In this latest installment of CNBC's summer reading series, Dorothy Cann Hamilton, founder of the International Culinary Center, serves up her summer reading list. The center, originally called the French Culinary Institute, is one of the top centers worldwide for culinary education, has campuses in New York, California and Italy and notable alumni like Bobby Flay, David Chang and Dan Barber. Most recently, Hamilton was selected to serve as president of the USA Pavilion at the 2015 World Expo in Milan.
Source: Dorothy Cann Hamilton
International Culinary Center chief Dorothy Cann Hamilton.
This summer, I've decamped from New York to Milan for the 2015 World Expo, which debuted in May and is open through October. For the first time in the history of world's fairs, the theme is food! Expo poses the question of how we will feed 9 billion people in 2050. We have created an incredibly rich and engaging way to enter this critical dialogue with the world. Any moment I'm not at the Expo or when I'm on the Metro Milan headed out to the fairgrounds, I love to bring along a great book, finally getting to those books that friends and family keep telling me to read!
Timing Is Everything: The Complete Timing Guide to Cooking
By Jack Piccolo
This book is one of my traveling bibles. In Italy, the ingredients are the stars. You have to know how to cook pasta within seconds of it's perfect al dente bite. "Timing is Everything" tells you how to perfectly time the cooking of any ingredient from eggs to osso bucco!
The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Italian Cusine
By the International Culinary Center with Cesare Casella and Stephanie Lyness
This is our ICC Italian textbook, a comprehensive guide to cook authentically. This summer, I have a great kitchen in Milan so I am finally taking our course! It's packed with recipes and really explains the why and how behind each dish.
The Island of Seven Cities
This book is terrific! It is about how the Chinese discovered and settled Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in the 14th century. I am sure they settled there because of my beloved lobster ... the Fourchu ... the best in the world, named for the town where my grandfather, Sanford Burton Cann, was born.
Patti LuPone: A Memoir
Patti LuPone: A Memoir by Patti LuPone
By Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone oozes being an Italian-American, with a passion for food, life, love and, of course, the theater. In her memoir she lives in New York but manages gigs in London and Italy. She is my kind of woman, determined, hard-working and brilliant! This is an inspirational read. After a hard day, I would say, I have to get home and share it with Patti.
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
By Jan-Philipp Sendker
I was in the Peace Corps in Thailand early in my career and ever since have been drawn to stories set in Asia. Books are the best for armchair travel! This book is about a true love story in Burma, with heat and humidity that matches Milan this summer!
Commentary by Dorothy Cann Hamilton, founder and CEO of the International Culinary Center. She is also president of the USA Pavilion at the 2015 World Expo in Milan. Follow ICC on Twitter @ICCedu.
More from the CNBC summer reading series:
What Ivanka Trump's reading at the pool
Thrillers? Romance? What Wall Street's reading this summer
What whiskeys are good for summer? Read—and drink—these!
How does a New York Ranger relax? With Hemingway