Author/Chef James Haller: ‘Salt & Pepper Cooking’

Before dining during Portsmouth’s Restaurant Week, stop in and shake the hand of Chef Haller, the man who first put Portsmouth on the map as a Dining Destination.From the time he was a baby, James Haller loved being in the kitchen. Internationally acclaimed chef and award-winning author James Haller serves up a perfect blend of humor, nostalgia, and wisdom in this delightful culinary memoir. In his latest book, Chef Haller chronicles a lifetime of cooking.

James Haller opened his renowned restaurant, Blue Strawbery, in 1970 and in 16 years never repeated a menu.  Today, creative cuisine abounds, but in Chef Haller’s time, he was truly an innovator, one of a generation of American chefs including Larry Forgione in Manhattan, Lydia Shire in Boston, Jeremiah Tower in San Francisco, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, who all pioneered the New American Cooking.

Haller is the author of several books, including “The Blue Strawbery Cookbook: Cooking Brilliantly Without Recipes,” “Vie De France,” (being re-released as “A Little Kitchen in France” in 2016) a travel journal that has been printed in 3 languages, and “What To Eat When You Don’t Feel Like Eating,” on cooking for cancer patients, which has sold almost 1 million copies.

“I never formally studied the culinary arts. But the lessons that came to me in the daily cooking of the households of which I was a part have stayed with me all of my life. This informal education is the subject of this book. “Salt & Pepper Cooking” brings me full circle—back to where I began.”  — Chef Haller

Praise for Salt & Pepper Cooking
“Flavorful serving of hilarious, poignant memories that will leave readers wanting seconds.” —Kirkus Reviews

“These charming vignettes of a young boy who learns sitting in his grandmother’s kitchen with eyes wide open, that food can equal love and that creativity in the kitchen knows no bounds!” —Kathy Gunst, NPR’s Here & Now

Portsmouth Chefs Praise Chef Haller and Salt & Pepper Cooking:
“Chef Haller’s inspiration and techniques have turned a small town in New Hampshire into a culinary destination.” —Jethro Loichle, executive chef, Ristorante Massimo, Portsmouth, NH

“Chef Haller paved the way for all of us cooking here now, and it is an incredible pleasure to read tales of his life.” —Matt Louis, executive chef /owner of MOXY, Portsmouth, NH

“ The storytelling is wonderful.” —Gregg Sessler, executive chef, Cava, Portsmouth, NH

“ [James] “Buddy,” … reminds us that, when times are tough, a love of food can keep us going.” —Evan Mallett, executive chef /owner, Black Trumpet, Portsmouth, NH