Flavors of Taste, from Jeremiah Tower
Jeremiah Tower, Patron of the Oxford Cultural Collective, has recently published his tenth book, Flavors of Taste. It is a work that captures his unique contribution as a chef and host: a contribution that revolutionised American cooking and changed the nature of dining out.
“Flavors of Taste is all about ingredients as the wellspring of any good cuisine – the stars of the show – even more that the cook. It’s about what they mean to me and, more importantly, that they have meant to others, often as part of memorable culinary moments.”
Jeremiah Tower
Jeremiah Tower’s career in food began in 1972 at the acclaimed Chez Panisse in Berkeley, from where he became a key player in the emerging Californian cuisine movement. After moving on from Chez Panisse (and escaping his famously tempestuous relationship with Alice Waters), he launched Stars in San Francisco, which was an immediate success. With a clientele that included Liza Minnelli, Rudolph Nureyev, Luciano Pavarotti and Joe Di Maggio, Stars was firmly established as the ‘go to’ destination for the leading cultural figures of the age, and Jeremiah secured his position as America’s first ‘celebrity chef’.
Flavors of Taste was written in partnership with Kit Wohl, author of The James Beard Foundation’s Best of the Best: A 25th Anniversary Celebration of America’s Outstanding Chefs. Wohl also wrote The Arnaud’s Restaurant Cookbook and the P&J Oyster Cookbook. The book is illustrated with beautiful photographs from Sam Hanna.
To order your copy of Flavors of Taste, follow this link.
The Last Magnificent, a biographical documentary that is now available on Netflix, is focused on Jeremiah Tower’s fascinating life and career. The film was produced by Anthony Bourdain, chef, writer and broadcaster, who was determined to record Tower’s impact on modern American cuisine.
“He was the original. He was the first chef in America that you wanted to see in the dining room. He was the guy who transformed American menus from what they were to what they are now. He’s a hugely compelling personality, a dangerous man. He’s the history of everything. It’s all there. It’s a great story as well as an historical correction that needs to be made.”
Anthony Bourdain