Cooking & Entertaining

A Table at Le Cirque: Stories and Recipes from New York's Most Legendary Restaurant

The first cookbook from the New York institution that has cultivated some of the best chefs of our time and has served as the social club for celebrities and power brokers for more than thirty-five years. If you had to pick a single restaurant that has wielded the greatest influence in the last fifty years, it would be Le Cirque. Started in 1974, Le Cirque has redefined fine dining for the entire country. The seductive man behind it all, Sirio Maccioni, slyly introduced patrons to the delights of fine Italian cuisine alongside French classics. Most famously, he created a social club for titans and tastemakers from all walks of life—presidents and kings, café society and business magnates, and stars such as Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, and Andy Warhol. For the kitchen, Maccioni has always handpicked up-and-coming new talent. Among its alumni are David Bouley, Michael Lomonaco, and Terrance Brennan. Now for the first time, the recipes for the restaurant’s iconic dishes are presented here, in the same form as they were originally invented—including such classics as Daniel Boulud’s Black Bass with Barolo Sauce, Alain Sailhac’s Fettuccine with White Truffles, Pierre Schaedelin’s deconstructed Caesar Salad, and Jacques Torres’s Bombolini. Woven throughout the book are colorful anecdotes and candid photographs documenting the glitz and glam of the restaurant, where a reservation is always coveted.

About The Author

Sirio Maccioni—along with his wife Egidiana and their sons Mario, Marco, and Mauro—operates Le Cirque, Sirio, and Osteria del Circo in New York and Las Vegas; Le Cirque in New Delhi; and Le Cirque at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic. Pamela Fiori is a celebrated magazine editor who has helmed Town & Country as well as Travel & Leisure.

  • Publish Date: October 16, 2012
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: Cooking - Regional & Cultural - French
  • Publisher: Rizzoli
  • Trim Size: 9-3/4 x 10
  • Pages: 256
  • US Price: $39.95
  • CDN Price: $39.95
  • ISBN: 978-0-8478-3794-6

Reviews

"The book expresses the rich and fabled history of Le Cirque and shares intricate stories of the restaurant's beginning and its success. Countless famous attendees are also included in this glamour filled tale of an iconic eatery." ~The Society Diaries

“For those who can’t afford the menu prices or prefer to wait for the kitchen to right itself, this coffee-table book by Le Cirque’s 80 year-old creator, offers a mouthwatering peek behind the curtains of a restaurant that has maintained its cachet since 1974.” ~the New York Times
 
“…should be required reading for anyone who has ever dined at Le Cirque or dreamt of doing so. Page through the first part of the book and you’ll be dazzled and delighted by the photos and stories…what a gift book this would make for anyone loving the art of dining and the art of living well.” ~Virtual Gourmet

"It is the first book to chronicle the fascinating stories, fabled history, the glitz and glamour, and the iconic recipes from the restaurant that is synonymous with luxury.There are hundreds of photographs and drawings, and they all represent a visual history of the world inside the tent (some of them captured by The New York Times society photographer Bill Cunningham who posted himself, in rain or shine, in front of the entrance to capture the comings and goings." ~Highendweekly.com

"...recipes and stories behind some of the 37-year-old Upper East Side restaurant’s most iconic culinary inventions and tells how they’ve been served to everyone from kings to presidents to Hollywood celebrities — by a multitude of well-known chefs.." ~New York Post

Author Bookshelf: Pamela Fiori