Every once in a while a cookbook comes along that disrupts the conventional wisdom of what a cookbook should be. That’s clearly the case with The New Napa Cuisine by Christopher Kostow, executive chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley. This is the first book by the three Michelin-starred chef and it’s more an essay on his personal journey as a chef since taking over the reins at Meadowood in February 2008 than it is a collection of recipes from The Restaurant’s menu.
“This is a book about humanity and eating and families and sharing and caring and generosity,” Jesse Ziff Cool is a well known restauranteur and cookbook author based in Silicon Valley. She’s long been an advocate of eating locally, in season and organically, way before it was in vogue. Jesse opened Flea Street Café in Menlo Park, Calif., where her menus have reflected this way of cooking and eating for 33 years. She’s the first one to say however she’s not a chef, but “a cook.” Jesse’s a passionate person, not only about food but about causes she believes in. When she gets behind a project, she’s all in, hands-on. Photo by Tracy Craighead The book Jesse’s talking about is Share: A Cookbook That Celebrates Our Common Humanity. “Isn’t it joyful? It isn’t about despair, it’s about food and it’s joyful,” she says. The cookbook is the result of a…