''An absorbing self-portrait of an exceptional cook.'' Harold McGee

Daniel Patterson is the head chef /owner of Coi (pronounced "Kwa"), a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco. At Coi, Patterson mixes modern culinary techniques with local, wild and cultivated ingredients to create original dishes that speak of place, memory, and emotion. It''s an approach that has earned him a worldwide reputation for pioneering a new kind of Californian cuisine.

Patterson is also known for his original food writing, and he has been published in recent years in The New York Times, Bon Appetit and Lucky Peach. Now, in his highly anticipated new book, Coi: Stories and Recipes, Patterson writes a personal account of the restaurant, its dishes and his own unique philosophy about food and cooking. Beginning with a look at California - how Patterson arrived from the East Coast and how he became to feel more at home as the years progressed — the book takes the reader into the Coi kitchen, and through 70 of the restaurant''s original dishes such as Chilled Spiced Ratatouille Soup; Carrots Roasted in Coffee Beans, Monterey Bay Abalone with Nettle-Dandelion Salsa Verde; Inverted Cherry Tomato Tart and Lime Marshmallow with Coal-Toasted Meringue. The dishes are explained through a series of personal essays and narrative recipes, offering insight into Patterson''s life, family, and inspirations.

Coi: Stories and Recipes includes 150 color photographs showing the finished dishes as well as atmospheric images of the restaurant, the California landscape, and portraits of Coi''s staff and suppliers. The book features forewords by Peter Meehan and Harold McGee. It is sure to be one of the most talked about cookbooks of the year.