Cookbook Shelf: D.O.M. Rediscovering Brazilian Ingredients

At once rough and refined, natural and stylized, D.O.M.: Rediscovering Brazilian Ingredients, the first cookbook by celebrated chef Alex Atala, is a gorgeous coffee table centerpiece that pays homage to Atala’s native Brazil and the wealth of natural resources in his beloved country.

The book, featuring 65 recipes and 150 color photographs, is a look inside Atala’s mind and native land, featuring the raw ingredients Atala forages for in the rainforest and catches in the rivers and seas, and uses at his wildly successful restaurant D.O.M., recently ranked #6 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List.

Broken into four chapters (Dairy and Meat, Fish and Shellfish, Vegetables and Roots, and Fruits and Nuts), the book takes readers on a trip through Brazil’s resources and culture. Each chapter features recipes, of course, but also personal essays that range from the history of an ingredient, to the environmental impact humans are leaving on the world. From the thoughtful but solemn essay, Death (about the life cycle of animals and how we eat) to the playful Treatise on a Caipirinha, Atala gives readers insight into the processes that inform his cooking and his decision-making. Readers will also get a sense of Atala’s journey (from punk DJ to apprentice chef to celebrated restaurateur) and his true appreciation for Brazil’s ecological diversity – and the urgent need to protect it.

Settle in and read this as a book and let go of the notion that you’ll cook any of the recipes. From ants to sea snails, Atala’s recipes use ingredients that you would have a hard time finding in Brazil, let alone your local grocery store. You won't find classic recipes or quick and easy dishes, there are no shortcuts from the store, no chapter containing recipes 5 ingredients or less. But you will find thoughtful prose and a look inside Atala’s imagination, and gain an understanding of Atala’s love and appreciation of precious Brazilian ingredients and flavors.

The book is conceptual (in that recipes will require more skill than that of your average home cook), it’s innovative, it’s breathtaking, and it’s challenging. 

Atala will also be going on a three-city North American book tour. See him in action and catch him in: Toronto on Oct. 15; in New York City at the NYC Wine and Food Festival on Oct. 18 or with David Chang at a Times Talk on Oct. 19; or in Oakland, California on Oct. 21. For more info, click here.