Good Taste

A Life of Food and Passion

Alain Ducasse author Polly Mackintosh translator Jay McInerney editor Clare Smyth editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Gallic Books

Published:14th Sep '23

£16.99

Available for immediate dispatch.

Good Taste cover

  • Carrie Bachman Public Relations to run USA campaign: Carrie has more than 30 years culinary & lifestyle public relations experience. From 1996-2006, Carrie was Director of Publicity for Cookbooks and Lifestyle at HarperCollins/William Morrow. Carrie has lead New York Times bestselling campaigns for a diverse list of authors, including journalists, celebrities, award-winning chefs, and cookbook/memoir and lifestyle experts.  Her clients have included: Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, Emeril Lagasse, Alice Waters, Dorie Greenspan, Trisha Yearwood, Ina Garten, Ferran Adria, Grant Achatz, Barbara Lynch, Rachael Ray, Carla Hall, Mark Bittman, Nathan Myhrvold, Jacques Pepin and Stanley Tucci. 
  • Broad press campaign for coverage across hospitality, food, chefs, French lifestyle and fine dining.
  • Pitching for feature and review in relevant outlets and author appearances on radio / television: ABC Good Morning America, NBC Today Show, CBS Sunday, CBS The Dish, CNN, Late Night Shows and other local TV doing remote & in person segments such as regional TV – WGN Chicago, Daytime Tampa, WSVM Nashville, KATU Portland, KING Seattle.  Press to include AARP magazine, People, The New York Times Food Section & Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, The Atlantic, New Yorker, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Saveur, Food52, Eater, Kitchn, BonAppetit.com, Epicurious, and others, plus extensive UK coverage.
  • Targeting relevant endorsements from the wider food media, including key chefs, food writers, influencers and celebrated guests of Alain Ducasse's restaurants. 
  • Promotion through author social media, website and newsletters: @alainducasse (497k followers on Instagram)
  • Author events: The author will be actively promoting with media appearances plus an in-person and virtual author tour. [Tour cities to be confirmed, but to include New York.]
  • Galleys available for booksellers, press, media and influencers – both digital and physical. 

A memoir and manifesto from the world’s most Michelin starred chef, Alain Ducasse, with introductions by internationally renowned writer Jay McInerney and chef Clare Smyth. 

At twelve years old, Alain Ducasse had never been to a restaurant. Less than fifteen years later, he received his first Michelin star. Today he is one of just two chefs to have been awarded twenty-one stars. 

Now, for the very first time, Ducasse shares a lifetime of culinary inspirations and passions in a book that is part memoir and part manifesto. Good Taste takes us on a journey from his childhood, where he picked mushrooms with his grandfather on a farm in Les Landes, to setting up groundbreaking schools and restaurants across the world. He is now taking off his chef’s whites and passing on what he knows to the next generation. 

Ducasse writes a poignant ode to the humble vegetables that have inspired his entire cuisine and to the masters that guided him along the way, from Paris to New York to Tokyo. As he looks to the future, he reflects on just what ‘good taste’ means.

Alain Ducasse is the stuff of culinary legend, and paved the way in championing local and healthy eating long before it became trendy. His stars are testament to his brilliance, much of which is shared in this book, in which he has effortlessly combined his own inspirations, philosophies and vision to create a heartfelt memoir. There is so much to learn from Chef Ducasse, and I hope that this book is used as a manual to inspire chefs for generations to come.' Michel Roux Jr. 

'How best to introduce you to Alain Ducasse? He is a legend in the culinary world - as Björn Borg is to tennis and Billie Holiday to jazz. To me he is so much more. He is a master, who taught me the meaning of farm-to-table, the value of using locally sourced ingredients and establishing trusting relationships with artisans and producers. And he is a friend. He showed me how to be both respectful of the past and contemporary, and all these lessons at Louis XV were incredibly valuable and played a crucial role in guiding my decision to open Osteria Francescana.' Massimo Bottura 

'Chef Ducasse’s impact on the culinary world is exceptional. He has been a tireless advocate for French cuisine and l'art de la table all around the world. In this book, he shares his invaluable wisdom, experience, and talent with us.' Eric Ripert

'Alain Ducasse transformed the role of the chef in public consciousness – allowing it to be seen not just as a profession but as an art form. He made a whole generation of us proud to pursue this craft. Most importantly, though, he has been so generous with sharing his recipes and wisdom. To me, this makes him the greatest chef of our time.' Daniel Humm

'Unlike those of us who first entered a kitchen with dull knives and half baked ideas, Alain Ducasse appears to have arrived fully formed, with a Jedi-like command of technique and a preternatural gift for deliciousness. Good Taste is a peek behind the magic - including the excruciatingly hard work, the risks and the failures. You will come away with an even deeper respect and sense of awe for the greatest chef of our generation' Dan Barber

'Having lunch with Alain Ducasse in one of his beautiful Parisian restaurants is like playing golf with Tiger Woods, or discussing politics with Winston Churchill, or attending a reading by Mark Twain in a crowded bookstore.' John Grisham

'I am still learning from Chef Ducasse. He is just as inspirational to me now as he was at the beginning of my career, and I’m certain that this book, with all the knowledge it contains, will guide and inspire generations of chefs to come.' Clare Smyth

'M. Ducasse's evolution as a chef is extraordinary: From his years learning to master and perfect the classics, then a creative approach to traditional gastronomy through to his more recent celebration of vegetarian dishes that combine finesse with beautiful flavours. He's a man for all seasons.' Richard Vines

ISBN: 9781913547677

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

176 pages