Writing a book of this scope was not a simple task and could not have been done without the help of many, many people.
Most important, to Wylie Dufresne and the staff of wd~50, Didier Corlou and the staff of La Verticale, Daniel Zach and the staff of Carmella Bistro, and Alain Senderens and Jérôme Banctel and the staff of Senderens—thank you all for the enormous privilege of working beside you in the kitchen and for teaching me how to cook. Because of all of you, I truly know what it means to be a chef, and I have the utmost respect for people who make their living behind the stove.
Emily Griffin, my wonderful editor at Grand Central Publishing, helped shape this book with her insightful comments and unwavering support.
I am deeply grateful to Jenni Ferrari-Adler who took a chance on me and on my idea. Thanks for being an outstanding editor who just happens to also be my outstanding agent.
I would like to thank everyone at Grand Central Publishing for helping to produce and champion this book, especially Jen Musico, Tareth Mitch, and Diane Luger. Thank you also to Sona Vogel for being an amazing copy editor and to Deborah Feingold for taking the cover photo.
My narrative became infinitely better thanks to Ellen Gordon Reeves who read the entire manuscript despite barely knowing me. Krishnendu Ray also provided me with considerable academic assistance, editorial advice, and personal mentorship. And I’d like to thank the people who reviewed my book proposal long before there was ever a deal in sight—Irene Sax, Laura Shapiro, and especially Amanda Hesser, who graciously responded to my fan letter six years ago and has been a friend ever since. A big thumbs up also goes to Stephanie Bourgeois, who tested what seemed like all of the Vietnamese recipes in one sitting, and Alainna Lynch for taking my author photo.
Undertaking a project like this was not an inexpensive endeavor yet I was fortunate enough to receive grant money from New York University and from the Culinary Trust/the Julia Child Foundation to help fund my travel expenses.
I met so many amazing people outside of the professional kitchen during my travels, and I am lucky to now count the following among my friends: Sami El-Sawi and Beatrice Wandelmer, Rebecca Palkovics, Andrew Burman, Belinda O’Dea, Sally Gardner, Suchi Bansal, Hung Ba, Coreen Kopper, Kate Rosenshine, Asher Gelman, Mati Bar, Alex Fred, Sharon Labaton, Natan Gesher, Carole and Andrea Rogerson, Max Shrem, Tom Samiljan, Paule Caillat, Steve Zylbersztejn, John Gabriel, Joe Navin, and Nell McBride. Other people who were instrumental in the logistics and planning of this project include: Caitlin Aherne, Eric Murnighan, Marc Bauer, Rebecca Vitale, Daniel Vo, Hannah Janal, Rupa Bhattacharya, and Christine Muhlke.
And to Cathy and George Shockey: I couldn’t have asked for—or found anywhere—more devoted line editors, recipe testers, personal assistants, cheerleaders, and, most important, loving parents. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams and for believing in this book before I had written a single word on the page.