According to Food52—started by Mrs. Latte herself, Amanda Hesser, along with Merrill Stubbs—the website/community was "created to celebrate the best cooks in the world: home cooks." It's the kind of site you submit your best stew with olives or your best fig recipe. Relatively down home.
But to kick off the whole thing with a bang, Food52 is reaching out to the more professional sorts (see Thomas Keller) by hosting "The Tournament of Cookbooks." Sixteen of the year's best cookbooks have been chosen, including a couple local notables: Ad Hoc at Home, The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook, and The Sweet Life in Paris (ok, pastry chef David Lebovitz split SF but we still consider him one of our own). As well as 17 judges (which makes 1.06 judges per book)— an eclectic panel that includes luminaries such as Nora Ephron and Gwenyth Paltrow (noted as the founder of GOOP, but we've heard she's an actress too), along with locals such as chef Daniel Patterson of Coi, food science nerd Harold McGee and blogher Heidi Swanson.The competition is bracketed, the decision will be announced October 14 and the prize?
A piglet trophy.
Which at 7x7—where the "piggies" are the annual trophy given out to the best restaurants of the year—seems a little wee wee wee close to home.