Danielle Alvarez's thoughtful recipes, wisdom, and whimsy offer the foundations for a lifetime of joy and nourishment in the kitchen, at the table, and beyond.
Danielle Alvarez is an acclaimed restaurant chef, but Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking is dedicated to her favourite way of cooking: at home, for and with friends and family. It draws on her love of Italian and French food, her Cuban roots, time spent cooking in California and then in Australia, and all the incredible Asian influences that have coloured her time in Sydney.
The recipes are eclectic because her interests in flavour are diverse. We are so lucky to live in a world where one night we might be cooking something Indian, then next something Italian and then something Australian. Danielle celebrates this luxury, then applies the essential principles of respecting where food comes from and preparing it with care and attention.
Wherever you live, if you have a basic grocery store, you can adopt and enjoy the 100-plus recipes in this book. Every idea - from easy weeknight meals such as a Zucchini frittata or a hearty Cavolo nero and anchovy risotto, to more elaborate weekend projects like Bolognese with homemade Tagliatelle or a Sweet and sour cumin lamb shoulder, to gorgeous desserts such as Plum galette with a fennel creme anglaise - is designed to help you find happiness in your kitchen with the best that is available to you, and according to the ebbs and flows of your mood, budget, and tastes.
A lifetime of beautiful home cooking starts here.
About the Authors
Danielle Alvarez lives for cooking. It brings joy and calm like nothing else, and it is where she works out her anxieties and falls in love, over and over. Born in Miami to a Cuban family, Danielle's cooking journey includes time in some of the best California kitchens, including the Berkeley institution Chez Panisse. She was lured to Australia in 2016 to helm the kitchen of now beloved Sydney restaurant Fred's, from which she moved on in 2022. Returning to her home kitchen, she has relished rediscovering home cooking flavours, both how exceptional they can be - often better than in a restaurant - as wells as the particular skills needed to coax them out.
Danielle has a regular column in Good Weekend, cooks regularly at events and pop-ups around the country, and her time out of the kitchen is dedicated to writing, consulting and cookbook-making. She hopes Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking can be a teacher, entertainer and friend, and has chosen each and every recipe with a view to bringing happiness to readers' tables. She lives by the ocean in Sydney with her partner and Ripley, her King Charles Cavalier.
Libby Travers is an author, food writer and food commentator who for has worked alongside some of the best chefs, producers and wholesalers for more than two decades. Her interest in food particularly focuses on its place in a country's culture and customs - with a soft spot for all things French. Fortunate to have three wonderful locations jostling for the title "home", she continues the search for good food, wine and bonheur between Provence, Crete and Australia.
Industry Reviews
'Danielle is a wonderful cook; she moves with the seasons and brings produce to life. In her new book she teaches her way of cooking, with seasonality, with craft and with care. She approaches multiculturism with ease, food that comes from different parts of the world, but in her hands they belong together. The pages of this book are quite stunning, however I suspect in time they will be covered in the stains of a collection cooked from time and time again.'Neil Perry
'A joyful book, full of enticing recipes.'
Claudia Roden
'Thoughtful, bold, warm-hearted food. Danielle's cooking is a delight!'
Skye Gyngell
'A book filled with beauty, wisdom and generosity - I want to cook everything!'
Julia Busuttil Nishimura
'For those of us still drooling over Danielle's first book, it's hard to imagine a cookbook as seductive and soulful, but here it is. Her 'active' and 'inactive' cooking times are a genius, helpful way to prepare logically and calmly serve a really beautiful meal.'
Sean Moran
'Danielle's cooking is pure magic. There's no trickery or sleight of hand, but her gift is in making everyday ingredients and unapologetically simple dishes taste completely extraordinary.'
Adam Liaw
'The best cookbook ever.'
Cheryl Akle, Better Reading
