Merchant of Sonoma: Pioneer of the American Kitchen
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.13 (653 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1616280190 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-11-20 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
About the Author A lifelong passion for good food led Chuck Williams (San Francisco, CA) to open the first Williams-Sonoma store in the California wine country in 1956. Since then, he has devoted much of his time to encouraging people to explore the world of cooking. Over the years he has steadily sought out new techniques, equipment, and ingredients to feature in his stores, catalog, and cookbooks, with the mission of spreading the pleasures of cooking at home. . Now more than 250 Williams-Sonoma stores are open acros
There, he fell in love with something most Americans had never seen before: professional-caliber French cookware. Readers will be surprised and delighted to discover the inimitable personality behind it all, whose love of good food, passion for customer service, and legendary good taste helped transform the American kitchen.. Growing up during the Great Depression and building airplanes and houses during WWII little prepared Chuck for his first trip to Paris in 1953. Within a few years, he acquired a hardware store in the California wine country and started selling a few sauté pans, soufflé dishes, and brioche tins. What followed is history, as Williams-Sonoma has grown to become the leading cookware retailer in America. For the first time, the personal life story of one of America’s greatest culinary icons: Chuck Williams, founder of Williams-Sonoma.Lovers of food, history, and great entrepreneurial success stories alike will be amazed to meet one of the most highly influential—and yet virtually unknown—figures of the American food world: Chuck Williams, founder of Williams-Sonoma
Any SF resident today would enjoy reading this This is a sympathetic, officially-approved biography of Chuck Williams written by a friend and published by the publisher of the Williams Sonoma line of cookbooks. Although it is sanitized and sometimes overtly-gushing and celebrity name-dropping, it nevertheless remains a fascinating and well-researched glimpse of the early days of Williams-Sonoma. The Sutter Street flagship location in SF opened in the late 1950s: I never knew that. WS was also intertwined with the lives of Julia Child and James . Foodie said Almost a love letter.. William Warren has written a cross between a biography and a tender love letter to Chuck Williams. The book traces the history of Williams' life from surviving the Depression, moving across the country to start a new life, to the humble beginnings and great success of the Williams-Sonoma franchise. Williams is clearly a survivor (he's in his mid-90's), and was able to tap into his strengths as a merchant, and marry it with his love of food and France. His incredible hard work and inability to deleg. Near Ecellent Robert R. Fantastic book covering Chuck Williams' life, career, and the establishment and growth of Williams-Sonoma, along with interesting side bars on some of the classics (like that Chuck Williams convinced Le Creuset to make their Dutch ovens and so on in colors other than their trademark "Flame" [British cookery writer Elizabeth David managed to get them to produce a line to match the blue of the package of her cigarettes as well]).The one criticism I have of this book is that in an age of equality and
. Since then, he has devoted much of his time to encouraging people to explore the world of cooking. Over the years he has steadily sought out new techniques, equipment, and ingredients to feature in his stores, catalog, and cookbooks, with the mission of spreading the pleasures of cooking at home. A lifelong passion for good food led Chuck Williams (San Francisco, CA) to open the first Williams-Sonoma store in th