There's the amateur home cook, and then there's Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who celebrated the launch of his new cookbook, My Favorite Simple Recipes: Home Cooking With Jean-Georges, at a reception at Public Chicago on Tuesday. The famous chef, who owns New York's Michelin-starred Jean-Georges and oversees the menu at the Public's Pump Room, professes in his book: "I gravitate toward simple, honest dishes, like sweet pea soup with bittersweet chocolate chantilly."
At the cocktail bash hosted by Public owner Ian Schrager, servers circulated with flutes of champagne and items from the book's selection of appetizers. Included was Vongerichten's crab toasts with sriracha mayonnaise. In the book, the chef describes how to make the spicy mayo from scratch. And though he notes "my dear friend and seafood supplier Ingrid Bergis gets me the best crab from Maine," he gives readers permission to "find the freshest crab available ... in your market's refrigerated fish counter."
