For all seasons and all occasions, a comprehensive entertaining book that provides the best ideas from such acclaimed establishments in North America as Blackberry Farm and Meadowood. The Art of Entertaining presents seventeen seasonal parties, both intimate and grand, held at a variety of Relais & Châteaux venues. These hospitality insiders, who transform their properties into perfect settings, share their ideas for creating parties that can be translated to every home. The themes, floral choices, festive table displays, recipes for cocktails and dishes, and much more show you how to wow guests with unexpected touches. Set the mood for an elegant New Year’s Eve party by covering ceilings with gold balloons. To dazzle friends on the Fourth of July, make a cake in patriotic red, white, and blue and light sparklers on top. Create a cowboy-themed cookout with haystack seating and wildflowers. This beautifully photographed go-to tome will be embraced by hosts and hostesses seeking fresh inspiration from the most admired chefs and entertainers in America. BOOK FEATURES BY SEASON: SPRING: The Inn at Dos Brisas, Washington, Texas: Wildflower Cookout; The Charlotte Inn, Martha's Vineyard (Edgartown), Massachusetts: Afternoon Tea in the Garden SUMMER: Ocean House Inn, Watch Hill, Rhode Island: Independence Day Dinner on the Beach; Auberge du Soleil, Napa Valley (Rutherford): California Provençal Cocktail Party; Weekapaug Inn, Westerly, Rhode Island: New England Clam Bake; Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada: Olmstead Longtable Garden Luncheon; Homestead Inn, Greenwich, Connecticut: Celebration of the Senses Dinner AUTUMN: Blackberrry Farm, Walland, Tennessee: Harvest Dinner in Stone Pavilion; Fearrington House, Pittsboro, North Carolina: Seasonal Beer Dinner Party; Glenmere, Chester, New York: Gatsby Dinner Party; Planters Inn, Charleston, South Carolina: Courtyard Terrace Autumn Dinner; Meadowood, Napa Valley St. Helena, California: Wine Harvest Dinner in the Vineyard; The Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia: Halloween Party WINTER: Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: Romantic Seafood Dinner; The Ranch at Rock Creek, Philipsburg, Montana: Snow Adventure Cookout in the Wild; Blantyre, Lenox, Massachusetts: New Year's Eve Dinner Party

This comprehensive garden sourcebook is replete with inspiring ideas for seasonal gardening, interior design, and entertaining from Relais & Châteaux hospitality insiders. Experts in the creation of beautiful environments, they show how to translate their savoir-faire into indoor and outdoor sanctuaries and festive events at home. Showcased are a variety of Relais & Chateaux enchanting horticultural havens--from simple cutting and kitchen gardens to more elaborate formal plantings, including parterres and topiaries at fifteen celebrated establishments in North America. The delights of the garden are then brought indoors through botanical prints, textiles, wallpapers, and objets d'art, such as metal and porcelain flowers. How-to sidebars show ideas for setting a festive table using rose petals, garlands, bud vases, and more, and for dressing up dishes and cocktails with edible flower garnishes and creating culinary delights harvested by the local terroir. A must-read for passionate gardeners and flower lovers, and all those who appreciate the masterful creativity of Relais & Châteaux, The Art of the Garden shows how to bring the sparkle and freshness of the outdoors into your home.

The bestselling business book from award-winning restauranteur Danny Meyer, of Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, and Shake Shack Seventy-five percent of all new restaurant ventures fail, and of those that do stick around, only a few become icons. Danny Meyer started Union Square Cafe when he was 27, with a good idea and hopeful investors. He is now the co-owner of a restaurant empire. How did he do it? How did he beat the odds in one of the toughest trades around? In this landmark book, Danny shares the lessons he learned developing the dynamic philosophy he calls Enlightened Hospitality. The tenets of that philosophy, which emphasize strong in-house relationships as well as customer satisfaction, are applicable to anyone who works in any business. Whether you are a manager, an executive, or a waiter, Danny’s story and philosophy will help you become more effective and productive, while deepening your understanding and appreciation of a job well done. Setting the Table is landmark a motivational work from one of our era’s most gifted and insightful business leaders.

Winner of the 2007 IACP Cookbook of the Year Award Winner of the 2007 IACP Cookbook Award for Best Book on Wine, Beer or Spirits Winner of the 2006 Georges Duboeuf Wine Book of the Year Award Winner of the 2006 Gourmand World Cookbook Award - U.S. for Best Book on Matching Food and Wine Prepared by a James Beard Award-winning author team, "What to Drink with What You Eat" provides the most comprehensive guide to matching food and drink ever compiled--complete with practical advice from the best wine stewards and chefs in America. 70 full-color photos.

Now in paperback, the critically acclaimed Ritz and Escoffier. In a tale replete with scandal and opulence, Luke Barr, author of the New York Times bestselling Provence, 1970, transports readers to turn-of-the-century London and Paris to discover how celebrated hotelier César Ritz and famed chef Auguste Escoffier joined forces at the Savoy Hotel to spawn a scandalously modern luxury hotel and restaurant, signaling a new social order and the rise of the middle class. In early August 1889, César Ritz, a Swiss hotelier highly regarded for his exquisite taste, found himself at the Savoy Hotel in London. He had come at the request of Richard D'Oyly Carte, the financier of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operas, who had modernized theater and was now looking to create the world's best hotel. D'Oyly Carte soon seduced Ritz to move to London with his team, along with Auguste Escoffier, the chef de cuisine known for his elevated, original dishes. The two created a hotel and restaurant like no one had ever experienced, in often mysterious and always extravagant ways, where British high society mingled with American Jews and women. Barr deftly re-creates the thrilling Belle Epoque era just before World War I, when British aristocracy was at its peak, women began dining out unaccompanied by men, and American nouveaux riche and gauche industrialists convened in London to show off their wealth. In their collaboration at the still celebrated Savoy Hotel, the pair welcomed loyal and sometimes salacious clients, such as Oscar Wilde and Sarah Bernhardt; Escoffier created the modern kitchen brigade and codified French cuisine in his seminal Le Guide culinaire, which remains in print today; and Ritz, whose name continues to grace the finest hotels, created the world's first luxury hotel. The pair also ruffled more than a few feathers. Fine dining and luxury travel would never be the same--or more intriguing.

The finest selection: Tasting notes - Over 750 cheeses - How to enjoy The most comprehensive guide to cheese. Discover the flavor profile, shape, and texture of every cheese. World Cheese Book is for the adventurous cheese lover. It takes you on a tour of the finest cheese-producing countries in the world, revealing local traditions and artisanal processes. Images of each cheese (inside and out), step-by-step techniques that show how to make cheese, and complimentary food and wine pairings make this a truly exhaustive, at-a-glance reference.

The first installment in the delightful, internationally acclaimed series featuring Chief of Police Bruno. Meet Benoît Courrèges, aka Bruno, a policeman in a small village in the South of France. He’s a former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of country life. He has a gun but never wears it; he has the power to arrest but never uses it. But then the murder of an elderly North African who fought in the French army changes all that. Now Bruno must balance his beloved routines—living in his restored shepherd’s cottage, shopping at the local market, drinking wine, strolling the countryside—with a politically delicate investigation. He’s paired with a young policewoman from Paris and the two suspect anti-immigrant militants. As they learn more about the dead man’s past, Bruno’s suspicions turn toward a more complex motive. "Enjoyable.... Martin Walker plots with the same finesse with which Bruno can whip up a truffle omelette, and both have a clear appreciation for a life tied to the land." —The Christian Science Monitor "A nice literary pairing with the slow-food movement.... [It is] lovely...to linger at the table." —Entertainment Weekly "A wonderfully crafted novel as satisfying as a French pastry but with none of the guilt or calories." —Tuscon Citizen's Journal