Through Chef Fritz Blank’s anecdotes and stories about how he became Chef Fritz, I settled on recurring themes – the Army, music, German and Austrian cooking, the strong personalities that fed his developing taste for cookery, his love of camaraderie and more – to guide the sections of A Chef & His Library. These particular books deal with his life, his passions and most especially his education as a chef.

The materials are part of a working library, though some important books are missing. Shirley Corriher’s Cookwise for instance, is not included because it sits among two dozen dog-eared books on a Deux Cheminées’ kitchen shelf for all the staff to use.

A specific book such as the American Woman’s Cook Book contains recipes Blank explored and tested as a young boy. Others present variations of recipes that Blank subsequently modified and integrated into his 21st-century kitchen. Some are memory aids for people and times long gone. All are treasures of Fritz Blank.

Matthew Rowley
Curator
October 6, 2002

© 2002 University of Pennyslvanian Library Trustees