OP: The Elements of Taste

Little, Brown and Company, 2001. Hardcover. Very Good Minus. Signed.

This is a book of lasting significance by a brilliant chef. It was high on store founder Nach Waxman’s “Most Admired” list from the first day he saw it. 

The Elements of Taste (2001) is a cookbook, but, as its title suggests, it is also a profound look at the fundamental characteristics of food—a collection of fine, imaginative dishes based on an exhilarating theoretical platform. 

It is the creation of the great Gray Kunz (1955–2020) who was born in Singapore but trained and began his career in Switzerland. He came to New York where, from 1991 until 1998, he was the much lauded chef of Lespinasse. He was a thinker who was interested in the underpinnings of the cooking that he offered.

Kunz identifies fourteen “elements of taste”—those that “push” (salty, picante, sweet); those that “pull” (tangy, vinted, bulby, spiced aromatic, floral herbal, and funky); those that “punctuate” (sharp/bitter); and those he calls “taste platforms” (garden, meaty, oceanic, and starchy). 

The recipes are beautifully conceived and presented with careful instructions, tasting notes, plating descriptions, and exquisite color photography. And, while the recipes are by no means beside the point, it is clear that they are there primarily to illustrate the ways in which flavors may be used together—sometimes to harmonize, sometimes to establish startling contrasts. 

Published in 2009, the book is handsome and inviting. It is good to cook from and, even for those whose cooking is not in his style, it is rewarding reading. Ours is a second printing, graded Very Good Minus due to a blueish dampstain to the top edge, primarily impacting the jacket. Otherwise, the interior is totally clean. Signed by the chef to the half title page.