Christophe Pele, Le Clarence; Livre De Cuisine

Christophe Pelé's career includes time in legendary kitchens such as Ledoyen, Lasserre, and Pierre Gagnaire.

He'd actually take a few years away from restaurant kitchens before being lured back to open up a new restaurant in one of Paris's grand hotels, which advertises that "Chef Christophe Pelé's cooking revisits the great classics of French cuisine in an audacious, modern, and devilishly seductive way."

This handsome book supports that argument very well. The gorgeous photography helps make the case. As do surprising dishes such as langoustines and sweetbreads with nori and caviar; eggplant, vitello tonnato and duck hearts; lacquered cuttlefish and foie gras with horseradish and cèpes; and almost desserts such as baba au rhum with caviar, grapefruit caramel, and crème au chèvre. We can't say that we have seen food like this in other recent French restaurant books. Hardcover. Color photographs throughout. In French.