Das Cookbook

Book excerpt: This modern German-Californian cookbook from longtime Los Angeles chef and restaurateur Hans Röckenwagner features sections on bread-making (yes, pretzel bread!), holiday treats, and bar snacks, along with the most popular recipes from his several Los Angeles restaurants, including 3 Square Cafe on famed Abbot Kinney Boulevard and Cafe Röckenwagner in Brentwood. Hans Röckenwagner's background spans thirty years of cooking in Germany, Switzerland, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In the 1980s, he won international fame for his fine-dining restaurant in Santa Monica, Röckenwagner; today, he owns several LA-area bakery/cafes and a large wholesale bakery. Hans is known for his individuality, innovative dishes, and his craftsmanship in designing and building his restaurants (he is also a master woodworker). This is his second cookbook. Jenn Garbee is a food reporter and editor who has written for the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Cooking Light, Saveur, and more. An expert recipe tester and developer, Jenn has a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu and has worked in professional kitchens across Los Angeles. She is also the author of Secret Suppers and the co-author of the 2015 St. Martin's Press book, Tomatomania! Wolfgang Gussmack has been Hans's chef de cuisine since 2012. A native of Graz, Austria, Wolfgang started his culinary career cooking spätzle for his family's restaurant and gasthaus. This experience earned him a spot in Austria's only two-star Michelin restaurant and subsequently led him to renowned kitchens in Italy and France before he came to Los Angeles. Photographer Staci Valentine is based in Los Angeles; her other cookbooks include The Perfect Peach.