Flavorama

“Arielle changed the way that I think about flavor, and in these pages, she will do the same for you” (René Redzepi, chef of Noma). A 2025 JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BLOOMBERG • DELISH • KCRW/NPR GOOD FOOD • LOS ANGELES TIME • NEW YORK TIMES • SAVEUR • SCIENCE NEWS • TIMES UNION • WASHINGTON POST • ROBB REPORT An irreverent, accessible, essential guide to the food science of flavor and how to use it in your own kitchen, from the flavor scientist-confidante of some of the world’s best chefs, Arielle Johnson, with more than 75 recipes—plus a foreword by René Redzepi. Meet Arielle Johnson—she’s a flavor scientist (she loves flavor so much, she got a Ph.D. in the subject). She spends most of her time helping chefs better understand what’s going on beneath the hood of flavor and make delicious new foods. Now, with Flavorama, she shares this invaluable knowledge with home cooks everywhere. Mixing equal parts fun and braininess, Arielle dives into how chemistry, sensation, and craft unite to create flavor, distilling what flavor really is (molecules!) and how to get it to work for you (spotting patterns, breaking rules) in an easy-to-digest handbook for creative cooking. You don’t need a lab or a professional kitchen—or even a background in science—to get something out of the science of flavor. With Flavorama, you’ll be able to easily finesse flavor while cooking to give any dish a little oomph, master creative ingredient swaps, use a recipe or technique to improvise something new, or boldly replicate a flavor. Out of basil for pesto? Pivot and use mint, shiso, or tarragon—all are members of the same “herbal-aromatic” flavor family—for a new-but-somehow-familiar herb sauce. Or add a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of flaky…