"Modernist Cuisine" by Myhrvold, Young & Bilet (Part 1)

[nathanm]

I have pre-ordered "Modernist Cuisine" from amazon.com as its not on the amazon.co.uk site? I really hope that they deliver to Ireland. Would be a great Christmas present to myself!! What is the expected release date, or have details been finalized yet?

I am sure that it can be shipped to Ireland. We will also have it available from Amazon.co.uk.

The current estimate of shipping date is toward the end of this year - November-December.

[RDaneel]

Douglas, have you received any update on when your book will be available through Amazon? I've been checking frequently, and while your name/title is a "suggested search," there's no listing yet! I'm looking forward to reading it...

[Dave the Cook]

I got a peek at a small part of Modernist Cuisine the other day. Like others, I gasped when I heard the price (although it's available at Amazon on a pre-order basis for $422 (click here for a Society-friendly link). Having seen approximately 2% of it (24 pages out of 2200), I can say that if you have the money, it's likely to be worth it.

There are five separate volumes:

• History and Fundamentals: culinary movements, microbiology, safety, health, heat and energy, physics
  
• Techniques and Equipment: traditional cooking, modern ovens, sousvide, the "modernist" kitchen
  
• Ingredients and Preparations: meat and seafood, plants, thickeners, gels, emulsions, foams, wine, coffee
  
• Plated-dish Recipes: tender cuts, tough cuts, poultry and birds, fish, shellfish, eggs and dairy, starches, fruits and vegetables
  
• Kitchen journal: a spiral-bound volume for the owner's own notes; includes condensed versions of many of the book's recipes
  

Imagine On Food and Cooking, expanded to include what this book calls modernist techniques and ingredients, with photography that at least equals what you see in something like Keller's Under Pressure. Many of the photographs have been usefully doctored (they've got a real Photoshop whiz, and I say that as someone who's been called a Photoshop whiz himself) to illustrate principles; many are directly annotated. A friend looked at some one photo in particular and remarked, "I don't cook in a wok, but that picture sure makes me want one."

Something that's flown under the radar is authorship. Nathan is listed first, but he's got two co-writers: Chris Young and Maxime Billet. Both are Fat Duck alums, among several other impressive things.

That's what I remember for now, but maybe questions will jog my memory.

[kathryn]

I'd love to view a preview snippet of a few pages or get it as an e-book (husband has an iPad).

[Dave the Cook]

From what I understand, they're a little behind schedule on getting the book-related website up. Give it three weeks or so, and you might get a good preview.

[nathanm]

Indeed, we are working night and day to meet our deadlines. We have a LOT of pages to proofread! We will have a website up soon, but for now our priority is the book.

[kathryn]

Good luck and let us know when you're ready!

[mkayahara]

I've been really excited about this book for a long time. I was prepared to shell out the money when the anticipated price point was in the $300 range. But with where it is now - and keeping in mind that Amazon.ca isn't listing it, so I'm not sure I can get the "Amazon discount" - I'm wondering: if it's already divided into 5 volumes, why are they not being released separately? I'd happily buy all five at $125 each, and it would allow me to spread out the expense in a way that works with my cash flow situation. But, with all due respect, given the choice between this book at $625 and a brand-new Polyscience Sous Vide Professional at $800, I'd rather be able to *do* sous vide cooking than just read about it.

[nathanm]

It will be on Amazon.ca. I have no control over the discount, but my understanding is that Amazon Canada discounts more or less like the US site does.

We are not selling it as separate volumes - the book is written with extensive cross referencing between the volumes, so each volume would not stand alone very well.

[Chris Amirault]

Decided last night that this is my likely 2010 Xmas present. A few questions:

Are the illustrations both of finished dishes and of methods? Are we talking Cook's Book or something less/more detailed?

I'm assuming that this is aimed at home, restaurant, and industry cooks. How are those various audiences handled? For example, for how many servings are most recipes scaled?

The Amazon page suggests that the techniques are not merely molecular but encompass traditional techniques as well. Does that mean that there are recipes on those traditional techniques or just research, insights, tips, and that sort of thing?

What's on the cover?

I'm really dying to see a table of contents....

[Chris Amirault]

Oh, and is there any benefit to pre-ordering through Amazon now -- or waiting until later this fall? For example, will the price drop? Will I be guaranteed a copy if I pre-order now?

[nathanm]

If you order through Amazon now you are guaranteed the lowest price between now and when your order ships. They may raise the price later - but this is not something I am involved with.

Table of contents will be up soon - on both the Amazon page and a new web site. But we're busy with the book at the moment.

The photos are of step-by-step methods and final dishes and everything else in between.

[Chris Amirault]

OK. I'm in. Preordered.

[Quasar]

Does anyone know if the book depository is going to stock these volumes?

I'm in Australia and I find the way amazon pack their books is not great for a long trip, especially if they books are heavy so they always arrive with a little bit of damage to the corners which drives me nuts.

Cheers

quasar

[nathanm]

Amazon will stock it world wide. It will also be distributed to various book stores, and we have talked to people about distributing for us in Australia. I am not sure what you mean by "book depository" - if that is a specific distribtor.

The book is being packed into a shipping box at the printing plant. So it should arrive in its own shipping box the way that a TV or computer would be packed.

[slkinsey]

Any chance you might sell any signed copies? That would be fun.

[nathanm]

We are trying to figure out the logistics of how we could sell signed copies. So there is no offical plan to do so yet, but we may come up with one. Right now our focus is on finishing. I have about 400 pages to proofread and correct this weekend.

[Quasar]

I am not sure what you mean by "book depository" - if that is a specific distribtor.

Hi Nathan,

Thanks for the quick response, I have pre-ordered from Amazon.

The book depository is a huge online book seller in the UK www.bookdepository.co.uk and they also have a US company www.bookdepository.com

They ship all over the world for free so quite a lot of aussies use their services.

Thanks again for the help and best wishes for getting the book together.

Quasar

[nathanm]

At long last our web site for my book Modernist Cuisine is up and running! We announce it officially on Monday, but I thought that you might like to check it out a bit early. The site is a work in progress and we will improve it over time, but the basic version still gives a lot more information than has been available up until now.

The Table of Contents gives a good overview of what is in the book. The web site also shows some of the photos.

The sous vide chapter is 86 pages, but sous vide information occurs throughout the entire book.

The book itself is still being finished - we are reviewing galley proofs of some volumes, and doing final proofreading of other volumes this weekend. We have a few more weeks of work ahead of us to get evething done. There are a lot of details to check in 2400 pages!

Publication date is still December 2010. I hope you like the book, but in the meantime, I hope you like the web site.

This thread, and the feedback I got from posts here was the main inspiration for the book. Thanks to everybody here for the help and encouragement over the years!!

[ScottyBoy]

Oh wow the website is awesome! Congrats on the book, I'll need one once you're done! I'm starting to incorporate more of these new techniques after getting a solid French/Italian base for the last 9 years. Looking forward to what I get to learn from your book! Is that a pre-order special on Amazon?

Edited August 7, 2010 by ScottyBoy (log)

[KennethT]

Very exciting! I can't wait for my copy to arrive... When not in use, I think I'll keep it on my bookshelf next to the printed sheets of your original temp/time tables from early on in this thread (around page 7, I think)... They have been invaluable and I think you're one of the main reasons this thread has become so important to so many people! Just wanted to say thanks....

At long last our web site for my book Modernist Cuisine is up and running! We announce it officially on Monday, but I thought that you might like to check it out a bit early. The site is a work in progress and we will improve it over time, but the basic version still gives a lot more information than has been available up until now.

The Table of Contents gives a good overview of what is in the book. The web site also shows some of the photos.

The sous vide chapter is 86 pages, but sous vide information occurs throughout the entire book.

The book itself is still being finished - we are reviewing galley proofs of some volumes, and doing final proofreading of other volumes this weekend. We have a few more weeks of work ahead of us to get evething done. There are a lot of details to check in 2400 pages!

Publication date is still December 2010. I hope you like the book, but in the meantime, I hope you like the web site.

This thread, and the feedback I got from posts here was the main inspiration for the book. Thanks to everybody here for the help and encouragement over the years!!

[PeteJ]

The photography is inspiring, Nathan. Great job!

[shacke]

Nathan

Congratulations on a monumental and truly pioneering task. You have done an enormous service to so many people who appreciate bringing out the best in their cooking.

What a journey you have taken since your first post on this thread many years ago.

Thank you

Evan

[LindaK]

This is incredibly impressive. Until now, I couldn't imagine a 2400 pp cookbook--but reading through your Table of Contents, every chapter looks to be essential. And the photography is gorgeous. Bravo!

[Dakki]

Ditto to what Linda said. Looking forward to this book!