Books
74 AMERICANWAY
NOVEMBER 1 2007
It’seasy to imagine thatwhen
chefsget together, theyaskeach
other things like,
“Sowheredo
yousourceyourPatagonian
toothfish?”MelanieDunea
knowsbetter.AManhattan-based
freelancephotographerwhohas
shot foreveryone from
Vanity
Fair
to
Gourmet
to
Inc.
, shespent
monthsfindingoutwhat chefs
really talk toeachotherabout.
As it turnsout, there’saparlor
game—aconversation-enabling
query— that goessomething
along the linesof, “Whatwould
youhave foryour lastmeal?”
present. For fans of these chefs’ work, the
answers are enlightening. IronChefMario
Batali, whoseBabboRistorante has single-
handedly changed the face of Italian cook-
ing in theUnitedStates, woulddinebefore
his demise at a “small beachside trattoria
on theAmalfi coast.” Thingswould kick off
with raw radisheswith extra-virginolive
oil and salt, andwouldfinishwith sponge
cake in rum syrup, with lots of shellfish in
between. Oh, andR.E.M. wouldbe there,
playinga setwithU2. Sounds nice. Toobad
he’dget tohave it onlyonce.
Thebook also includes recipes from each
of the chefs, aswell as impressive, whimsi-
cal portraits of theworld’s kitchenmasters.
PBS’s LidiaBastianichwore ahatmade
of garlic anddriedpasta. GiorgioLocatelli,
an Italianwho runs LocandaLocatelli in
London, posedwitha600-poundmackerel
behindhim. “Itwas quite smelly,” Dunea
says diplomatically.
Sincewe knewwhere tofindher (in the
interest of full disclosure, Dunea’swork has
alsoappeared in
AmericanWay
), we asked
Dunea to tell usmore about themakingof
My Last Supper
.
On thedifferencebetweenphotographing
chefs andphotographingother celebrities
(Duneahas shot HarrisonFord,Michael Stipe,
JohnnyDepp, JonBon Jovi, andKirstenDunst,
amongothers):
“Chefs are a touch less guarded
and arewilling to do unusual things. Since their job
ismore behind-the-scenes thanmost celebrities,
they don’t have to be too protective of their image.”
Onwhat she, uh, gained frombeing around
top chefs:
“I gained 10pounds as Iwent along.
Nowwhenever someone comes over for dinner, I’ll
make something from the book.We’ve hadGordon
Ramsay’s ‘Last Supper,’ andwe hadAlainDucasse’s
apple slices for dessert the other night.”
Onher own “Last Supper”:
“Iwould likemany
different bites to be laid out on a big table. Sur-
rounding the tablewouldbe all my favorite people.
I could swan around andmingle and taste. There
wouldbe someVacheron cheese and a goodEng-
lish cheddar, many pieces of Thornton’s Chocolate
SmotheredToffee, Balthazar breadwithEnglish
butter, a fewpieces of sushi, a sparerib or two,
some foie gras, some caviar on blini. The list is
interminable. Itwould all bewasheddownwith a
beautiful redwine andport.”
Last-MinuteMeals
A celebrityphotographer discoverswhat chefswould eat on theirwayout.
By JosephGuinto
For her just-
releasedphoto
book,
MyLast
Supper
(Blooms-
bury, $40), Dunea
went onequestion
further. Shegot
50of theworld’s
best-known chefs
—FerránAdrià,
AlainDucasse,
ThomasKeller, GordonRamsay, andNancy
Silvertonamong them— to elaborate on
not onlywhat theywould eat but alsoon
whowouldprepare themeal, where it
wouldbe consumed, andwhowouldbe
MelanieDunea
