“After 107 years, food is interesting again. In 1903, Georges Auguste Escoffier published a book called Le Guide Culinaire, still considered by many the definitive guide to French cooking. This book was tremendously powerful in moving the culinary world forward—it is the sole reason that the brunch cook at your favorite neighborhood spot knows how to make a hollandaise. In fact, many cooking schools still teach from Escoffier; his recipes and methods are as fundamental to cooks as the periodic table is to chemists. The 2,973 recipes included in the abridged English version cover everything from a roux to frozen custard, including 140 sauces, 46 omelets, 85 ice-cream “bombes,” 34 ways to prepare a beef fillet, and a whopping 22 foie gras recipes. It’s unsurprising, then, that cooking hasn’t changed much in the past century, particularly in home kitchens…” 

So begins the Seattle Food Geek’s foray into specialty foods and modern gastronomy, Seattle style. In addition to providing tips and recipes to get you started down your own path to food geekery, we also explore some local restaurants leading the modernist cuisine pack. To top it off, Seattle Weekly staff have scoured the city to bring you our favorite specialty food finds–from French bakeries to Medibles–and we share it all here.

Bon appetit!