The oil extracted from the licorice root, though pungent in flavor, is seeing growing use among inventive chefs. Heston Blumenthal, chef owner of The Fat Duck at Bray just outside London and England's answer to Ferran Adria, has worked with licorice, slow-poaching salmon in a licorice-flavored oil bath at very low temperatures. But licorice has an even more obvious affinity for pork - witness the use of star anise, a close neighbor of licorice, in Chinese pork recipes. Tuscany's famous finocchiona salami is studded with fennel seeds, another close relation in flavor. Tony Conte is cooking with licorice at The Oval Room. Check his recipe for Maine Peekytoe Crab Salad.

Before he took up cooking, Mendocino Grille chef Barry Koslow toured — casually — with a rock band.