With a new book, JGV: A Life in 12 Recipes ($27, W. W. Norton & Company), hitting shelves, we checked in with famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten with our most, ahem, burning questions.
1.What do you hope readers will take away from the book? This book is great for aspiring chefs, as well as anyone starting off in their career. I hope readers gain an insight into my life and what it took for me to get to where I am today.
2. So why do you enjoy cooking? I love to make people happy, and cooking allows me to do that through food.
3. What’s your favorite dish from the book? The book starts off with a chapter about my childhood that ends with the recipe for my mother’s goose stew. What I love about the way she makes this dish is how she uses coffee in the recipe. I learned this technique after working at a three-star restaurant and was amazed to find that this simple ingredient added so much flavor to the stew. My mother’s home cooking has been very influential on my cooking style.
4. What’s next for you? The last opening of 2019 was The Grill in The Connaught Hotel in London. I am working on a few projects that will be opening in 2020.
5. Which city has the best cuisine then? I would have to say New York City since you can get authentic food from all around the world in this city.