Start the Fire

Widely recognized as the godfather of modern American cooking, Jeremiah Tower is one of the most influential cooks of the last forty years. In 2004, he rocked the culinary world with a tell-all story of his lifelong love affair with food, and the restaurants and people he encountered along the way.

In Start the Fire, this revised edition of his memoir, California Dish, Tower shares with wit and honesty his insights into cooking, chefs, celebrities, and what really goes on in the kitchen. No other book reveals more about the seeds sown in the seventies, the excesses of the eighties, or the self-congratulations of the nineties.

With a brand-new introduction by the author, Start the Fire is an essential account of the most important years in the history of American cooking from one of its singular personalities.