Andrew Dornenburg

Chef, Author

I can come up with an impressive assortment of ways to spell the same word…. As a dyslexic, in fact, I specialize in misspelling words. It’s one of the things that convinced me years ago that I’d never achieve my dream of becoming a writer.

Andre Dornenburg is an accomplished chef and writer of many cookbooks, which he has co-authored with his wife Karen Page. As a child, he struggled with handwriting, spelling and math.  Because he was clearly bright and personal, his teachers labeled him lazy and inattentive. He was formally diagnosed as dyslexic in college, after his English professor recognized the tell-tale signs based on his atrocious spelling.

Cooking saved me, in that it is a skill that relies more on the senses than on the ability to spell, and allowed me to learn that seeing things differently can be a plus (such as when coming up with a new dish — or an innovative concept for a new book!)

Books:

• The Flavor Bible
• What to Drink with What you Eat
• Culinary Artistry
• Becoming a Chef
• The Food Lover’s Guide to Wine
• The New American Chef