David Tanis has worked as a professional chef for over four decades, and is the author of several acclaimed cookbooks, including A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes, which was chosen as one of the 50 best cookbooks ever by the Guardian/Observer (U.K.). More recently he published the vegetable-forward David Tanis Market Cooking

He has spent many years working with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California; he ran the kitchen of the highly praised Café Escalera in Santa Fe, New Mexico; and he operated a successful private supper club in his 17th century walk-up in Paris. Recently, he has consulted for LULU, at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. 

As a teacher, he has worked with the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland and Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School in Sicily.

He writes a monthly column for the Food section of the New York Times. He has also written for other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian/Observer (U.K.), Cooking Light, Bon Appétit, Fine Cooking and Saveur.

Passionate about simple, seasonal home cooking—real food—he finds inspiration in the fresh offerings at farmers’ markets. Travels in Europe, Asia, and the Americas have also informed his work.