Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)`Chef's Secrets' is a cleverly edited book by caterer and writer Francine Maroukian, subtitled `Insider Techniques from Today's Culinary Masters' which has much to offer, some old chestnuts, and a few misguided suggestions.
The most important aspect of the book is how much you can take away from it upon a single cover to cover reading. I say this because like similar question and answer books, the text is not well organized for hunting down the answer to a particular question, as all sections are more anecdotal than they are systematic in content. Thus, the greatest advantage is gained by reading the book from cover to cover, from front to back, and absorbing a few new, useful techniques.
In doing this, I found much that was interesting in a `by the way' fashion. The first thing that struck me was the large number of contributors who have graduated from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) and Johnson and Wales. I believe over half graduated from an American culinary educational program, with these two institutions leading the list. I am certain this is a really major change in the culinary scene over the last 50 years. The second interesting observation was the number of times Wolfgang Puck was mentioned as a model of American culinary innovation and inspiration. This may come as quite a blow to the egos of Jeremiah Tower and the opinions of Jim Villas who tend to minimize Puck's serious contribution to the American culinary scene. That Alice Waters is mentioned once is no surprise. That Wolfgang is mentioned twice, more than any other living chef, is notable. The third interesting observation is the number of people who seem to have apprenticed with either Ducasse or Boulud. These two staging sponsors lead the list by a wide margin. All of this makes reading the contributors' thumbnail biographies and `More Secrets' sidebars interesting, but this is not the main show.
The primary point of the book is the eighty-two chapters, contain 82 culinary `tips' from 82 recognized experts among the American culinary elite. While the seven (7) `culinary masters' named on the cover are well known, the remaining 75 contributors are no slouches. All are serious master chefs or thoroughly vetted writers active today. And, it appears that all of these tips were solicited from the contributors directly by the editor. They are not extracted from the contributors' printed works. The tips are also laid out in great detail. Many are supported by illustrations; however, several of illustrations in these storyboards are less revealing than they might be.
One of the first problems I found with the book is that many of the `insider techniques' are pretty common knowledge to any foodie who has read a few good cookbooks and who dotes on the better Food Network shows such as `Good Eats', `Molto Mario', and `Sara's Secrets' by contributor Sara Moulton. Some good examples of this are the tips on how to peel ginger with a teaspoon, how to defrost meat, how to joint a chicken, how to crisp greens, and how to quickly ripen fruit. Some other tips are just a bit too specialized to be useful to a lot of people. One misleadingly titled example is a tip on how to perfectly roast a chicken that has relatively little to do with what everyone thinks of as `roast chicken'. What the author actually shows us is the classic Italian technique of roasting a deboned chicken under a weight. The following tip by Charlie Palmer on how to roast fowl comes much closer to what the average cook would expect from instructions on roasting birds. Another misguided suggestion is a technique for making an omelet by finishing it in a broiler, in much the same way as you may finish a frittata. I have read at least twenty different techniques for making an omelet, and not one of them finishes the dish in the broiler! This tip is one for the professional short order cook who has a constantly hot salamander at eye level. It is simply a waste of time and gas or electricity to start an omelet on the range and fire up the broiler to finish, especially since every expert on the face of the earth, from Julia Child to Elizabeth David to Jacques Pepin does their omelet on the range from start to finish.
This still leaves a lot of good tips to go around. Out of the 82 sections, I suggest that at least twenty will be of some value to the average foodie amateur. A professional cook may find more useful material, but they may also be already familiar with most of the tips. My favorite sections are on creating dried shrimp flakes to use as a seasoning; how to check the salinity of a curing solution; how to sear a fish in a stainless steel pan; how to turn out tender shrimp; how to use bacon to its best advantage while cooking beans; and how to re-establish a non-stick surface on a stainless steel or aluminum pan.
Just as I am especially fond of single subject cookbooks such as those dedicated to eggs or potatoes or biscuits or cupcakes or salmon, I especially enjoy these `tip' books; however, I find them less useful than the single subject books or the general giants such as `The Joy of Cooking' or `James Beard's American Cookery'. This book is fun, but it is not quite as good as Perla Meyers' `How to Peel a Peach' or Raymond Sokolov's `How to Cook'. Neither of these two books is perfect, but they are more sound as day to day counselors on important techniques.
Recommended as a foodie fun read for a weekend, with some good tips along the way.
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In Chef's Secrets, more than 80 renowned chefs share the tricks, timesaving techniques, and wisdom they've learned through years of experience. The Food Network's Sara Moulton shows how to keep dredging neat and simple; pastry chef Fran ois Payard shows how piping chocolate can make fabulous-looking desserts; Norman Van Aken offers step-by-step instructions for making an intensely flavored pan sauce; and much, much more. Each technique is described in the chef's own words, along with a short, revealing interview and a detailed profile of the chef's accomplishments. With tips ranging from the basics (how to peel ginger with a teaspoon) to the extreme (how to filet an eel), Chef's Secrets will appeal to beginners as well as established foodies. It's the perfect addition to any food lover's bookshelf!
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