Pure Freude

How does a top chef think when preparing simple, down-to-earth dishes? How does he use different flavors to bring depth, lightness, sophistication, and complexity to the dishes? These and other questions are answered in the new cookbook by Andreas Caminada. The author of the bestseller "Pure Passion" explains why acidity holds such high importance for him, what the much-quoted word umami is all about, what fascinates him about bitterness, the significance of sweetness in his kitchen, and why he considers salt to be the most important ingredient of all. Around 50 recipes—from deer carpaccio with black nuts and garlic mayonnaise to marinated trout with beetroot and smoked vinaigrette, to baked yeast cake with vanilla ice cream—are meant to inspire both cooking and reflection. For Caminada also wants to convey this message: once you understand how harmony is created in a dish, the recipe can be varied in many ways. The new Caminada book is illustrated, just like "Pure Passion," with images by the Graubünden photographer Gaudenz Danuser. He not only showcases the food and landscape but also special people who supply Andreas Caminada with extraordinary products: the truffle hunter Michi Berry, as well as Adolf and Margrit Hartmann, who pick the most delicious sea buckthorn in Val Lumnezia, or the hunter Roger Zogg. Detailed portraits are dedicated to all of them.