First Cookbooks

Do you ever wonder where a chef's passion comes from?Ā  Is he born with it?Ā  Is it passed downĀ from her mother's apron strings?Ā  Or was it from sheer necessity of having a mother who can't boil water?Ā  I polled a few of our chef's toĀ learn about the first cookbook orĀ recipe that launched their culinary career: Dan Blumenthal: It should come as no surprise to learn that Dan pulledĀ Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking from his family's collection for his first read.Ā  But I had to dig a little deeper to find the first recipe that spoke to him.Ā  The answer: He found inspiration in the pages of Chinese Gastronomy byĀ Hsiang Ju Lin and Tsui Feng Lin which taught him to how to build layers of flavor in Hot Pepper Chicken. Payton Warren: Payton started cooking from an early age.Ā  He can't say for sure, but odds are he turned to the back of a Campbell's Soup Can for an Asian Beef and Broccoli.Ā  And while his family did not have a culinary library, he does remember flipping throughĀ a Better Home and Gardens annual. Aven Whittington: Although not a chef, Aven authors his culinary events with a knowledge of food that stems from pure curiosity, a little timeĀ on the line andĀ hometown pride.Ā Ā Aven leaned on Jacques Pepin's La Technique forĀ step-by-step pictorials onĀ everything fromĀ how to chop an onion to how to truss a chicken.Ā  But he says, "I haveĀ soft place in my heart for the New York Times cookbook by Craig Claiborne because he comes from my home town of Greenwood."

<em>New York Times Cookbook</em>