Food for Thought

Two years after opening his award-winning Chicago restaurant Alinea, chef Grant Achatz was diagnosed with tongue cancer. He describes losing and regaining his taste in Life, on the Line. "My palate developed just as a newborn," Achatz says. "i don't recommend it, but I think it made me a better chef."

In her new memoir chef Lidia Bastianich recalls growing up on a family farm, escaping the communists, becoming a refugee and immigrating to the U.S., starting her own restaurant in Queens, and getting her own cooking show.

Chef and sustainable seafood advocate Barton Seaver works to get people excited about fish. He says there are lots of species that are not endangered that we should be eating, like Hake.

Self-described "fermentation revivalist" Sandor Katz says "the creative space" between fresh and rotten is the root of most of humanity's prized delicacies. His new book, The Art of Fermentation, explores the ancient culinary art form.

From perfect pie crusts to poached salmon, Christopher Kimball and Bridget Lancaster share cooking tips and secret shortcuts from America's Test Kitchen. The biggest challenge is getting home chefs to faithfully follow recipes, Kimball says: "They will substitute ingredients with great abandon."