An Evening with Chef Jan Jorgensen

***Please note: This event will take place at the Books & Books in Coral Gables at 265 Aragon Ave. Tickets are FREE and books will be available for purchase at the event.

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This cookbook will not be like most other cookbooks. And when we write this, we're not claiming that we have reinvented the genre, one that has not really changed all that much--other than in presentation--over the centuries. Our book is not organized by the seasons. It is not pegged to certain proteins, the cuisine of a specific country or cooking techniques, be they primal or avant-garde. Instead, we have organized this book around a handful of the most commercially important and recognizable grapes. The recipes in each chapter are conceived so as to complement one of that grape's resultant styles of a finished wine.
This is not the first cookbook to double down on the importance of a dish and a wine complementing each other. However, we think it goes further on the subject without getting bogged down by theory, formulas and rules--and the invariable exceptions to them--in a very commonsense and straightforward way. We have all come a long way from "white with fish" and "red with meat."
Jan has often said that he'll figure out what to cook and how to cook it based upon what he is in the mood to drink and vice versa. That very unfussy, sort of weeknight ethos is present throughout these pages. The recipes aren't designed to elicit oohs and aahs or impress by employing the newest technology or technique--the words sous vide, air fryer and even tweezers will not show up in them. Instead, there are dozens of recipes, some simple, some less so, that hew to traditions that in some cases date back hundreds of years or borne of necessity or by chance. Many others are grounded in Jan's background in professional kitchens, including his own in Miami, Two Chefs.

Chef Jan Jorgensen was born and raised in Denmark. He apprenticed at MS-M-Rakel in Greenland, and then Schweitzerhof in Zurich. Returning to Denmark, first as a chef at Marie-Louise in Odense, then Le Canard and Kommandanten in Copenhagen, then chef at Christie’s and finally as sous chef under Executive Chef Christian Bind at Fakkelgaarden, in Kollund, Denmark. Chef Jan was interested in a warmer change of scenery, and moved to South Florida, where he began working at Secret Garden. Then the call came from Great Chef Jeremiah Tower to come to San Francisco, where he sharpened his skills at Speedo 690 and Stars, one of the legendary California-style restaurants. He then left to return to Florida to open JanJo’s in Coconut Grove and later linked with fellow Dane, Soren Bredahl, to open Two Chefs Cooking School in South Miami. He continues to operate “Two Chefs” and recently opened “Two Chefs Too” in former Great Chef Mark Militello’s “Mark’s Place” site.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Books & Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, United States