Every great dish has a center of gravity, a flavor or essence that pulls together other ingredients into a coherent and compelling whole. It’s not necessarily the main ingredient but it is fundamentally what the dish is “about”. Indian curry spices, fiery Thai chilis, lemony citrus, smoky barbecue rubs: these are all flavors we adore and get our taste buds asking for more. When we talk about wine or alcoholic drinks in any serious way, we talk about flavor too. Flavor is, quite simply, what makes us passionate about food and drink. At last, here is a cookbook that focuses on that fundamental concept.

Organized around a dozen or more distinctive tastes, from spicy to citrus to salty to smoky to sweet to bitter and beyond, The Flavor Principle will feature more than 30 complete menus with complementary beverage pairings. Covering flavors from all over the world, this cookbook will be a journey around the globe. Modern and eclectic in approach, The Flavour Principle will appeal to a wide demographic of food and wine lovers. The publication of A Matter of Taste in 2005 set the tone for HarperCollins Canada’s cookbook program; The Flavour Principle is meant not just as an update of that venerable publication, but will set a new bar for food and beverage pairing cookbooks.