Credit: Provided by Melcher Media
Credit: Provided by Melcher Media
Musk co-founded the restaurant in March 2004, which he describes as “upscale casual.” Published on The Kitchen's 20th anniversary, the cookbook focuses on building community through communal dining while telling the story of Musk's journey from tech entrepreneur to restaurateur.
“It's not about a recipe or a beautiful photo. It's, 'What's the vibe?'” Musk said in a virtual interview before arriving in Atlanta.
In the book, Musk, who made a small fortune with his brother Elon in 1999 after their startup company Zip2 was acquired by Compaq for more than $307 million, explores the culinary arts as he searches for his next endeavor. He talks about discovering his passion for. He decided to attend French Culinary Arts School in New York City and graduated in 2001.
At the time, he lived very close to the World Trade Center and was affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Due to his proximity to the collapsed tower, he had access to the surrounding area and used his culinary talents to prepare meals for firefighters and first responders working at Ground Zero.
That was one of the moments when I decided to dedicate my life to community cooking and embark on a path to finding similar experiences through food.
Credit: Provided by Melcher Media
Credit: Provided by Melcher Media
One of the dishes featured in the cookbook is wood-grilled striped bass with salsa verde. The recipe from Chef Hugo Matheson, Musk's co-founding partner at The Kitchen, symbolizes their partnership, as Matheson cooked it on the first day they met after Musk moved to Boulder. ing. In his cookbook's foreword, Musk calls it “an unforgettable meal, unlike anything I've had in New York.”
For those looking for simple, crowd-pleasing dishes in The Kitchen Cookbook, Musk also recommends a whole roasted chicken. Its crispy skin is achieved by patting it dry before putting it in the oven and leaving it uncovered in the refrigerator. He suggests serving chicken dishes with carrots marinated in urfa chile and whipped feta cheese.
Cookbook lovers can find Musk's books at both 3 Parks Wine in Atlanta and Virginia Highland Books.
His two-hour autograph session will also include an opportunity to talk about Big Green, the charity he co-founded to promote food education and address the accessibility gap. He said Atlanta is a key market for Big Green's major initiatives, such as establishing gardens in underserved schools.
Wande Okunoren-Meadows serves on Big Green's Governance Committee and is Executive Director of the Hand, Heart and Soul Project. The organization focuses on Clayton County and develops an educational model for building gardens for children and families to grow, cook and eat nutritious food. Okunoren-Meadows acknowledged that Musk was present when needed to discuss planning and execution of Big Green's goals.
“It wasn't a performative thing,” she says. “I think I took more pictures than his crew for the record. He was engaged the whole time.”
Credit: Provided by The Kitchen
Credit: Provided by The Kitchen
This is not Musk's first visit to Atlanta. He's been a frequent visitor over the years, usually guided by Michael Bertozzi, The Kitchen's culinary director and former executive chef at TWO Urban Licks.
“[With the cookbook]we wanted people to feel like they were in our restaurant. We want them to feel the action, they want them to feel the energy. Because it's a shared plate restaurant, we want people to feel like they're in our restaurant. “It's all about shared plates, from plate to plate, but it's all about putting it on the table and moving your hands. And we wanted that atmosphere for the cookbook,” Musk said.
Credit: Provided by Melcher Media
Credit: Provided by Melcher Media
“Vibe” is a word Musk likes to use not only to describe his cookbook, but also to describe his dining experiences at restaurants in Atlanta. “It's a dining out city. That's a really important thing that people don't understand in a lot of other cities. If you're a city that loves eating out, you're going to have chefs competing for that business.”
if you go
March 14th at 2pm, free. Virginia Highland Books, 1034 North Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. vahibooks.com
