Picture Perfect: The Duke Cocktail, served at Boulud's Daniel Bar, contains cognac, Amaro Montenegro, vermouth and orange bitters, and is presented dramatically inside a hollow ice ball. (Photo courtesy of Cecilia Maurin and Damon Tedeschi)

Daniel Boulud’s pre-dinner cocktail of choice runs contrary to his sunny public personality. His preferred aperitif is bitter and precisely tart. He’s a traditionalist in this sense, taking the same approach to cocktails as he does to his restaurant concepts: lavishing a bit of fancy on a solid base of what works.

“I don’t think I’m a retro, old-fashioned chap, but at the same time I don’t think we like to create trendy places. We go for a style with a longer shelf life,” says the Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur who recently released a two-volume book set titled Cocktails & Amuse-Bouches For Her & For Him, with Xavier Herit, his mixologist at Daniel in Manhattan ($50, Assouline).

Boulud comes to the Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival early Sunday evening to host one of the festival’s five big events at his Café Boulud. What will he serve at the Brazilian Court hotel café?

Cocktails and amuse-bouches (small, palate-amusing bites), of course.

A Q&A with Daniel Boulud:

What inspired this cocktail book?

We’ve always had very intensive cocktail programs at all our restaurants. We treat cocktails – the art of cocktails – with creativity and originality and diversity.

We wanted to do a cocktail book that reflected the way we design cocktails.

Why a ‘his and hers’ book?

Some cocktails have more masculinity to them and others are more feminine. We thought, why don’t we offer a book that offers both?

Usually a cocktail book is designed as a manly gift. But this is one designed to be a wonderful gift for both men and women.

A cocktail is something that is very seductive. The seduction comes by making one for your mate or sharing the cocktail.

So what makes a good cocktail?

A good bartender. (He laughs.) I think what is important is the precision. The precision of a good cocktail is almost like the precision of a good pastry. It’s a craft where you can be spontaneous at it – when you are very good at it. But to be good you have to be very consistent. I also think you should take advantage of seasonal, maybe local ingredients.

The art of a good cocktail is not the complexity, but the right balance and right dosage of ingredients. A good cocktail is not too sweet or too fruity, too strong or too acidic.

What’s the best advice you can give a home mixologist?

Go for the cocktail (for which you have access to) the basic ingredients. There are certain alcohols that have a tolerance for flavor – like vodka, gin, even white rum. But for whiskey or alcohol with more character, you don’t want to add too much. You just enunciate it with a zest of this or that. With a clean liquor, a tasteless and odorless one, you can have an easier way of (dressing up) a cocktail.

You should have the right equipment, the right kind of ice – not too small, so it doesn’t dilute your cocktail too fast – a couple of bitters, like Angostura bitters, and some basic staples, like citrus. You have to build up a bar, little by little, as you experiment.

What’s your favorite pre-dinner cocktail and amuse-bouche pairing?

I like cocktails that are a little bitter. Like the Bitter for Better cocktail in the book (Santa Teresa 1796 Venezuelan rum, Bonal Gentiane-Quina aperitif, Angostura bitters, Peychaud’s bitter, Fernet-Branca, orange peel).

After dinner, I like a fruity cocktail, like a mojito.

Is the love of cocktails something that you picked up in America, since your native France has less of a cocktail culture than it does a wine culture?

Yes, but I have great cocktails in France, too. My favorite bar in Paris is the Hemingway at the Ritz. The bar is charming and the head bartender there (Colin Field) is doing all these infusions. What he does is art – really the art of the cocktail.

Any interesting trends in cocktails among your patrons? Are people asking for more traditional drinks or do they want something new and ‘wow’?

It all depends on the generation. With some people, you can’t take them away from their classic cocktails. And then there are people who are very open to try new things. We ask them what they like – tequila, vodka, Champagne? We ask, “Are you having a big dinner tonight?” If they are having a big dinner with wine, we’d recommend a Champagne cocktail, which is not too heavy.

If it’s more of a social-casual night, where the meal is not as important, then we suggest something heavier.

Cocktail time is not always before a meal – it’s often after a meal.

BOULUD AT THE PALM BEACH FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL: Cafe Boulud hosts Cocktail Culture with Daniel at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11. Tickets run in price from $157.50 to $225. For more information, call (561) 389-1222 or visit pbfwf.com.

FRENCH 65
Makes: 1 cocktail
1 ounce Cointreau
6 drops Angostura bitters
3 ounces champagne
1 orange peel
In a mixing glass, combine Cointreau and bitters with ice and stir. Strain into a frozen Champagne glass and add Champagne. Spritz the cocktail with an orange twist.

PALM BEACH
Makes: 1 cocktail
4 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce raspberry puree
1/2 ounce vanilla syrup
2 ounces orange juice
1/2 ounce club soda
1 half-moon orange slice
1 mint sprig
1 raspberry
In a shaker, combine pineapple juice, raspberry puree, and vanilla syrup with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass, and top with fresh orange juice and club soda. Garnish with half-moon orange slice, mint sprig, and raspberry.

EAST SIDE BELLINI
Makes: 1 cocktail
1 ounce Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce peach puree
1/2 ounce orange juice
1/2 ounce grenadine
2 ounces Champagne
In a shaker, combine Grand Marnier, peach puree, and orange juice with ice. Shake and strain into a Champagne glass and top with Champagne. Add grenadine for color and sweetness.

VIRGIN MOJITO
Makes: 1 cocktail
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup (see note)
5 to 8 mint leaves
1 teaspoon Sugar in the Raw
2 ounces ginger ale
2 ounces club soda
1 lime slice
Muddle lime juice, simple syrup, mint leaves and sugar in a highball glass. Add ice, ginger ale and club soda and stir. Garnish with a slice of lime and mint leaf.
Note: To make simple syrup, bring to a boil 4 cups of water with 4 cups of white sugar. Let cool and pour into a clean, sealed container. Syrup can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

TURKISH LAMB MEATBALLS WITH TOMATO CHUTNEY
Makes: approximately 30 meatballs
1 pound ground lamb
8 ounces grown beef
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion, plus 1/2 cup chopped
1/4 cup minced carrot
3 cloves minced garlic, plus 4 minced, divided
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 egg
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1 1/2 tablespoons Turkish spice mix, plus 2 teaspoons, divided (see note)
Oil, to coat skillet
2 tablespoons harissa paste
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can small-diced tomatoes, with juice
In a large bowl, combine ground lamb, grown beef, olive oil, dry bread crumbs, minced onion, carrot, 3 cloves minced garlic, ginger, egg, cilantro, mint and 1 1/2 tablespoons Turkish spice mix.
Mix well by hand and roll into 1-inch diameter balls.
In a large skillet, heat a thin layer of oil over medium-high heat and brown meatballs on all sides.
Add 2 teaspoons Turkish spice mix and cook, stirring, until toasty; remove meatballs, reserving fat.
Add chopped onion and 4 minced garlic cloves to reserved fat in skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft but not colored.
Add harissa paste and small-diced tomatoes with juice. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Return meatballs to tomato mixture in skillet and simmer together, stirring occasionally, another 15 minutes.
Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve warm, with skewers.
Note: For the Turkish spice mix, in a small, dry skillet, combine 1/4 of a crushed cinnamon stick, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, 2 cloves and 2 teaspoons black peppercorns. Over medium heat, stir occasionally until mixture smells well toasted but not burned. Transfer to a spice grinder and blend to a powder. Combine with 2 teaspoon smoked paprika and 1 tablespoon fine sea salt. Store in a dry, sealed container.

Recipes adapted from ‘Cocktails & Amuse-Bouches For Her & For Him,’ by Daniel Boulud with Xavier Herit.