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  • Published: 15 March 2018
  • ISBN: 9780451494160
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 440
  • RRP: $85.00

Shaya

An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel: A Cookbook



An exciting debut cookbook that confirms the arrival of a new guru chef . . . A moving, deeply personal journey of survival and discovery that tells of the evolution of a cuisine and of the transformative power and magic of food and cooking. From the two-time James Beard Award-winning chef whose celebrated New Orleans restaurants have been hailed as the country's most innovative and best by Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Saveur, GQ, and Esquire.

An exciting debut cookbook that confirms the arrival of a new guru chef . . . A moving, deeply personal journey of survival and discovery that tells of the evolution of a cuisine and of the transformative power and magic of food and cooking. From the two-time James Beard Award-winning chef whose celebrated New Orleans restaurants have been hailed as the country's most innovative and best by Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Saveur, GQ, and Esquire.

  • "Alon's journey is as gripping and as seductive as his cooking . . . Lovely stories, terrific food."
  • --Yotam Ottolenghi, author of Jerusalem: A Cookbook
  • "Breathtaking. Bravo." --Joan Nathan, author of King Solomon's Table

  • Alon Shaya's is no ordinary cookbook. It is a memoir of a culinary sensibility that begins in Israel and wends its way from the U.S.A. (Philadelphia) to Italy (Milan and Bergamo), back to Israel (Jerusalem) and comes together in the American South, in the heart of New Orleans. It's a book that tells of how food saved the author's life and how, through a circuitous path of (cooking) twists and (life-affirming) turns the author's celebrated cuisine--food of his native Israel with a creole New Orleans kick came to be, along with his award-winning New Orleans restaurants: Shaya, Domenica, and Pizza Domenica, ranked by Esquire, Bon Appétit, and others as the best new restaurants in the United States.
         These are stories of place, of people, and of the food that connects them, a memoir of one man's culinary sensibility, with food as the continuum throughout his journey--guiding his personal and professional decisions, punctuating every memory, choice, every turning point in his life. Interspersed with glorious full-color photographs and illustrations that follow the course of all the flavors Shaya has tried, places he's traveled, things he's experienced, lessons he's learned--more than one hundred recipes--from Roasted Chicken with Harissa to Speckled Trout with Tahini and Pine Nuts; Crab Cakes with Preserved Lemon Aioli; Roasted Cast-Iron Ribeye; Marinated Soft Cheese with Herbs and Spices; Buttermilk Biscuits; and Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Whipped Feta.
    • Published: 15 March 2018
    • ISBN: 9780451494160
    • Imprint: Knopf US
    • Format: Hardback
    • Pages: 440
    • RRP: $85.00

    Praise for Shaya

    An early embrace of Alon Shaya’s SHAYA An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel   “Breathtaking. What makes this book dazzle is that Alon does not discard his food memories but transforms them into the recipes that so many of us have eaten at his restaurants Domenica and Shaya and can now enjoy by making them at home. Bravo!” —Joan Nathan, author of King Solomon’s Table   “The way Alon weaves his cuisine through different cultures that he has encountered should be an inspiration to all young cooks who strive to create their own style. His book is as refreshing as it is imaginative.” —Marc Vetri, author of Mastering Pasta   “Alon’s journey is as gripping and as seductive as his cooking: from his safta’s lamb kebabs to his liaisons with drug dealers at fifteen; from his blueberry rugelach or bright green falafel to the 500 crab cakes he lost to hurricane Katrina. Lovely stories, terrific food.” —Yotam Ottolenghi, author of Jerusalem: A Cookbook     “Alon Shaya’s book is an exquisite expression of the way food can become so enriched with culture and tradition that it changes our culinary landscape. Whether it’s the Borekas that taught him lessons as a child or the Red Beans and Rice that he selflessly made to save victims of Hurricane Katrina, Alon Shaya is a true hero of mine. I would recommend this book to ambitious chefs and anyone looking for an inspiring read.” —Mario Batali, author of Mario Batali—Big American Cookbook