Written as a series of interconnected essayswith recipesRelæ provides a rare glimpse into the mind of a top chef, and the opportunity to learn the language of one of the worlds most pioneering and acclaimed restaurants.
Chef Christian F. Puglisi opened restaurant Relæ in 2010 on a rough, run-down stretch of one of Copenhagens most crime-ridden streets. His goal was simple: to serve impeccable, intelligent, sustainable, and plant-centric food of the highest qualityin a setting that was devoid of the pretention and frills of conventional high-end restaurant dining. Relæ was an immediate hit, and Puglisis to the bone ethoswhich emphasized innovative, substantive cooking over crisp white tablecloths or legions of water-pouring, napkin-folding waitersbecame a rallying cry for chefs around the world. Today the Jægersborggadewhere Relæ and its more casual sister restaurant, Manfreds, are locatedis one of Copenhagens most vibrant and exciting streets. And Puglisi continues to excite and surprise diners with his genre-defying, wildly inventive cooking.
Relæ is Puglisis much-anticipated debut: like his restaurants, the book is honest, unconventional, and challenges our expectations of what a cookbook should be. Rather than focusing on recipes, the core of the book is a series of interconnected idea essays, which reveal the ingredients, practical techniques, and philosophies that inform Puglisis cooking. Each essay is connected to one (or many) of the dishes he serves, and readers are invited to flip through the book in whatever sequence inspires themfrom idea to dish and back to idea again. The result is a deeply personal, utterly unique reading experience.
