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For fans of Top Chef and home cooks thrilled by the idea of putting a creative twist on classic meals, this is the accessible, fun, and very cool debut cookbook from Bravo's Top Chef: All-Stars winner Richard Blais, featuring the signature recipes, flavor combinations, and cooking techniques that have made him such a popular chef.

Richard Blais's food is creative and surprising, but more than anything, it's delicious. In his first cookbook, he reveals a simplified approach to adventurous cooking, sharing new flavor combinations and textures to reinvent classic dishes. Some of his recipes, such as Lamb Shanks Braised in Root Beer, are simply fun as is and easy to make. His Pancakes with Warm Maple Syrup have coffee-laced butter, too. His Pastrami Mustard incorporates the spice of his favorite sandwich; he makes a squid "cannelloni"; and his pork chops are made with microwaved applesauce. A new way to try a dish is always on his mind.

Blais presents 125 flavorful and interesting recipes for condiments; breakfast; snacks & sandwiches; soups, salads & go--withs; pastas; birds; fish & seafood; meats; and desserts. For his food science fans--those who want to try using liquid nitrogen or a sous vide machine, or who are eager to make foam--he offers 25 variations that add another level of excitement in the kitchen. Yet all the recipes are straightforward enough to make at home. The book will include visually arresting four-color photographs throughout, as well as sketches and musings from Blais's notebooks.