Tru: A Cookbook from the Legendary Chicago Restaurant Book

The opening of Tru in Chicago was the long-anticipated culmination of the dreams of executive chef Rick Tramonto and his partner, executive pastry chef Gale Gand. There Tramonto and Gand are free to unleash their superb culinary imaginations, serving wildly creative fare best described as progressive French-inspired cooking anchored in the finest European traditions.

Tru reveals the secrets of Tramonto and Gand’s award-winning cuisine–techniques and recipes they have evolved over the past twenty-five years of preparing some of the most delectable food in the world. This glorious cookbook, illustrated with more than sixty photographs by the renowned photographer Tim Turner, offers more than seventy-five never-to-be-forgotten Tru favorites–starting with first courses such as Ricotta Gnocchi with Parmegiano-Reggiano Cream; greens such as Lemon Balm Salad with Yuzu Soy Dressing; and entrees including Black Trumpet Mushroom—Crusted Ahi Tuna and Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Truffled Potato Puree. Gale Gand provides recipes for an irresistible array of cheese courses and a variety of exquisite desserts, including Apricot Tart Tatin and Fromage Blanc Mousse with Blueberry Stew.

Masterfully written recipes with careful attention to detail and easy step-by-step instructions will enable cooks of all levels to prepare and present unforgettable meals, enhance the dining ambience, and enjoy the taste of Tru perfection at home. Award-winning sommelier Scott Tyree suggests wines to complement every course. Tramonto and Gand also share the remarkable story of how they became two of the world’s great chefs and how they made Tru a four-star restaurant.

On every page, Tru reflects an abiding love for food, a great passion for the table, and attention to all that goes into producing superb meals. Tru is the ultimate cookbook for anyone who appreciates food as inventive as it is beautiful.

Publishers Weekly

This collection is full of the kind of over-the-top recipes that give chef cookbooks a bad name. Tramonto's frou-frou constructions, like Rabbit Roulade with a Salad of Fris e, French Beans and Radish, and Arctic Char Poached in Duck Fat with Spinach-Almond Puree, sound delicious, but with their numerous subrecipes (Roasted Beef Tenderloin, Truffled Potato Puree and Bone Marrow Foam with Red Wine Sauce requires extracting chlorophyll from spinach and parsley, as well as pouring a marrow mixture into a canister powered by N2O chargers) and long ingredient lists, they also sound about as accessible for the home cook as the summit of Mount Everest is for someone who takes occasional strolls in the woods. These rarefied creations do offer a pleasurable peek into the mindset of a creative chef: there's an entire chapter on foie gras, for example. Pastry chef Gand's desserts are equally complex and include small treats the restaurant offers, like Honey-and-Lemon Tea Lollipops, which are "surprisingly easy to make," as long as readers have sucker collars on hand and don't mind pouring 305-degree syrup. Recipe headers are lengthy and sometimes repetitive, adding to the feeling of dizzying information overload this book provides. Photos. (On sale Nov. 2) FYI: Tramonto and Gand have won awards for their earlier books, and Gand hosts a Food Network show. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.