Fire in My Belly: Real Cooking

Step into the kitchen with beloved chef Kevin Gillespie, whose deep commitment, passion, and skill shine throughout this approachable cookbook. This is truly a book to be cooked from again and again.

"Cooking is figuring out the great qualities of any food and making those qualities shine." That's the inspiring message of Fire in My Belly by Top Chef fan favorite Kevin Gillespie. Fire In My Belly celebrates good ingredients with more than 120 hip, accessible recipes presented in a cutting-edge design. This book taps into our national obsession with knowing where our food comes from. Kevin’s southern charm, passion, and funny stories guide readers through one-of-a-kind chapters, like "Foods You Thought You Hated," "When I Want to Eat Healthy," "My Version of Southern Food," "World Classics Revisited," and "Junk Food." Fire in My Belly shows cooks what to do with fresh farmers' market foods while providing a backstage pass to the life of a rising culinary star.

"Gillespie, the executive chef at Atlanta's Woodfire Grill, makes an impressive cookbook debut with this inspired collection of more than 120 recipes, based on his restaurant creations but modified for the home cook. In a clever chapter entitled 'Foods You Thought You Hated,' he arms himself with garlic, spices, and cream to make palatable dishes like brussels sprouts gratin and haggis with caramelized turnip. The chapter entitled 'World Classics Revisited' offers famous mainstays like Welsh rarebit and coq au vin, as well as re-imagined treats like cucumber and almond gazpacho, and smoked trout puffs with bacon jam. He preaches the use of local and sustainable foods, but that does not mean he cannot own up to a chapter entitled 'Junk Food,' with such entries as deep-fried candy bars. Gillespie's intelligence and creativity (he turned down a scholarship to MIT in order to attend culinary school) is apparent in his writing style. Each chapter is prefaced with a brief, compelling tale from his past that is heartfelt without cloying. And each recipe is prefaced with commentary that is just off-color and honest enough to be quite funny ('I've always liked ramen noodles. I know they're total crap, but I like them')." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Step into the kitchen with beloved chef Kevin Gillespie, whose deep commitment, passion, and skill shine throughout this approachable cookbook. This is truly a book to be cooked from again and again.

"Cooking is figuring out the great qualities of any food and making those qualities shine." That's the inspiring message of Fire in My Belly by Top Chef fan favorite Kevin Gillespie. Fire In My Belly celebrates good ingredients with more than 120 hip, accessible recipes presented in a cutting-edge design. This book taps into our national obsession with knowing where our food comes from. Kevin’s southern charm, passion, and funny stories guide readers through one-of-a-kind chapters, like "Foods You Thought You Hated," "When I Want to Eat Healthy," "My Version of Southern Food," "World Classics Revisited," and "Junk Food." Fire in My Belly shows cooks what to do with fresh farmers' market foods while providing a backstage pass to the life of a rising culinary star.

Chef Kevin Gillespie’s true passion lies in serving his customers quality food every day. This enthusiasm means incorporating the use of fresh, organic and sustainable ingredients in all of his dishes. His goals as executive chef and partner of Woodfire Grill are to increase the usage of local products, make seasonal dishes more exciting, and create a youthful atmosphere at the restaurant.

David Joachim has authored, edited, or collaborated on more than 35 cookbooks, including the IACP award-winning The Food Substitutions Bible and the New York Times bestsellers A Man, A Can, A Grill and Mastering the Grill, co-authored with Andrew Schloss. His book The Science of Good Food was an IACP award winner, a James Beard award finalist, and a World Food Media award finalist for Best Food Book. His latest book is Rustic Italian Food, written with James Beard award-winning chef Marc Vetri. He is the co-founder of Chef Salt, a line of artisanal salt seasoning blends,