In a deal rumored to be in the seven-figure range, Artisan has inked a world rights publishing partnership with chef René Redzepi. The founder of the Copenhagen restaurant Noma (which has been named the best restaurant in the world for multiple years by Restaurant magazine), Redzepi will write three new cookbooks and contribute to a biannual series aimed at, Artisan said, "galvanizing the creative potential of the global cooking community."
The first cookbook Artisan signed in the agreement is called Foundations of Flavour: The Noma Guide to Fermentation and is slated for release in October 2018. It will, the publisher said, be one of the first cookbooks about fermentation written from the point of view of a chef. It will draw from lessons learned at Noma, which has a "fermentation lab," and explain the history and science of fermentation. It will also provide tips on how to ferment at home and offer recipes that incorporate the practice. The book will draw on input from the team at the restaurant's lab, including its current director, David Zilber.
The series, called Dispatches, will feature contributions from Redzepi and other chefs. Edited by Chris Ying, co-founder and former editor-in-chief of the food and culture magazine Lucky Peach, the series is spun off of Redzepi's nonprofit MAD. (The name of the group is based on the Danish word for food and it seeks to bring the cooking community together to focus on social issues.)
Speaking about the series, Artisan publisher Lia Ronnen said it will "encourage readers to think about food in new ways and to take action as part of a global food and cooking community." The first volume of Dispatches is set for a September 2018 release.
Future books in the agreement are, Artisan said, "in the early stages of development and will be announced closer to their release."
