Since founding La Boîte, a spice shop in New York City, in 2006, Lior Lev Sercarz has established himself as the go-to source for fresh and unusual spices. He creates small-batch custom blends—which contain anywhere from 9 to 23 different ingredients—for renowned chefs like Daniel Boulud and Eric Ripert, among others, but his evocatively named spice blends (like Orchidea N.34, Reims N.39, and Yemen N.10) are used by home chefs as well.
With his new book, The Spice Companion: A Guide to the World of Spices (Clarkson Potter) Lev Sercarz inspires readers to try bold new flavor combinations. He offers overviews of some of the 102 accessible spices includes in volume, covering the history and origin, information on where to buy and how to store it, and suggestions for use. He also discusses ideas and tips for using pantry spices and recipes for spice blends, and shares the striking photography and botanical illustrations from the book. Following the program, enjoy a taste of Lev Sercarz’s spice blends courtesy of Zaytinya, the Mediterranean restaurant from celebrated chef José Andrés and his team, and Brooklyn Brewery, who partnered with Lev Sercarz on Tripel Burner, a new barrel aged beer from their limited release BQE series.
Copies of The Spice Companion (Clarkson Potter) are available for purchase and signing.
Other Connections
Lior Lev Sercarz has been dubbed New York’s wizard of spice. Watch him work with chef Ignacio Mattos to create a custom blend for a new dish at his Manhattan restaurant, Estela.
