B?aco vivid recipes from the heart of Los Angeles / Josef Centeno and Betty Hallock ; photographs by Dylan James Ho and Jeni Afuso

This is the cookbook of the season from the chef credited with capturing the myriad tastes of Los Angeles on the plate. Visually stunning and conceptually fresh, this cookbook contains 130 recipes that redefine the way we think about flavor. Josef Centeno, chef and owner of 5 acclaimed restaurants, draws on his multicultural heritage, formal training in top-notch restaurants such as Manresa and Daniel, a lifelong obsession with cookbooks, and an insatiable curiosity. Centeno's cooking layers textures and explores how spices and sauces can be used to transform the most basic vegetables. Recipes span from simple to showstopping, exploring sauces, soups, mains, salads, and desserts, too. More than 130 vivid photographs convey the beauty and excitement of Josef Centeno's extraordinary cooking. “Inspired by Centeno’s five restaurants . . . Asian, Middle-Eastern, and Latin American influences meld harmoniously in this polished chef cookbook.” — Library Journal Visually stunning and conceptually fresh, this is the cookbook of the season from Josef Centeno, the chef credited with capturing the myriad tastes of Los Angeles on the plate. Recipes span from simple to show stopping, exploring sauces, soups, mains, salads, and desserts, too. More than 130 vivid photographs convey the beauty and excitement of Chef Centeno’s extraordinary cooking. Josef Centeno is the chef and owner of Bäco Mercat, Bar Amá, Orsa & Winston, Ledlow, and P.Y.T. In Bäco , he draws on his multicultural heritage, formal training in top-notch restaurants such as Manresa and Daniel, a lifelong obsession with cookbooks, and his insatiable curiosity. Centeno’s cooking layers textures and explores how spices and sauces can be used to transform the most basic vegetables! “Josef’s ability to weave a swath of traditions into forceful and deeply satisfying dishes has made him a pioneer in the resurgence of L.A. dining. Detailed and lyrical—a little Turkish and a tad Tejano— Bäco is the perfect manual for just how he does it.” —Patric Kuh, food critic, Los Angeles Magazine “The 130 bold, nontraditional recipes here, based on Centeno’s Texas upbringing, are organized by flavors and textures . . . Centeno’s exciting debut cookbook offers an impressive portrait of a chef who believes ‘taste is tantamount’ and that options are unlimited.” — Publishers Weekly “[A] collection of recipes that demonstrates exactly why he is one of the most influential chefs of the New Los Angeles Cuisine.” —Jeremy Fox, Rustic Canyon "The first time chef Josef Centeno stepped into a tiny storefront in the Historic Core neighborhood of Los Angeles, he knew it was the right place for his first restaurant, Bäco Mercat. It had tall ceilings and remnants of marble and brass--the badges of a glorious space in a more-than-century-old building. But it was his bold flavors, textures, and delicious compositions that drew Angelenos from all over the city and garnered national critical acclaim. Centeno founded four more restaurants in the next few years on the same downtown block, all of them unique and all featuring his hallmark exhilarating menus--big on both imagination and flavor. No chef captures the excitement of L.A.'s incredible food scene like Centeno. This groundbreaking collection of recipes revolves around his unique combinations of ingredients and the inspiration he draws from cuisines of the world. They are dishes that will revolutionize your approach to cooking and spark creativity in your own home kitchen."--Jacket This is a cookbook like no other, reflecting the eclecticism and excitement of Los Angeles, with 130 recipes for sauces, vegetables, salads, meats, sweets, and drinks from Josef Centeno of Bäco Mercat, Orsa & Winston, Ledlow, PYT, and Bar Ama, a chef Los Angeles Magazine dubbed "such a border crosser that he had to come up with his own lingo to describe his dishes." Spicy, salty, pickled, preserved Fresh, green, snappy, light Bright, citrusy, zesty, hardy Buttery, crispy, tangy, herbal Earthy, sharp, velvety, savory Creamy, nutty, crunchy, floral Tender, juicy, peppery, rich Flaky, fruity, caramely, tart Bubbly, sweet, sour, vivid.