A Dash of Genius (Kindle Single)

In master chef Jeremiah Tower’s exclusive eBook on the world’s first international superstar chef, we find out why Auguste Escoffier is still today the most famous chef who has ever lived.

Includes several original recipes and their easily-cooked adaptations by Tower for the home cook of today.

“Auguste Escoffier was the first great star of modern cooking. Acknowledged during his lifetime as the greatest chef in the world.” Kenneth James author of Escoffier. The King of Chefs

“Auguste Escoffier--the culinary legend whose brilliance and dedication changed the course of culinary history forever.” From the book description of his Memories of My Life.

“I am the Emperor of Germany, but you are the Emperor of Chefs.” Germany's Emperor Wilhelm II


Why anyone would want to read about a chef who wore formal wear and high heels in the kitchen? Or who modernized restaurant kitchens while bemoaning the disappearance of wood in their stoves? The answer is simple — because cooking and restaurants in America would not be what they are today without him. Because the principles he taught, lectured, and wrote about in Europe and America, are the foundation of all that is taught in culinary schools and the best restaurants.
By the time Escoffier died in Monte Carlo in 1935, this slender, aquiline, handsome, perceptive little man with brilliant dark eyes and snowy hair and moustache had transformed the world of both professional chefs and amateur cooks, not only in France, but the United States and England. He taught the English to eat frogs and Americans to turn from T-bones to filet of sole with lobster sauce, Tournedos Rossini, and Pêche Melba. After Escoffier there were recipes for everything for everyone from scrambled eggs on buttered toast to strawberries à la Ritz with whipped cream as well as all the usual elaborate dishes for the rich.
But the book is not just about food. Read about London, Paris, and Monte Carlo with the most glittering international society the world has ever seen, lead by the future King of England, Russian Grand Dukes, Princes, and the most famous actresses and courtesans of the day. Also included are the creation of the first great modern hotels by César Ritz and Escoffier, and the even grander parties, huge successes, and disasters brilliantly and famously avoided by them - the world’s greatest hospitality team.


Mario Batali: “I consider Jeremiah Tower my ultimate mentor, and his voice, style, and opinions the arbiters of taste and truth in the restaurant industry.”

Daniel Boulud: “Jeremiah Tower’s erudite references to other cookbooks and gastronomic luminaries have made me rethink my entire culinary library.”

Bruce Palling: “Jeremiah Tower virtually created the concept of California Cuisine.” Wall Street Journal Europe, 2010

Charlie Trotter: “Jeremiah Tower is firmly ensconced in the pantheon of great American chefs.”