The Chef's Library is a series in which we ask chefs around town to tell us about their favorite cookbooks. Today, we talk to Joshua Whigham, chef de cuisine at The Bazaar.

As chef de cuisine at José Andrés' The Bazaar, Josh Whigham has a lot to stay on top of. Here, he gives us a selection of four cookbooks that help him create, keep up with what his enigmatic boss is thinking, and use as reference.

1. “Favaken by Magnus Nilsson. What we are doing here at The Bazaar is along the same lines of what he's doing, minus the 20,000 acres farm and hunting estate. We are taking the spirit of that into a metropolitan area, and it's really interesting.”

2. “Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz is what I'm reading now. It's not so much a cookbook but rather guidelines to fermentation. I've also read his other book, Art of Fermentation.”

3. “Another I'm reading right now is Catalan Country Kitchen by Marimar Torres of the Torres Wine Group. Its helps me reference what José is thinking.”

4. “Larousse Gatronomique. This has been an unparalleled resource for me since my parents gave it to me when I was in culinary school almost 17 years ago — it's been with me ever since! The book is full of classic technique that is deeply rooted in traditional flavors of the past that I often use as inspiration for more modern things that we do here at The Bazaar. In a world of fried hamburgers, this book keeps the culinary world grounded.”

See also: The Chef's Library archives.

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