One of Eater National’s Most Anticipated Cookbooks of 2014
One of Tasting Table’s Best Upcoming Cookbooks
"This fall release makes a terrific gift for Angelenos who have eaten at Rockenwagner, Cafe Rockenwagner, and 3 Square Cafe, and are looking for a little insight into the chef's unique fusion cuisine. Recipes range from those unforgettable pretzels that also make for great buns to spring with spatzle with herbs & peas. The instructions for the actual spatzle (a German dumpling-like noodle) make the dish sound doable, even if your gifted is not a whiz in the kitchen."
—LA Weekly Squid Ink
“Every stage of that eclectic career is reflected in his new “Das Cookbook,” written with Jenn Garbee and Wolfgang Gussmack and published by local Prospect Park Books. There is, as they say, something for everyone, no matter which stage of Röckenwagner’s career you prefer.”
—Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times Daily Dish
“[It] showcases the misunderstood cuisine of his homeland [with] California-inspired riffs on Deutsch recipes like herbed gravlax and spring spätzle with herbs and peas.”
— Los Angeles Magazine
“Das Cookbook finally gives me what I (and I think I speak for all of you) really WANT in a cookbook: bread, pastries, muesli, grilled cheese, strudel, pretzels, potatoes, and, yes, okay, salads. It’s a treasure trove of ingredients and flavors combined with simple, eye-popping, tastebud-teasing recipes. Hans was classically trained and humanely raised in Germany, and he has brought it all here to California and reformulated it for an American-foodie audience. Das Cookbook is a modern, cool, hip take on old-school techniques and secrets. It’s a must-have in every contemporary kitchen.”
— Jamie Lee Curtis, actress and author
“Growing up as a chef in Los Angeles, Hans has always been an inspiration to me. Das Cookbook is just another expression of his creativity and culinary genius.”
— Josiah Citrin, chef/owner of Mélisse and author of In Pursuit of Excellence
“At a time when successful chefs take themslves much too seriously, Hans Rockwagner has created this delectably insightful work and playfully called it Das Cookbook. Yet it is a serious and original blending of California and German cooking, two seemingly antithetical traditions made colorfully harmonious by a chef who is well grounded in both. Thus, the soft appeal of German potato salad provides just the right contrast to Korea’s spicy flank steak, and the first rhubarb, straight from a local farm, gives new and rosy brightness to streuselküchen, the much-loved crumb cake. And he shares many more recipes that modify the solidity of German food with a bright, contemporary California touch, all exquisitely illustrated and meticulously explained.”
— Mimi Sheraton, former New York Times food critic and author of The German Cookbook
“We concluded that German cuisine is awesome. And what better way to enjoy its classic dishes than by cooking them at home as instructe by longtime Los Angeles chef Hans Röckenwagner?”
— Food Republic
