A Taste of Cuba ― A Journey Through Cuba and Its Savory Cuisine, Includes 75 Authentic Recipes from the Country Top Chefs

From the leading photographer of Cuba, A Taste of Cuba is a stunning culinary and visual journey through Cuba that presents 75 authentic, never-before-shared recipes from the world’s most inventive chefs.

In a country shrouded in secrecy, a mouthwatering, but little-known food scene is emerging. A Taste of Cuba offers unprecedented access into the kitchens of Cuba’s top chefs, where the country’s most delectable dishes are created and where the chefs will share for the very first time, their brilliant techniques, inspiration, and best recipes. You’ll also be given the rare opportunity to walk the streets of Cuba, to experience its vibrant, colorful culture and see its lush landscapes up close.

In this one-of-a-kind volume, renowned Cuba photographer Cynthia Carris Alonso and her Cuban husband, José Luis Alonso, take you with them on their ride through Havana and around the country, as they stop in Cuba’s twenty top restaurants and paladares—private, family owned establishments—along the way. Inside you’ll see how Cuban chefs are world-class resourceful and inventive, adapting their dishes based on the changing ingredients available on the market. Seventy-five original recipes supplied by Cuba’s top chefs, tested and translated for an American kitchen by chef Valerie Feigen, will allow you to make the chefs’ best appetizers, main courses, desserts, and drinks in your home.

A Taste of Cuba offers recipes for Cuban staples, such as ropa vieja, frijoles negros, and maduros—stewed beef, black beans, and sweet plantains—as well as for more elaborate dishes, such as a lobster enchilada, eggplant caviar, fish tacos, and ham croquettes. It also shares the recipe for La Cocina de Lilliam’s life-changing bread, sweets such as dreamy alfajores con dulce de leche, Cuba’s famous coffees, mojitos, and juices, and Ernest Hemingway’s papa doble daiquiri of legend.

Cynthia Carris Alonso is an acclaimed photographer, a writer, and the author of Passage to Cuba. Since 1992, she has regularly traveled to Cuba, documenting its news, musicians, and culture for music recording companies and publications such as Newsweek, Vanity Fair, BusinessWeek, and People en Espanol. Alonso has appeared as a Cuba consultant on national television, in print, and on radio. Her images have exhibited throughout the United States and in Canada and Brazil. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Jose Luis Alonso is a teacher, writer, and award-winning children’s book author of Secretos con mi Almohada, published in Cuba in 1980. Alonso was born in Cuba and met Cynthia Carris Alonso, now his wife, in Havana. Together, the couple has collaborated on numerous lectures and exhibits to celebrate Cuban culture. Prior to working in academia, Alonso was a chef and restaurant manager. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.

Valerie Feigen is a self-taught chef who previously worked as a corporate lawyer, stock analyst, and co-owner of Edit, a women’s fashion specialty store. She was the inspiration for Marisa Tomei’s character in The Big Short, and her husband, Steven Eisman, inspired the character played by Steve Carell. She lives with her husband and three children in New York City.