32 Yolks - From my mother's table to working the line

You may recognize Eric Ripert as a cooking show host, Anthony Bourdain's sidekick, or even as the celebrated french chef who operates the world-renown restaurant, Le Bernadin. He is a regular guest judge on Top Chef, hosts his own cooking show, Avec Eric, and his restaurant has maintained a 4-star rating from the New York Times for over two decades. He has won an Emmy and several James Beard awards. To be succinct, he is an amazing chef with unparalleled dedication to his craft. With this in mind, I have been chomping at the bit to get my hands on his new book, 32 yolks.

Much more than your typical book about a celebrity chef, this book delves in to the incredibly difficult world that Ripert experienced as a child and young adult. At the age of just 15 years, Eric left home to attend culinary school. By 17, he had moved to Paris and was preparing dishes for the 3-Michelin star restaurant, Jamin. The book conveys Ripert's undying love for his home country, while shedding some light on his troubled childhood.  It also does a splendid job of describing the inner-workings and hierarchical form of the restaurants where he worked.

I appreciated that this book was different from so many chef memoirs that seem to focus on alcohol-fueled chefs that throw dishes across the kitchen while trying to keep up with the pace and pressure that is inherent in top restaurants. Instead the reader is provided with thoughtful and genuine insights and experiences that have formed Ripert's brand and ultimately his continued success. You begin to feel as if you know Chef Ripert personally, almost as if you have been "in the weeds" with him on the line. 32 yolks is an excellent example of a chef's life-long journey to provide the world with something memorable and everlasting.

Far Afield - Rare food encounters from around the world

From the moment I picked this book up, I knew it was going to be a feast for the eyes first, and things to tempt the taste buds would be secondary. Amazing photography will immediately bathe you in contrasting textures and rich colors. This is a food-travel book that brings far-off adventures to your coffee table. A handful of recipes accompany each chapter, just enough to bring the essence home without confounding the reader with unobtainable ingredients.

From Kenya to Hawaii, Iceland to a refugee camp in Calais, France. this book is thoughtful, and current without being hipster about it. The travels cover the globe, and they depict food encounters that are genuine and without much staging. It's the kind of book that you enjoy reading a chapter, then ponder the author's experience while imagining the sights and smells in your head. The photography is striking, the travels are enviable, and the recipes are basically gilding the lilly. If you enjoy travel and you also like to eat while you travel, this book will satiate your needs.