OP: Fish and Shellfish

Opt Art, 2003. Hardcover in slipcase. Fine. First printing.

Opt Art is a Swiss publishing company founded in 1993 by photographer Bruno Hausch and Christine Messer Hausch with the aim of producing high-quality periodicals and limited edition books that emphasize the art in culinary arts. 

In the early 2000s, the company expanded its catalog of annual, geographically oriented chef and restaurant books to also include limited edition monographs like one featuring Paul Haeberlin’s Auberge de l'Ill and this 2003 book dedicated to the fish and shellfish recipes of fine dining chefs around the world.

Beginning with basic butchering and preparation techniques and then launching into hundreds of recipes, each occupying a single page and accompanied on the facing by an attractive, close up image of the composed dish. One of the more overtly functional books to come out of Opt Art’s press, for those looking for fresh ideas and inspiration.

The book is handsomely bound in baby blue with the title stamped in silver foil and protected in a sturdy slipcase. 495 pages, 13.25” x 10.5”. Ours is in Fine, unused condition. First printing.