Alex Hitz shares his take on classic Southern cooking with a French twist in his new book, My Beverly Hills Kitchen (Knopf), which includes his Heirloom Tomato Pie, seen here. Opposite page: Hitz has spent a lifetime collecting recipes from the likes of his child-hood cooks to world-renowned chefs. I FIRST MET ALEX HITZ, naturally, over great food. A mutual friend of ours, Gail Monaghan—a globetrotting gourmand and chef who famously entertains in her art-filled Manhattan loft

Alex Hitz is the creator of the gourmet frozen-food line Beverly Hills Kitchen. He has appeared on QVC and HSN, where his show earned the No. 1 slot in the kitchen-and-food category. Hitz is also a prominent New York man-about-town and philanthropist, with home bases also in L.A. and in Atlanta, his birthplace. His first cookbook, My Beverly Hills Kitchen, will be released this month. To prepare for this interview, the author made a batch of Hitz’s Best Ever Brownies from the

Sitting in his mother’s garden at the Swan House, Alex Hitz looks right at home. Perhaps it’s because this is a homecoming of sorts. Although he’s been living between New York and Los Angeles for some time, the clothing designer, HSN personality and classically trained chef is an Atlantan at heart. He was born in Piedmont Hospital and attended Trinity School and The Westminster Schools before heading to boarding school in Connecticut, and on to the Sorbonne and Le Cordon Bleu

He has cooked for Reagans and royals, but Atlanta-born chef Alex Hitz still likes his shrimp and grits—albeit in a creamy velouté Click for full article AT THE START of his new book, Alex Hitz presents a quote by the Roman lyric poet Horace: "A host is like a general; calamities often reveal his genius." If that is the case, Mr. Hitz is a five-star general. Even when faced with serving first ladies and movie stars, he manages to be cool as a cucumber. Raised in Atlanta, Mr. H

My Beverly Hills Kitchen shares the cook and consummate host’s Southern recipes and memories. He’s the consummate entertainer, host and sometime restaurateur. Alex Hitz poured heart and soul and, yes, even recipes into his new book, My Beverly Hills Kitchen, to be published in October by Knopf. The native Atlantan introduces us to his favorite memories and recipes. In it, he instructs us in the lazy summer foods of Southern tradition, like Sally Lunn bread and Hummingbird cak

#Press #Press3

Recipes from some of our favorite people, Chefs, designers, architects and bloggers all guaranteed to impress your friends and family this Thanksgiving. Growing up in the South, we never had pumpkin anything. It wasn’t until I spent my first Thanksgiving in New York, and then in Los Angeles, that I had pumpkin in the fall with any regularity. Here’s a recipe I devised several Thanksgivings ago to punch up the flavor of regulation canned pumpkin with the warmth of my favorite

Love to bake? Design your kitchen to suit your passion with tips, equipment, and layout advice from designers and industry experts Anyone who’s ever baked five dozen cupcakes for their child’s school, Christmas cookies for a crowd, or (heaven help us) a wedding cake knows that in many ways, the average home kitchen isn’t designed for a big-batch, nearly professional baker. We turned to experts for their suggestions about the ultimate kitchen layout, tools, and equipment for c