NEW E-BOOK SERIES ALTA EDITIONS SET TO LAUNCH WITH FIRST TITLE BY MICHELIN-STARRED CHEF LAURENT GRAS
LAURENT GRAS: MY PROVENCE
by Laurent Gras
with Mitchell Davis
New York City, July 12, 2012: New e-book imprint Alta Editions will launch their subscription-based cookbook series with renowned chef Laurent Gras and his new book: LAURENT GRAS: MY PROVENCE (Alta Editions, July 2012, $9.99 US, Innovative, Interactive Digital Cookbook with stunning, high-resolution, color photos). Laurent is considered by many to be one of the most talented and dedicated chefs in the world. Known for his personal and innovative cuisine, he has received three Michelin Stars for his cooking at three different restaurants over the course of the past 20 years. This is his first book.
Inside readers will find recipe upon recipe each with a personal story from Laurent’s time growing up and working as a young chef on the Côte d'Azur including:
- Baked Eggplant, Parmesan, and Radicchio Salad
- Snapper Carpaccio with Pickled Mushrooms
- Crabe à la Toulonnaise
- Vegetable Fricassee with Poached Egg
- Niçoise Ratatouille with Pistou
- Striped Sea Bass with Spicy Tomato Sauce
- Garlic-Roasted Côte de Boeuf
- Orange Tuiles, Sorbet, and “Salad”
- Pots de Crème
- Chocolate Mousse
- Clafoutis with Vanilla Ice Cream
For fans of Laurent’s restaurant cooking, these recipes may come as a surprise. There are no Asian influences or modernist techniques. Instead, this book contains the dishes and flavors from his upbringing and experience in Provence that are foundational to the way he cooks. Without hard-to-find ingredients or complicated techniques, they are tailored to the home cook. As Laurent says, learn these recipes and you will learn to cook. You can see a brief, but useful introduction video here: http://bit.ly/AltaEdMyProvenceIntro
A New Kind of Cookbook
Alta Editions is the brand new publishing arm of Jesta Digital, a leading global provider of next-generation entertainment content and services for the digital consumer. Alta Editions offers their titles under a subscription model with a new book by a different chef released every quarter. All titles will be available as feature-rich, interactive HTML5 e-books designed for Mobile Safari on the iPad, but they can also be viewed on any computer with an up to date web browser.
The format will allow the at-home cook to take advantage of an enhanced digital experience with videos, interactive recipes and ingredient lists, and high-resolution photography. What the technology cannot convey, unfortunately, are the incredible aromas that each cook will experience as the dish unfolds in their own kitchens; the scent of garlic and wine and fresh herbs, shellfish cooking to perfection and more.
“I was drawn to the digital format rather than paper for my first cookbook because of the ability to create a richer experience using photography and video that is almost like bringing someone into my kitchen,” said Laurent. “The social media aspects make it a real conversation with people, which is much more interesting to me. I am looking forward to hearing what people think and how they are using the e-book and recipes.”
“Using the much loved Time-Life Books Series from the 1960’s and 70’s as our inspiration, we’re publishing the Alta Editions Cooking Series to explore the foods and stories that inspire great chefs,” said Chris McBride, VP of Innovation for Jesta Digital and Executive Producer of Alta Editions. “With each new edition readers will discover new places, perspectives, and ideas in food and cooking.”
LAURENT GRAS: MY PROVENCE is the ideal introduction to the smells, the flavors, and the gastronomic experiences in this small, but fascinating corner of the world. Cooks will soon discover that more than recipes they’ll find within an account of a simpler, more delicious way of life.
To watch a video demo and learn more about the e-book, visit http://www.altaeditions.com.
About the Author
Laurent Gras’s trajectory as a chef began in Antibes on the Côte d’Azur in France, where he was born and raised within a family and culture focused on food.
At the age of 15, when the time came to choose his métier, Laurent intended to enter a mathematics university. On a whim, he took the entrance exam to hotel school with his friends and passed. His early résumé comprises a formidable list of work with great chefs: Jacques Maximin, Guy Savoy, Alain Ducasse, and Alain Senderens.
The combination of his precise mathematical mind and his culinary proficiency proved remarkable: after helping to achieve and maintain 3 Michelin stars at Alain Ducasse’s restaurants in Monaco and Paris, Laurent decided to pursue his own vision for a restaurant. He chose New York City, and, in 1997, he arrived to helm the legendary Waldorf-Astoria’s Peacock Alley. In her review, Ruth Reichl wrote, “The three best meals I have had this year have all been at the same restaurant. Peacock Alley.” From there, Laurent moved to San Francisco to assume leadership of the innovative Fifth Floor Restaurant. In 2007, Laurent arrived in Chicago to begin working on a unique seafood restaurant, L2O, a combination of Laurent and H20. He would give the restaurant his full expression, having the opportunity to design it from the ground up. L2O earned three Michelin stars in 2011 in the first Chicago edition of the prestigious guidebook.
Food & Wine Magazine and San Francisco Magazine named Laurent “Best New Chef.” L2O was named “Best New Restaurant” by Esquire Magazine in 2008.
Always interested in innovating, Laurent is excited to bring his love of simple, traditional food and his years of professional experience to this new medium— a different kind of cookbook from a different kind of chef.
About the co-author
Mitchell Davis is a cookbook author, food journalist, and Executive Vice President of the James Beard Foundation with a Ph.D. in Food Studies from New York University. He is the author of three cookbooks: Kitchen Sense (Clarkson Potter, 2006), The Mensch Chef (Clarkson Potter, 2002), and Cook Something (Macmillan, 1997), as well as many articles about food and restaurants that have appeared in GQ, Food and Wine, the Art of Eating, Saveur, and Gastronomica.
Davis also co-authored Foie Gras … A Passion (Wiley, 2000) with Michael Ginor, Andrew Coe, and Jane Ziegelman, which won the International Cookbook Review’s Prix la Mazille for Best International Cookbook of the Year. He is the host of Taste Matters, a weekly radio program on the Heritage Radio Network, and has appeared as a judge and culinary expert on Food Network’s Best in Smoke and Throwdown with Bobby Flay and the Cooking Channel’s Food(ography)
About Alta Editions
Alta Editions publishes an interactive digital cookbook series for people who love to cook. Its first edition, My Provence, was written by award-winning chef Laurent Gras and includes recipes for over 40 dishes, each with a personal story from Gras's time growing up and working as a young chef on the Côte d'Azur. Each recipe includes beautiful step-by-step photographs of the preparation and helpful tips and technique videos are included throughout. Each edition is fully interactive and allows readers to share photos and experiences with Gras's recipes. Alta Editions ebooks are available via any HTML5 capable web browser for enjoyment on iPads, PCs and Macs.
About Jesta Digital
Jesta Digital is a leading global provider of next generation entertainment content and services for the digital consumer. For more than 10 years, the company has and continues to develop exciting new products and services that deliver a seamless experience via web or wireless connection on a significant range of devices in 18 countries. Jesta Digital is home to established brands - Jamba, Jamster, iLove and Mobizzo - as well as expansive integrated mobile subscription, payment and ad monetization technologies. Jesta Digital is one of the largest companies in the digital entertainment sector delivering a vast array of products and services to more than 170 million customers since 2000.
Media Contacts
For more information or to request a review copy of the book or an interview, please contact:
Dalyn A. Miller (USA) at 617-504-6869 or via email at Dalyn@DalynMillerPR.com
Julia Hornberg (Germany) at +49 (0)30 695 38 120 or via email at Press@Altaeditions.com
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