Desserts

Michel Bras is one of the best-known figures in the development of 21st-century cooking. His influence, ranging from his use of natural materials to his spacious, dazzlingly colorful free-form presentations, has been hugely influential, showing up in the work of hundreds of his contemporaries in restaurants around the world.

Although most recognized for his salads and savory plates, he has also devoted his creative energies to the sweet kitchen, and his sole book on that subject was published in 1999, originally under the titles Les Carnets de Michel Bras: Desserts. Now it is available simply as Desserts.

(The English-language translation, published in 2002, was available for only a short time owing to the unfortunate demise of its highly respected American publisher, Ici la Press.)

A delightfully designed volume in a striking 6½" x 10½" format, it contains not only color and handsome black-and-white illustrations but also dozens of sketches and structural drawings by the chef himself. Chapters are interrupted by meditations on the qualities of ingredients, particularly fruits.

In French. Paperback. Black-and-white and color drawings throughout.

You can see this book's companion, Petits Festins, here.