Some have arisen by the work and grace of chance;
others as
revenge
for an aggrieved partner;
There are those that evoke a childhood memory and those that are born as a tribute or just because.
But they all have something in common: they are emblematic dishes that have marked
the direction of the kitchen
, from the first dining rooms of the 18th century to the present, and which have now been collected in the book
Platos con firma
(Editorial Planeta Gastro).
This anthology - selected by food experts Susan Jung;
Howie Kahn;
Pat Nourse;
Andrea Petrini;
Diego Salazar and Richard Vines, with texts by Christine Muhlke and illustrations by Adriano Rampazzo- tells the story, in chronological order, of the last 300 years of world cuisine.
The narrative format?
The
238 recipes
that have been drawing the evolution of the kitchen, named dishes, the restaurant and / or the chef who created, improved or made them famous.
'Whoops!
I dropped the lemon cake ', by Massimo Bottura.
"There are many reasons why these dishes remain a reference. An establishment may have been
the first to serve something
, like the gelato at Le Procope in 18th-century Paris, or the last, like the soufflé al Grand Marnier from La Grenouille in New York. A chef may have invented
something totally new
, like Ferran and Albert Adrià's spherical green olives-I at elBulli, or
perfected
something very old, like Fergus Henderson's eccles cakes at St. John's ", explains in the foreword to the book Mitchell Davis, specialized journalist.
The recipes and their genesis
These proposals have stood the test of time to become icons.
And since everything has an
intrahistory
, each dish is accompanied by its
biography
: when and why it was born and the role it has played in the kitchen.
The book also includes
original recipes
in case you dare to make them at home.
But let's go back to the starting point, to the 18th century and to Procopio Cutò and his café, Le Procope, one of the first in Paris and the
favorite
of personalities and intellectuals of the time ... Cutò -Sicilian chef who inherited a machine from his grandfather to make sorbets - popularized
gelato
, served in an egg-shaped cup, by substituting honey for sugar and adding salt to ice to speed up the freezing process.
The fact that he had the
royal patent
to exclusively sell the ice cream
contributed to this success
.
Vegetable stew in textures, by Ferran Adrià.
Much later, in 1936, in Nashville (Tennessee, USA), Thornton Prince III turned the
culinary
revenge
of his girlfriend into the star dish of the local Prince's Hot Chiken Shack:
spicy chicken
, a gastronomic icon of that part of the world.
The young woman, angry because one night she had arrived very late, prepared a
fiery fried chicken
for breakfast
, with cayenne and many other spices.
Contrary to expectations, however, Thornton - and later legions of spicy chicken fans - loved it.
Replicas
The
chocolate coulant
that French chef Michel Bras created in 1981 and served at his Bras restaurant was
born
while sipping a comforting hot chocolate after a chilly afternoon spent cross-country skiing.
But the creative process was not as fast as it seems, it took two years to perfect this dessert that has been
replicated to infinity
... and beyond, even by Bras himself, who came to make more than 100 versions.
Black cod with miso, by Nobu Matsuhisa.
There are dishes that have helped
build empires
.
For example, the black cod with miso that
Nobu Matsuhisa
signed in 1987, in his homonymous restaurant in the United States, and that today is available in the dozens of dining rooms and hotels that the famous Japanese chef has around the world.
Coincidences
Others are the result of
luck
, like the souffle potatoes that Jean-Louis-Françoise Collinet accidentally invented in 1837, or of a
lucky
fall, like
Oops!
I dropped the lemon cake
, the unique
dish
with which the Italian
Massimo Bottura
surprised in 2012, at his Osteria Francescana (Modena, Italy), and which
arose
when one of the cakes fell on the kitchen counter and was broke.
They can also be the result of a memory of adolescence.
That is the origin of the
Corazón
that
Virgilio Martínez
offers in his Peruvian restaurant (Central), inspired by the
anticuchos
(beef hearts marinated on the grill with chili peppers) that he ate when he was a young
skateboarder
.
Carrot tartare, by Daniel Humm.
But there are more, many more, iconic recipes.
There they go:
Gualtiero Marchesi's
risotto with saffron and gold
leaf
;
the red mullet with potato flakes, a trompe l'oeil that
Paul Bocuse
, father of
Nouvelle cuisine
,
signed in the 1970s
;
the Provencal vegetable dish with black truffle by
Alain Ducasse
that made the orchard the protagonist of haute cuisine in the 80s;
the carrot tartare, with a chopper included at the diner's table, by
Daniel Humm
at Eleven Madison Park (New York) or the potted radishes by
René Redzepi
, the unique starter that the Danish offered at his restaurant Noma, in 2010.
Spanish representation
This anthology could not miss the great national
names
that have revolutionized not only Spanish cuisine, but also
international
cuisine
.
And what have been the cooks and recipes chosen?
Well, let's get to it: Pedro Arregi and
the grilled turbot
that, since 1967, has been served in Elkano;
the
kaberka cake
that Juan Mari Arzak devised almost 50 years ago;
the
grilled anchovies
from Bittor Arginzoniz, in Etxebarri;
the
carpaccio of trotters
Joan Roca, the first course with which she says felt really satisfied, and dessert of his brother Jordi,
Eternity by Calvin Klein
, inspired by
the fragrance
of Patrick Suskind, bergamot and famous fragrance of the American designer.
'Eternity by Calvin Klein, by Jordi Roca.
How not to include the
elBulli universe
?
Here are
the vegetable stew in textures
by Ferrán Adrià who, in 1994, pointed the way to
techno-emotional
cuisine
;
the foam of smoke, a show of technique, and the
spherical green olives-I
that he created with his brother Albert.
Also present is another revolutionary of Spanish cuisine and two of his creations:
Andoni Luis Aduriz
(Mugaritz) and his
edible stones
and grilled duck foie gras with hedgehog yolk caviar and a spicy accent, the result of a complex project in which he worked with professors from the University of Granada.
And to close, a mega-famous dish, the
Big Mac
.
Yes, that hamburger with special sauce that the owner of a McDonald's franchise in Pennsylvania started selling in 1967. The success was such that, in 1980,
The Economist
devised the
Big Mac Index
that compares the purchasing power of different countries based on the price of this burger.
History of the kitchen ... and the economy.
Signature plates
, edited by Planeta Gastro, is on sale now.
Price: 45 euros.
Provence vegetable dish with black truffle, by Alain Ducasse.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
LEGUMES14 places where lentils are addicted
LiteratureThe last months of Joan Margarit: the serene farewell of family and friends
Literature Edna O'Brien: "Once I was obedient and very religious, but inside me the storm raged hidden"
See links of interest
Work calendar
Sassuolo - Napoli
TD Systems Baskonia - Olympiacos Piraeus
Burnley - Leicester City
Sheffield United - Aston Villa
Barcelona - Seville, live