Mallmann on Fire

August 18, 2014
One hundred solid recipes for the outdoor grill and griddle provide counterweight to Mallmann’s ethereal musings of his global travels in this follow-up to 2009’s Seven Fires. A celebrity in South America, with three restaurants and numerous television appearances on his CV, the chef professes that his life has always been about the “passionate encounter between wanderlust and cooking.” Thus, he writes of the lessons learned and fires lit in Paris, New York, Brazil, Uruguay, and Patagonia, at times with a poetic sensibility that could stand a little more wander and a little less lust (“I adore the way everybody has lovers. The French don’t talk about it too much; it is too serious and too beautiful.”) His Parisian training in the kitchen is reflected in several of the entrees ,including côte de boeuf and gratin of potatoes with emmental wrapped in Bayonne ham, but it is clear that his influences are broadly based. There is an Argentinian tuna churrasco and avocado sandwich; a Brazilian octopus with chard, cooked in a cast-iron box; butterflied chicken a la parrilla is served with grilled chicory, as is done in Italy; and, for the American palate, there are spareribs, braised in red wine and served with slaw. 250 color photos, a mélange of seared fish, sliced steak and, of course, fire, add additional heat to the proceedings.

October 15, 2014

In his award-winning debut book Seven Fires, Argentine grilling master Mallmann introduced live-fire cooking methods that have since been explored by other authors, including Adam Perry Lang (Charred & Scruffed), Barton Seaver (Where There's Smoke), and Michael Chiarello (Michael Chiarello's Live Fire). Here, writing with chef and author Kaminsky, Mallmann continues to challenge readers' notions of where, when, and how grilling should occur. Among recipes ranging from doable (red and golden beet salad with radishes and soft-boiled eggs, grilled Dover sole with parsleyed boiled potatoes) to daunting (a multicourse parrillada of pork and vegetables that serves 18 and takes a week to prepare), Mallmann can be seen cooking in the snow, on the sidewalks of Manhattan, and on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia. VERDICT Though the author targets serious outdoor cooks, his title is suitable for amateurs and armchair travelers. Not all of the recipes require a fire, and those that do can usually be adapted to the stovetop.

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