Cool Tools: Cooking Utensils from the Japanese Kitchen

A visually stunning book for the professional chef, the curious amateur-and anyone who appreciates the uniqueness of Japanese design and culture.What do chefs use to grate wasabi, the eyewatering Japanese "horse radish?" To pick up the delicate cubes of tofu from boiling water? To slice sashimi? Or scoop freshly steamed rice from the pot?Cool Tools reveals the answers to these questions and much more, as it explores the Japanese kitchen, finding a treasure trove of fascinating and practical items that are used by Japanese chefs in their daily culinary endeavors.Japanese cuisine is flourishing among the food-conscious all over the world-as are the cookbooks featuring recipes from a wide variety of styles. Now, Cool Tools goes deep inside the kitchen, into the cupboards and the drawers, to the stove tops and wall hangers where all sorts of utensils are stored. Here are the items being manipulated by the hands of the famous in their awe-inspiring kitchens-and the not-so-famous in their homes.As with so many Japanese creations, the utensils are both functional and artistic. And the pieces that are the focus of this book are treated as both works of art and items of practical interest. The photography, by one of Japan's leading lensmen, celebrates the care in materials and design. The text, by a long-time columnist on Tokyo dining and entertaining, celebrates the history, the usage, the people behind these tools, in brief, informative and entertaining entries.