David Tanis
David Tanis has worked as a professional chef for over three decades, and is the author of several acclaimed cookbooks, including A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes, which was chosen as one of the 50 best cookbooks ever by the Guardian/Observer (U.K.).
He spent many years as chef with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California; he ran the kitchen of the highly praised Café Escalera in Santa Fe, New Mexico; and he operated a successful private supper club in his 17th century walk-up in Paris.
Passionate about simple, seasonal home cooking—real food—he finds inspiration in the fresh offerings at farmers’ markets as well as in dusty gardens and muddy fields. He is also inspired by his travel and exploration of many regional cuisines of Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
He has written for a number of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian/Observer (U.K.), Cooking Light, Bon Appétit, Fine Cooking and Saveur.
He lives in Manhattan and writes the weekly City Kitchen column for the Food section of New York Times.
His latest cookbook is One Good Dish, Artisan 2013
“Give two cooks the same ingredients and the same recipe; it is fascinating to observe how, like handwriting, their results differ. After you cook a dish repeatedly, you begin to understand it. Then you can reinvent it a bit and make it yours. A written recipe can be useful, but sometimes the notes scribbled in the margin are the key to a superlative rendition. Each new version may inspire improvisation based on fresh understanding. It doesn't have to be as dramatic as all that, but such exciting minor epiphanies keep cooking lively.”