking person's cookbook that uses recipes to instil principles for creating delicious food at home, larded with fascinating information on the history and science of flavour that make it a great armchair read as well.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 10, 2018
126 people are currently reading
1220 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 16, 2020
A good guide for flavor mixing.
January 10, 2019
The goal of the book is to encourage cooks to use their imaginations for the ingredients that are available. By providing concepts and tools, the cookbook intends to prepare us for our own palates and pantries, to ultimately free us from recipes.
The book starts with a brief, intriguing history of flavor and its evolution. The second chapter encourages readers to develop their own sense of ingredients through looking at various variables from texture to shape, from intensity to flavor facets to develop a personalized taste vocabulary. They take the reader through the example of butternut squash which clarifies a process which might at first seem a bit vague. The emphasis here is on coming to an ingredient as it is at that moment and then thinking about what could make it good.
They list four rules of flavor which can be summarized as provide contrast, provide complementary combinations, lighten up heavy flavors, provide some depth. They add the concept of “locking”, when flavors combine to create an alchemy of taste, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts: not a cappuccino where you are simply adding flavors but chocolate mixed into coffee where the flavors meld. Burying is another concept, which seems to be subsuming an ingredient either intentionally or unintentionally which results in a muting of a flavor which can be good or bad for the overall taste. One chapter focuses on spices, another on cooking methods and another on taste such as sweet, salty, etc.
Reading through the few recipes, this is a text heavy cookbook, and the text should help readers develop a sense of how to think about foods to figure out what might compliment what. Most of the recipes appear to be vehicles to learn about the tool they reflect rather than recipes one would necessarily just make for a meal. The biggest limitation, from my perspective, is having an idea of how much of anything to use. Proportion is briefly discussed but more as a “you need to try proportions and see what works”, which maybe is the only way to do it.
I imagine using this book as a reference and looking at it when I’m trying to decide what to add to a dish or even how to compose a meal, though the book doesn’t really address that. It is a reminder of what flavor options are available and how they work. I can’t imagine a new cook using this book, but for someone who wants to move away from following recipes, this might provide ideas.
The book starts with a brief, intriguing history of flavor and its evolution. The second chapter encourages readers to develop their own sense of ingredients through looking at various variables from texture to shape, from intensity to flavor facets to develop a personalized taste vocabulary. They take the reader through the example of butternut squash which clarifies a process which might at first seem a bit vague. The emphasis here is on coming to an ingredient as it is at that moment and then thinking about what could make it good.
They list four rules of flavor which can be summarized as provide contrast, provide complementary combinations, lighten up heavy flavors, provide some depth. They add the concept of “locking”, when flavors combine to create an alchemy of taste, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts: not a cappuccino where you are simply adding flavors but chocolate mixed into coffee where the flavors meld. Burying is another concept, which seems to be subsuming an ingredient either intentionally or unintentionally which results in a muting of a flavor which can be good or bad for the overall taste. One chapter focuses on spices, another on cooking methods and another on taste such as sweet, salty, etc.
Reading through the few recipes, this is a text heavy cookbook, and the text should help readers develop a sense of how to think about foods to figure out what might compliment what. Most of the recipes appear to be vehicles to learn about the tool they reflect rather than recipes one would necessarily just make for a meal. The biggest limitation, from my perspective, is having an idea of how much of anything to use. Proportion is briefly discussed but more as a “you need to try proportions and see what works”, which maybe is the only way to do it.
I imagine using this book as a reference and looking at it when I’m trying to decide what to add to a dish or even how to compose a meal, though the book doesn’t really address that. It is a reminder of what flavor options are available and how they work. I can’t imagine a new cook using this book, but for someone who wants to move away from following recipes, this might provide ideas.
February 13, 2018
Terrific book. Anyone who loves food should read it. It makes the reader examine the flavors that (s)he enjoys and why. And it also explains why the relationship between component flavors work together like notes in music - the bass notes (earthy, solid, comforting), the high notes (high, lifting, punctuating) and the middle notes (the connective flavors). Each flavor is a dial that can be modulated to create a harmonious tasting experience. Highly recommend. And thanks to my wife for buying this book for me.
December 17, 2017
For beginners and intermediate cooks. A pleasant read in understanding the basics and how to describe what we eat and smell.
February 23, 2018
I liked their way of thinking although I have some minor issues but screw it. Their recipes are mostly of little use to me but they do still mostly work as illustrations of their principles and the recipes are not the thing in this book anyway.
Wouldn't mind owning a copy if I had room for it.
got a copy for BD2018 from Jer & Kaja.
Wouldn't mind owning a copy if I had room for it.
got a copy for BD2018 from Jer & Kaja.
March 18, 2018
3 stars from a regular weekday cook. Was I intrigued by these two combining knowledge of fragrance and cooking? Absolutely. Did I feel that this book brought something new to the table (ha! no pun intended) out of the stacks of cookbooks released? Yes. But as a book trying to teach me something I liked Salt, Fat, Acid & Heat more.
December 6, 2018
There was more technical information than I expected in the first portion of the book. The information is great to employ in your daily cooking and baking.
May 25, 2020
A glimpse into the creative, nuanced thought process of world class chefs. Highly recommend.
June 2, 2018
This was the May pick of the Slow Food Chicago book club, one of the four (five?) book clubs that I am in. I sometimes lament that I have given away some choice in my reading to these clubs. Luckily this book was one I wouldn't have picked up on my own, and I found it both interesting and inspiring. That is what I call a resounding success in the world of book clubs.
This is a equal parts cookbook, historical text, and flavor bible. It's a little hard to explain, so I'll let the authors words from page 3 speak for themselves. This first excerpt differentiates it from a typical cookbook. "Most cookbooks are collections of recipes, little more. They tell you what to put together, but not why. They are, in effect, the footprints of their authors' process of creating, and there's much to be learned from repeating the recipes in them. But they don't leave you equipped to go on your own way." And here, they show what they aim to do in this text. "We aim to teach you to become a creative, confident cook who knows how to think about and respond to the ingredients available to you in ways that result in delicious memorable food."
In my opinion, they were largely successful. I enjoyed that they maintained a good balance between the historical and the practical. I got a fuller understanding of how current trends in food and flavor came to be, and learned a lot along the way which has already changed how I cook. The only downside to this book, and this is less a critique of the novel, but more the concept, is that it made me feel incredibly self-indulgent. As in, how lucky am I that I can read books about how to impart better flavor in my cooking, when there are people that don't have access to fresh vegetables? But I digress.
As a book club book it didn't foster a lot of conversation, not just because most people present didn't read the book, but also because this book didn't have any controversy or conflict. The best book club books are polarizing, with divergent opinions on the author and content, but this was really just a "like it or didn't" sort of situation. Still, as it exposed Slow Food members to new ways of thinking about food, it served its purpose.
This is a equal parts cookbook, historical text, and flavor bible. It's a little hard to explain, so I'll let the authors words from page 3 speak for themselves. This first excerpt differentiates it from a typical cookbook. "Most cookbooks are collections of recipes, little more. They tell you what to put together, but not why. They are, in effect, the footprints of their authors' process of creating, and there's much to be learned from repeating the recipes in them. But they don't leave you equipped to go on your own way." And here, they show what they aim to do in this text. "We aim to teach you to become a creative, confident cook who knows how to think about and respond to the ingredients available to you in ways that result in delicious memorable food."
In my opinion, they were largely successful. I enjoyed that they maintained a good balance between the historical and the practical. I got a fuller understanding of how current trends in food and flavor came to be, and learned a lot along the way which has already changed how I cook. The only downside to this book, and this is less a critique of the novel, but more the concept, is that it made me feel incredibly self-indulgent. As in, how lucky am I that I can read books about how to impart better flavor in my cooking, when there are people that don't have access to fresh vegetables? But I digress.
As a book club book it didn't foster a lot of conversation, not just because most people present didn't read the book, but also because this book didn't have any controversy or conflict. The best book club books are polarizing, with divergent opinions on the author and content, but this was really just a "like it or didn't" sort of situation. Still, as it exposed Slow Food members to new ways of thinking about food, it served its purpose.
September 11, 2020
A book about flavor told from both a culinary and cosmetic point of view. Though one would hope that combining the two would yield an even greater understanding, to me it just muddles the two. Cosmetic/perfume is such a one sense application, the sense of smell. Whereas food is a feast for all the senses sight, smell, touch, taste, and yes even sound on occasion. I came to the book from a culinary approach as I am a baker by profession and thus found the endlessly mind-numbing breakdown of every flavor property tedious, and the sections on approaching perfume smell from a high point, a low point, and a bridge between the two irrelevant and inapplicable. Separately, these two may have worked, combined they do not. Food isn't a math equation of savory, plus sweet, equals delicious, it's far too complex. Plus, The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs already exists. Do we even need this? It's far more focused and comprehensive.
All that combined with a totally flat ending left me disappointed to say the least.
All that combined with a totally flat ending left me disappointed to say the least.
May 22, 2018
This book is not a "revolutionary new approach to creating delicious food." It is, however, an excellent and thoughtful book providing insight and tools to better identify and describe the food we make and eat. A thorough mastery of said tools will give you a greater depth of understanding when it comes to your pallet and the interplay of specific flavors and taste experiences. I found this book to be enlightening and a breath of fresh air in the ultra-salted and over-sugared world of processed western cuisine. Wishful food lovers and burgeoning kitchen creatives alike should give this book a read.
August 23, 2018
Excellent book on the subject of flavor--exactly as the denotes. It's mostly about how to craft flavor for cooking, and the authors have a lot of great advice there, but I love how they also focus heavily on scent, which is a critical component of flavor. One of the authors is a professional cook and the other is a professional perfumer with her own perfume line--which I've tried and it is spectacular. Great book.
April 13, 2019
I found this book in the library and was conflicted since it's conceptual instead of recipes and pictures. I trust Daniel Patterson so I took it and after 2 hours of binge reading I found myself making grilled radicchio salad with goat butter & thyme vinagrette. This book is a great way to unlock the potential in your cooking by teaching you how to assess ingredients instead of assembling a catalogue of combinations you've recorded or remembered.
March 4, 2021
The book was rather dry, but there was clearly a lot of thought that was put into recipes that highlighted the principles that they were sharing. It felt like the authors don't write much (which is probably true), thus it was a struggle at times. I also expected more out of the book, and though some of the principles were pretty useful/interesting (ie. the 7 dials, and the four rules of flavour), most of it felt quite redundant. Will try out some of the recipes though!
April 20, 2025
Such a fascinating read. Definitely made me look at food and scent in a whole new way. I also loved the in depth recipes with helpful theories, explanations and suggestions to take my cooking to the next level.
October 6, 2017
A collaborative work between a Michelin star chef and a perfumer, The Art of Flavor is part cookbook and part a reference about the different aspects of flavor.
January 4, 2018
enjoyed the interesting recipes, happy to add to my cook book collection.
February 23, 2018
Didn't seem too useful
May 20, 2019
Close to what I was looking for in terms of explaining how flavors work.
June 10, 2021
While I appreciated the research that went into this book, it was boring.
Read
December 27, 2022Was a great book if you are looking into flavor and taste. Cooks and chefs will love it!
October 15, 2023
Good for providing basic understanding for new and generally skilled cooks on how flavors work in cooking.
October 6, 2019
Opened my eyes to a lot of cooking concepts.
October 17, 2017
This book is an inspiration to anyone who enjoys cooking, from the home cook to professional chef. The Art of Flavor dives into the wide world of flavors, why they work the way they do, how to properly match flavors, and different methods of cooking for different end results. The writing is not only packed with information, but it is an enjoyable read. You are on a flavor journey, your mouth waters as you turn each page, and your mind fills with new ideas you can't wait to try. Excellent recipes are scattered throughout the book (try the fermented mushrooms!). The Art of Flavor is a book I will turn to for years to come.
December 3, 2020
Calling it fine for now since whoever decided this would make a good audio book can feel free to read my shopping list and make a podcast out of it. Actually the first several chapters would have been very interesting in that format, but now that we’re in the weeds going spice/herb/flower one by one, I think I’d better enjoy this as a physical book to page through.
February 26, 2019
What’s amazing about the writing is how the author takes you through the thought process of creating a recipe. How decisions are made, what the results might be. A proper reading for the home cook not wanting to stick to recipes!
December 18, 2017
Tried really hard to finish but it just wasn’t engaging or terribly practical
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews