The chef/proprietor of Norman's, the widely acclaimed Miami restaurant, offers a collection of recipes for his dazzling and multicultural New World cuisine--a blend of Latin, Caribbean, Asian and American flavors.

200 make-at-home masterpiece dishes from the virtuoso of new world cuisine, Norman Van Aken.

No Experience Necessary is Chef Norman Van Aken’s joyride of a memoir. In it he spans twenty-plus years and nearly as many jobs—including the fateful job advertisement in the local paper for a short-order cook with “no experience necessary.” Long considered a culinary renegade and a pioneering chef, Van Aken is an American original who chopped and charred, sweated and seared his way to cooking stardom with no formal training, but with extra helpings of energy, creativity, and faith. After landing on the deceptively breezy shores of Key West, Van Aken faced hurricanes, economic downturns, and mercurial moneymen during the decades when a restaurant could open and close faster than you can type haute cuisine. From a graveyard shift grunt at an all-night barbeque joint to a James Beard–award finalist for best restaurant in America, Van Aken put his trusting heart, poetic soul, natural talent, and ever-expanding experience into every venture—and helped transform the American culinary landscape along the way. In the irreverent tradition of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential,and populated by a rogues’ gallery of colorful characters—including movie stars, legendary musicians, and culinary giants Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse, and Charlie Trotter—No Experience Necessary offers a uniquely personal, highly-entertaining under-the-tablecloth view of the high-stakes world of American cuisine told with wit, insight, and great affection by a natural storyteller.

Award-winning chef Norman Van Aken has been cooking in Florida for 40 years. My Key West Kitchen is his love letter to Key West, where he first found the passion to cook, and where the unique cultural makeup of the island influenced his cuisine today. Follow Chef Van Aken as he strolls through Key West, reminiscing and re-creating dishes from "little joints" and restaurants both past and present. Norman includes recipes for his own take of the first foods and drinks he experienced in Key West and how they seemed "different than ordinary American fare," from the Sunday Fish Fry at Capt. Tony's to the Rib Sandwich and Dark & Stormy from the Bahama Village Elk's Club. Norman also focuses on the home cooking of Key West, whether it's "Yard Bird" Fricasse with Collard Greens and Pot Likker from the Tropical American South, Plaintain Soup from the Spanish Caribbean, or Nassau Grouper in Banana Leaves with Coconut "Run Down" from the British Caribbean. The colorful stories behind the recipes make My Key West Kitchen essential reading both in and out of the kitchen.

A sophisticated collection of 120 lesser-known Venetian specialties from London's edgy Soho district restaurant is complemented by sumptuous photography and includes such option as warm duck salad with beets and walnuts, crispy baby pizzas with zucchini and warm autumn fruits with amaretto cream. 25,000 first printing.

A dazzling tribute to Italy's greatest "hidden" regional cuisine by the author of the bestselling and groundbreaking cookbook Polpo Returning to the city of his gastronomic inspiration, Norman Russell immerses himself in the authentic recipes and culinary traditions of Venice and the Veneto in one hundred recipes showcasing the simple but exquisite flavors of La Serenissima. He documents one magical year learning and fine-tuning the specialties and everyday comfort foods of la cucina veneziana in a rustic kitchen in a neighborhood far from the tourist crowds -- where washing hangs across the narrow streets and some houses still rely on a communal well for water. Russell lovingly reproduces true Venetian recipes with authentic ingredients very different from the globalized tourist fare in the city's restaurants. The book is structured by season highlighting the ever-changing produce available in Venice's buzzing market stalls throughout the year. Included are Venetian favorites such as asparagus with Parmesan and anchovy butter, butternut risotto, arancini, rabbit cacciatore, warm duck salad with walnuts and beets, scallops with lemon and peppermint, and warm octopus salad. Russell also affords a rare and intimate glimpse into Venice: its hidden architectural gems, secret places, embedded history, the color and energy of daily life and the characters that make this city so enchanting

The debut cookbook from cult favorite Austin bakery and beer garden Easy Tiger, featuring recipes from author David Norman's time spent exploring bread traditions throughout Europe and North America, plus menu ideas for incorporating homemade bread into everyday meals. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW In this highly anticipated cookbook, culinary instructor and baker David Norman explores the European breadmaking traditions that inspire him most--from the rye breads of France to the saltless ciabattas of Italy to the traditional Christmas loaves of Scandinavia. Norman also offers recipes for traditional foods to accompany these regional specialties, so home bakers can showcase their freshly made breads alongside a traditional Swedish breakfast spread, oysters with mignonette, or country pâté, to name a few examples. With rigorous, detailed instructions plus showstopping photography, this book will surprise and delight bakers of all stripes.

Hidden behind rust-coloured frontage in the bustling heart of London's Soho, Spuntino is the epitome of New York's vibrant restaurant scene. After bringing the bàcari of Venice to the backstreets of the British capital at his critically acclaimed restaurant POLPO, Russell Norman scoured the scruffiest and quirkiest boroughs of the Big Apple to find authentic inspiration for an urban, machine-age diner. Since its smash-hit opening in 2011, the restaurant has delivered big bold flavours with a dose of swagger to the crowds who flock to its pewter-topped bar. Spuntino will take you on culinary adventure from London to New York and back, bringing the best of American cuisine to your kitchen. The 120 recipes include zingy salads, juicy sliders, oozing pizzette, boozy desserts and prohibition-era cocktails. You'll get a glimpse of New York foodie heaven as Russell maps out his walks through the city's cultural hubs and quirky neighbourhoods such as East Village and Williamsburg, discovering family-run delis, brasseries, street traders, sweet shops and liquor bars. With radiant photography by Jenny Zarins capturing New York's visceral grittiness, Spuntino pays homage to the energy, dynamism and extraordinary cuisine that the world's greatest melting pot has inspired.

Gourmand International World Cookbook Awards, Selected to Represent the USA in the Local Category Florida Book Awards, Gold Medal for Cooking Award-winning chef and restaurateur Norman Van Aken invites you to discover the richness of Florida's culinary landscape. This long-awaited cookbook embraces the history, the character, and the flavors of the state that has inspired Van Aken's famous fusion style for over forty years. Drawing from Florida's vibrant array of immigrant cultures, and incorporating local ingredients, the dishes in this book display the exciting diversity of Van Aken's "New World Cuisine." Recipes include Key lime beignets; cornbread-stuffed quail with strawberry-ancho-guava jam and sweet and sour parsnips; "Spanglish" tortillas with hash browns, creamed spinach, and serrano ham; pork stew with raisins, tamarind, plantains, and chiles; and fully loaded cracked conch po' boys. While preparing these dishes, readers will enjoy advice and stories straight from the kitchen of a master chef. Van Aken infuses his recipes with tips, techniques, and personality. He reveals the key to a good gumbo, praises the acidity of a pickled peppadew, connects food innovation to jazz and blues music, describes hitchhiking adventures across the state with his wife, Janet, and tells the tale behind the Mustachioed Swimmer, a cocktail named for Tennessee Williams. Norman Van Aken's Florida Kitchen is a delicious read--the definitive guide to the historic past and multicultural future of Florida's abundant foodways. With its forward-thinking blend of old and new, thoughtful step-by-step instructions for wonderful meals, and plenty of friendly conversation, this book is a rare immersion in a culinary artist's world.

If you’re passionate about eating well, you couldn’t ask for a better travel companion than Alexander Lobrano’s charming, friendly, and authoritative Hungry for Paris, the fully revised and updated guide to this renowned culinary scene. Having written about Paris for almost every major food and travel magazine since moving there in 1986, Lobrano shares his personal selection of the city’s best restaurants, from bistros featuring the hottest young chefs to the secret spots Parisians love. In lively prose that is not only informative but a pleasure to read, Lobrano reveals the ambience, clientele, history, and most delicious dishes of each establishment—alongside helpful maps and beautiful photographs that will surely whet your appetite for Paris. Praise for Hungry for Paris “Hungry for Paris is required reading and features [Alexander Lobrano’s] favorite 109 restaurants reviewed in a fun and witty way. . . . A native of Boston, Lobrano moved to Paris in 1986 and never looked back. He served as the European correspondent for Gourmet from 1999 until it closed in 2009 (also known as the greatest job ever that will never be a job again). . . . He also updates his website frequently with restaurant reviews, all letter graded.”—Food Republic “Written with . . . flair and . . . acerbity is the new, second edition of Alexander Lobrano’s Hungry for Paris, which includes rigorous reviews of what the author considers to be the city’s 109 best restaurants [and] a helpful list of famous Parisian restaurants to be avoided.”—The Wall Street Journal “A wonderful guide to eating in Paris.”—Alice Waters “Nobody else has such an intimate knowledge of what is going on in the Paris food world right this minute. Happily, Alexander Lobrano has written it all down in this wonderful book.”—Ruth Reichl “Delightful . . . the sort of guide you read before you go to Paris—to get in the mood and pick up a few tips, a little style.”—Los Angeles Times “No one is ‘on the ground’ in Paris more than Alec Lobrano. . . . This book will certainly make you hungry for Paris. But even if you aren’t in Paris, his tales of French dining will seduce you into feeling like you are here, sitting in your favorite bistro or sharing a carafe of wine with a witty friend at a neighborhood hotspot.”—David Lebovitz, author of The Sweet Life in Paris “Hungry for Paris is like a cozy bistro on a chilly day: It makes you feel welcome.”—The Washington Post “This book will make readers more than merely hungry for the culinary riches of Paris; it will make them ravenous for a dining companion with Monsieur Lobrano’s particular warmth, wry charm, and refreshingly pure joie de vivre.”—Julia Glass “[Lobrano is] a wonderful man and writer who might know more about Paris restaurants than any other person I’ve ever met.”—Elissa Altman, author of Poor Man’s Feast