A Platter of Figs

The renowned chef’s modern classic offers an “exquisite collection of menus” for simple, seasonal, family-style meals (The Guardian, UK).

For six months a year, David Tanis is the head chef at Chez Panisse, the Berkeley, California, restaurant where he helps lead America’s sustainable cuisine revolution. The other six months, Tanis lives in Paris, where he hosts intimate dinners prepared in a small kitchen with nothing more than an old stove and some well-used pots and pans.

A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes is both an accessible cookbook and an eloquent meditation on the pleasures of preparing and sharing meals. Tanis serves up twenty-four seasonal menus that are simply conceived and served family-style. Every dish—such as Wild Salmon with Spicy Vietnamese Cucumbers, Braised Duck with Fried Ginger, or Shoulder of Spring Lamb with Flageolet Beans and Olive Relish—bursts with invention and flavor.

Named by the Guardian/Observer as one of the 50 best cookbooks ever written