On Friday night Charlie Rose devoted an entire hour to chefs and invited Gabrielle Hamilton (Prune, NYC), Ferran Adrià (elBulli), and Jonathan Waxman (Barbuto, NYC) on his show.
First up was Gabrielle Hamilton with a whopping 30 minute interview focusing on her "deceptively intimate" book. She talked about how she gave up the idea of balance, calling it an "elusive and vicious myth." She also talked about Italian cuisine in New York — citing Mario Batali, Michael White, and Mark Ladner — "we had a recession, and I think it's cheap to produce, and it's comforting to the public."
Next up was Jonathan Waxman talking about his new cookbook that he chose to write himself without a ghostwriter. Said Waxman, "Writing a cookbook is a little bit like eating a pound of sand... It's the most daunting experience of one's life. Because what you do on a daily basis as a chef, it's kind of fun... But writing it and putting it down, it's so difficult... trying to figure out what you do almost mechanically and so automatically... and how do you translate that and put it on a page so someone will cook it at home? It's really a difficult thing."
He also talked about working for Alice Waters, chefs overexpanding, and shared his thoughts on molecular gastronomy and Ferran Adrià: "I think there's been a bifurcation these days. You've got what I consider to be a return to the basics — which I kind of think what I do — then you have the young turks, or old turks, or whoever they are, that are looking as flights of fancy how to change the world."
And finally Ferran Adrià, via translator, talked about the book The Sorcerer's Apprentices, his plans for the elBulli foundation, and teaching at Harvard. He dropped more philosophy about water. Adrià also explained why he does so many interviews: "It's cheaper than a psychoanalyst... It makes you think, it's makes you investigate about life."
Video: Gabrielle Hamilton on Her Book and Giving Up on Balance
Video: Gabrielle Hamilton on Italian Cooking in NYC
Video: Jonathan Waxman on Cookbooks and Alice Waters
Video: Jonathan Waxman on Molecular Gastronomy and Being a Chef
Video: Jonathan Waxman on Chefs Overexpanding
Video: Ferran Adrià on Charlie Rose
· All Gabrielle Hamilton Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Jonathan Waxman Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Ferran Adrià Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· Charlie Rose Schedule [Official Site]
· All Charlie Rose Coverage on Eater [-E-]