Chef Kenny Kunz is a thoughtful, deliberate cook, who carefully considers his work in the kitchen and the dishes he is preparing. The cookbooks he recommends for us are true classics from the greats.
Kenny Kunz
Cook, Ulivo, Philadelphia, PA
Recommended Cookbooks:
A Return to Cooking, Eric Ripert
The French Laundry Cookbook, Thomas Keller
Italian Cooking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, Culinary Institute of America
There are so many cookbooks I use for inspiration on a regular basis. A Return to Cooking, by Eric Ripert, and The French Laundry Cookbook, by Thomas Keller, are both great because they talk about more than recipes. They talk about inspiration, the importance of fundamentals, and those things appeal to me as a restaurant professional.
There is one traditional recipe cookbook that I really do use a lot and draw much inspiration from. The C.I.A’s Italian Cooking. One of its three authors, Alberto Vanoli, is an amazing Italian chef, who I had the privilege of working with a long time ago at the opening of the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia. This book is full of beautiful, simple, traditional, Italian food. Every time I use this book it is like reconnecting with my old Chef, and simultaneously revisiting Italy.
