Kolpas, Norman

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KOLPAS, Norman

PERSONAL: Married; wife's name, Katie; children: Jake.

ADDRESSES: Home—CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House/Clarkson Potter, 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

CAREER: Williams-Sonoma Publishing, consulting editor, 1991-2001; University of California, Los Angeles, Writer's Program, nonfiction and cookbook-writing teacher; Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc., senior vice president of content.

MEMBER: International Association of Culinary Professionals (president).

WRITINGS:

The Chocolate Lover's Companion, Quick Fox (New York, NY), 1977.

The Coffee Lover's Companion, Quick Fox (New York, NY), 1977.

Coffee, J. Murray (London, England), 1979.

Mao, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1981.

Abraham Lincoln, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1981.

The Gourmet's Lexicon, Putnam (New York, NY), 1982.

(With John Rivera Sedlar) Modern Southwest Cuisine, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1986.

Britain: The Queen, Cricket, Sherlock Holmes, and Other Things Indubitably British, Running Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1987.

Breakfast and Brunch Book, HP Books (Los Angeles, CA), 1988, published as Breakfast and Brunch: Over Seventy Ideas and Menus for Starting the Day, Friedman/Fairfax (New York, NY), 1993.

Pasta Presto: One Hundred Fast & Fabulous Pasta Sauces, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1988.

Pizza California Style: More than Eighty Fast and Easy Recipes for Delicious Gourmet Pizza, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1989.

(With Michael McCarty) Michael's Cookbook, food photographs by Richard Clark, art photographs by William Nettles, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1989.

Hors d'Oevres: Festive and Elegant Party Menus, HP Books (Los Angeles, CA), 1990.

The Big Little Peanut Butter Cookbook: Fifty Recipes for Delicious, Easy-to-Make Desserts, Snacks, and Sandwiches, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1990.

Pasta Light: Eighty Low-Fat, Low-Calorie, Fast and Fabulous Pasta Sauces, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1990.

Sweet Indulgences, HP Books (Los Angeles, CA), 1990, published as Sweet Indulgences: Desserts for Every Occasion, Friedman/Fairfax (New York, NY), 1993.

(With George Mahaffey) The Bel-Air Book of Southern California Food and Entertaining, photographs by Brian Leatart, Crown (New York, NY), 1991.

The Chili Cookbook, Price Stern Sloan (Los Angeles, CA), 1991.

Whole Meal Salads: One Hundred Fresh, Delectable Recipes for Easy One-Course Entrees, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1992.

The World's Best Noodles, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1993.

Pasta Menus, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1993.

A Cup of Coffee: From Plantation to Pot, a Coffee Lover's Guide to the Perfect Brew, photographs by Bill Milne, Grove Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Gourmet Sandwiches, HP Books (Los Angeles, CA), 1993.

(Author of recipes) Soups, general editor, Chuck Williams, photographs by Allan Rosenberg, Time-Life Books (Alexandria, VA), 1993.

(Author of text) Southwest the Beautiful Cookbook: Recipes from America's Southwest, recipes by Barbara Pool Fenzl, photographs by E. Jane Armstrong, Collins (San Francisco, CA), 1994.

Pasta Gusto: Fabulous Sauces & Flavored Pastas, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1994.

More Pasta Light: Eighty Delicious, Low-Fat Sauces, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1995.

Pizza Presto: Eighty Fast & Fabulous Recipes, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1996.

(Compiler and editor) Comforting Foods, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Festive Desserts, Collins (San Francisco, CA), 1996.

Finger Food, Collins (San Francisco, CA), 1996.

(Editor) Dinner Parties, Collins (San Francisco, CA), 1996.

(Author of recipes) Breakfast and Brunches, general editor, Chuck Williams, photographs by Allan Rosenberg, Time-Life Books (Alexandria, VA), 1997.

(Editor) Chuck Williams, Celebrating the Pleasure of Cooking, Time-Life Books (Alexandria, VA), 1997.

More Pasta Presto: One Hundred Fast and Fabulous Pasta Sauces, Contemporary Books (Lincolnwood, IL), 1998.

Main Dish Salads, photographs by Michael Grand, Reader's Digest Association (Pleasantville, NY), 1998.

Buongiorno! Breakfast and Brunch, Italian Style, Contemporary Books (Lincolnwood, IL), 2001.

The Quick Grill Artist: Fast and Fabulous Recipes for Cooking with Fire, Clarkson Potter (New York, NY), 2002.

"Joy of Cooking" series, consulting editor.

SIDELIGHTS: Norman Kolpas is the author of dozens of cookbooks, including cookbooks for chef John Sedlar, restaurant owner Michael McCarty, and the Hotel Bel-Air.

In 1988's Breakfast and Brunch Book Koplas argues that breakfast should be a special time, not a quick bite to eat. Provided are recipes for breakfast, ideas for decorating the table, table setting etiquette, and suggestions for special occasions. Booklist's Mark Knoblauch observed, "Norman Kolpas' entry in the field of breakfast books brings a new aesthetic sensibility to starting the morning."

In Pasta Gusto: Fabulous Sauces and Flavored Pastas Kolpas provides recipes that range from easy to make pasta sauces to more complicated pasta meals. Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide contributor Joanne Eglash praised the book, stating, "This book is sparklingly and lovingly written."

Michael's Cookbook was written with Michael McCarty, a French-trained chef and owner of Michael's restaurant in California. Included in the cookbook are recipes for dishes served in Michael's and photographs of the artwork on display in the restaurant. "This coolly seductive cookbook and piece de resistance pictures food as exquisite minimalist morsels," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor.

Southwest the Beautiful Cookbook: Recipes from America's Southwest provides two hundred recipes on dishes that originated in the Southwest region of America. Included are color photographs of the food and the Southwest landscape. Nation's Restaurant News contributor Michael Schrader called it a "great cookbook."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Reference Books Annual, 1984, Judith Ann Colper, review of The Gourmet's Lexicon, p. 73.

Booklist, March 15, 1988, Mark Knoblauch, review of Breakfast and Brunch Book, p. 1212; April 1, 1993, Barbara Jacobs, review of Gourmet Sandwiches, pp. 1397-1398.

Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide, November, 1994, Joanne Eglash, review of Pasta Gusto: Fabulous Sauces and Flavored Pastas, p. 48; January, 1997, Shirley Reis, review of Pizza Presto: Eighty Fast and Fabulous Recipes, p. 32; May, 1998, Shirley Reis, review of More Pasta Presto: One Hundred Fast and Fabulous Pasta Sauces, p. 36.

Library Journal, March 15, 1994, review of Southwest the Beautiful Cookbook: Recipes from America's Southwest, p. 97; April 15, 1988, review of Breakfast and Brunch Book, p. 81; November 15, 1989, review of Michael's Cookbook, p. 102; March 15, 2002, Judith Sutton, review of The Quick Grill Artist: Fast and Fabulous Recipes for Cooking with Fire, p. 104.

Nation's Restaurant News, December 5, 1994, Michael Schrader, review of Southwest the Beautiful Cookbook, p. 24.

Publishers Weekly, October 20, 1989, review of Michael's Cookbook, p. 52; September 20, 1991, review of The Chili Cookbook, p. 126; April 4, 1994, review of Southwest the Beautiful Cookbook, p. 74; May 7, 2001, "Simply Delectable," p. 243.