When the opening spread of a cookbook boasts side-by-side forewords from José Andrés and Charlie Palmer, you know it isn’t going to be like other cookbooks. And Volt Ink, the beautiful new book from Michael and Bryan Voltaggio, doesn’t disappoint. Most food fanatics know the Voltaggio brothers from their time on Top Chef. Those who watched the popular food competition show on Bravo know that, despite sharing a last name and an affinity for the stove, these two men are as different as night and day. And their forewords paint just such a picture.
Andrés describes Michael – who worked for the renowned chef when he was opening The Bazaar in Los Angeles – as “extremely intense” and “very rock and roll,” (read: bad boy). while he labels Bryan “very measured, reserved, even formal.” He then tells the story of how Michael decided to leave his spot in the kitchen at The Bazaar for Top Chef: “José, my brother is doing it,” he said. “I have to go.” And so the reader begins to understand the close and extremely competitive relationship between these two siblings. Palmer, who at one point had both Michael and Bryan working in his restaurants, furthers the narrative, describing the siblings as “a pair of raconteurs who set out to tell the same story, but each in a very personal, very prideful way.” Palmer also connects the dots between the two men, highlighting their parallels in the way they source ingredients, how they use them and how they plate them (with the eye, frustration and precision of an artist).
As you can imagine by now, Volt Ink is a book of extraordinary measures – the kind of gorgeous tome you display proudly on your coffee table and watch as guests ogle over the jaw-dropping images and intricate recipes. But as grandiose as this book is, it’s also a story about family. It’s about two brothers and the memories they share. It’s about the families both brothers have created in each of their restaurants. And it’s about how all of those families made these two men into the chefs they are today.
It’s only appropriate, then, that the book is broken into 20 families – food families, that is: Avian, Buckwheat, Citrus, Composite, Crustacean, Freshwater Fish, Funghi, Goosefoot, Gourd, Grain, Laurel, Legume, Lily, Mammal, Mint, Mollusk, Mustard, Nightshade, Parsley and Saltwater Fish. Within each family, there are several ingredients, each of which both brothers showcase in a dish they created. This unique layout is a wonderful juxtaposition of the brothers’ personalities, styles and approaches to food.
Some recipes are twists on a classic, like Michael’s Truffle Brioche, Nori-Goat Butter (pictured above). To most of us, it looks like old-fashioned cinnamon rolls that we’d pull apart as the sweet smell of cinnamon and sugar permeated the air. In reality, it’s sweet brioche dough slathered with a coulis of black and white truffles and truffle salt and then brushed with the flavors of the sea: nori-goat butter made from seaweed and goat’s milk. Other recipes aren’t familiar at all, leaving you in awe of a mind that can concoct such unique dishes, such as Bryan’s Venison, Creamsicle Potatoes, Cranberry Granola, Coffee (pictured below). No matter how different, all of the recipes are detailed, precise and surprising.
Just as with the other books we’ve featured this month, this book is obviously not for the novice cook. Take a closer look at the components that make up these complex dishes, however, and you’ll see that there are some approachable recipes that, if mastered, would be invaluable additions to the home cook’s arsenal. Who wouldn’t want to know how to make banana polenta? Or jalapeño salt? Or everything bagel crumbs? Or vanilla brioche? Every once in a while, these elements can take this book from the coffee table to the kitchen table. And you just might be amazed at the ways in which they can elevate your go-to dishes.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan of Top Chef and, like me, spent season 6 throwing your support behind one Voltaggio brother and then the other (bad boy, good guy, bad boy, good guy), or you’ve never heard of them before, it’s impossible to resist the amount of passion, beauty and creativity that has gone into creating this book. It’s beautiful to look at, interesting to read and surprisingly accessible at points. It’s everything a food-lover would want in a cookbook. And if it makes you want to eat at Bryan’s Volt, Lunchbox and Family Meal or Michael’s Ink, well, then I’ll meet you there.
Who are you rooting for on this season of Top Chef and why? Tell us in the comments section below for a chance to a win a copy of Volt Ink. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column. And now, we’d like to congratulate Sue, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a copy of Pierre Hermé Pastries. Sue, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.
This article appears in December 2012.