New Cookbook By Six-star Chef Alain Ducasse Crosses Cultural Boundaries

Spoon Food & Wine, a May 2003 cookbook release from Connecticut-based publisher Ici La Press, showcases the boldly innovative dishes developed by Michelin six-star chef Alain Ducasse for his iconoclastic "Spoon" restaurants worldwide.

Alain Ducasse, the internationally acclaimed chef and owner of Michelin three-star restaurants in Paris and Monte Carlo and "Alain Ducasse" at the Essex House in New York, serves up an extraordinary array of original creations inspired by the cuisines of many cultures in Spoon Food & Wine. Popularized at Ducasse's "Spoon" restaurants in London, Paris, Tokyo, Saint Tropez and Mauritius, the 252 recipes featured in Spoon reflect a fusion of classic French technique with culinary influences of the Mediterranean region, the Americas and West Indies, the Middle East and Asia.

Proceeding from appetizers and starters to entrees and desserts, the book complements each recipe with suggested pairings of suitable quality wines recommended from vineyards around the world. Spoon provides original recipes for stocks, sauces and dressings required in preparations, as well as for dozens of accompaniments suggested to enhance the enjoyment of specific dishes.

A few examples: Try a starter of Pork and prawn ravioli with spicy tomato syrup accompanied by Buttered baby spinach. For a fish entree, consider Grilled lacquered sole paired with Baby leeks with sesame seed coating. Try a twist on a simple dinner, Veal burgers with straw potato cakes, or a more elaborate dish like Roast duck and Noodles with spring onions and mushrooms. Finish with Lemon cream tarts or, if you're in a whimsical mood, Spoon's chocolate pizza.

In his introduction to Spoon Food & Wine, Ducasse declares that he aims to awaken in every reader a "spirit of exploration" which recognizes "that you are not trapped on a motorway of taste." Combining simplicity with sophistication, "Spoon has taught me that life is a chameleon--it takes on the colors of our desires," he writes. "With this book, I feel as if my cooking has taken on a new, free, cheeky and slightly provocative personality, unlike that of my forebears, but what today's food lovers want."

Alain Ducasse's remarkable career has gone from strength to strength. Born in the Landes region of southwest France, he was still a teenager when he began training in the art of classic French cooking. He earned his first two Michelin stars at "La Terrasse," then moved to "Louis XV" in Monte Carlo. Under his direction, "Louis XV" became the first hotel restaurant to be awarded three Michelin stars in 1990. "Louis XV" again earned a three-star rating in the 2003 Michelin Red Guide released this February.

Ducasse's Parisian restaurant "Plaza Athenee" also gained a Michelin three-star rating in 2001. He has won wide acclaim as well for his first US restaurant, "Alain Ducasse" at the Essex House in New York City, which opened in 2000.

His culinary innovations took a fresh and intriguing direction with launch of his chain of "Spoon" restaurants--and Spoon Food & Wine provides a grand sampler of the extraordinary results.

-- Spoon Food & Wine by Alain Ducasse, May 2003, $40, 216 pages. Published by Ici La Press, 694 Main Street South, Woodbury, CT 06798. ISBN 1-931605-11-4.