David Lebovitz is a Paris-based American chef and food blogger. He is also the author of four cookbooks, including The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed), which features recipes for frozen desserts. His next book will be published in May of 2009 by Broadway Books. You can also catch up with David on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

Sweet or salty?

Both, and at the same time.

What’s the cooking sound you most love?

The sound of someone else doing the dishes.

What’s your favorite cooking smell?

A big platter of just-fried chicken.

What are the qualities you most admire in a dish?

Fewer ingredients.

What is your most treasured possession in the kitchen?

My espresso machine.

What is a dirty word in your kitchen?

Margarine.

What are afraid to do in the kitchen?

Deep frying. Any recipe that begins with the words; “Heat 6 to 8 quarts of oil…” I avoid.

What won’t you eat?

Tentacles, or anything with a larger forehead than mine.

Have you ever lost your appetite for a food you once loved?

At the beginning of this summer, I vowed to eat pesto every day. I did pretty well, but started wavering around mid-July.

Have you ever had a religious conversion involving a food you once did not believe in?

Mussels. I once ate one that made a non-believer out of me for years. A few years later, I was born again.

If you could choose one historical or living cook to make you a meal right now, who and what would it be?

Rachael Ray. Because I think that girl could really use a glass of wine.

Which living cook do you most admire/despise?

Proust, because he didn’t leave behind his recipe for madeleines.

Which food website/blog could you not live without?

There’s too many, but I just found Cake Wrecks. Every time I read it, I’m shocked and wonder, “What are people thinking?”

Who are your favorite cookbook authors/food writers?

Jane Grigson, Roy Andries de Groot and Richard Olney. In one sentence, each of them could convey more than most food writers can in a whole chapter.

What is your favorite food-related word?

Julia’s…

What is your favorite food-related scene from literature or the movies?

At the end of Babette’s Feast, when she’s all done cooking this enormous meal and takes a little sip of something to drink, which I think was wine. If there’s a cook in the world that can’t relate to that, I’d like to meet them.

What’s your favorite food-shopping errand or journey?

I LOVE going to supermarkets in foreign countries.

To which country would you move for the food?

Korea, preferably the Southern one.

You wish to die with what in your stomach?

The head of Dick Cheney.

If heaven exists, what do you hope they have on the menu?

Caramelized salted butter ice cream with warm chocolate sauce, marshmallow sauce and perfectly toasted Texas pecans strewn on top.

What’s your poison?

Squid ink.

What are you craving right now?

Fried chicken, espresso, mussels, a glass of wine, madeleines, bibimbap and a hot fudge sundae — but not necessarily in that order.

(Image created at Wordle.)

Posted by kristin in the cookthink questionnaire | | Subscribe to this feed