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Starred review from April 6, 2015
Voltaggio, who owns five restaurants (Volt, Lunchbox, Family Meal, Range, and Aggio), happily shares his skills and innovative approach to comfort food in this spectacular collection of 100 flavorful riffs on American South classics such as biscuits and gravy (sweet potato biscuits with sausage, bacon, and mushroom gravy) and fried chicken (the secret is the pickle juice added to the brine). Voltaggio’s inventive approach yields page after page of “must try” dishes: squid Bolognese; a Southern-style banh mi with chicken liver mousse and a tropical coleslaw; pimento cheese hush puppies; baked applesauce with bourbon and vanilla; and chicken wings with kimchi caramel. Novice cooks will likely be intimidated by the many ingredients and steps (Voltaggio’s Thanksgiving meal calls for breaking down a turkey, making turkey stock, and brining as well as cooking the bird), but intermediate cooks with a deep larder will find great guidance in this outstanding cookbook.

April 15, 2015

Restaurateur Voltaggio coauthored Volt Ink with his brother and fellow Top Chef contestant Michael. Here, he strikes out on his own, offering readers 100 new recipes for refined American comfort foods, including Maryland crab cake sandwiches, pork ribs with kimchi and Dr. Pepper, and onion rings with bacon-horseradish dip. Voltaggio dispenses with the thermal immersion circulators and xanthan gum called for in his previous cookbook, opting instead for conventional tools and ingredients. Still, his more accessible dishes are not without chefly touches; measurements are given in metric and U.S. units, and unusual ingredients (e.g., John Cope's toasted dried sweet corn, squid ink) occasionally appear. VERDICT This is a celebrity chef cookbook that readers will want to use, not relegate to the coffee table.

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