Cooking Dirty: A Story of Life, Sex, Love and Death in the Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)If ever you've worked in a restaurant, you know Jason Sheehan. You probably didn't work with him, but you worked with any of the tens of thousands of chefs, cooks, and other assorted prep staff cut from a similar cloth: efficiently crass, utterly obnoxious and thoroughly proficient in the kitchen. One day they were your best friend, the next you were the butt of their jokes. You hated them, but somehow manage to think fondly of them all these years later.
I relived lost memories of a few short years working in the front of the restaurant as I devoured "Cooking Dirty." I'd always wanted to be one of the kitchen guys, with that nonchalant cool that comes from too many hours of chain smoking, heavy drinking, excessive heat, sleep deprivation, and rampant womanizing. This book was pure rebellious adventure, allowing me the chance to sneak back into the Clorox-tinged scents and bright lights of the restaurant, engage in a bit of chicanery, and then return home none the messier for it. It was culinary voyeurism. I got to be on the inside, if only for a brief time.
The stories are both engaging and entertaining. Sheehan's life goes through a tumult of highs and lows, and he seems better for it all. I'm disappointed at the expected yet misplaced references to Bourdain. I'm a fan of Anthony, but Jason Sheehan's work is at once more pure and grittier. This is a chef's chef, a man's man, and a storyteller of the highest grade. I look forward to future volumes, and hope that the life of celebrity chef doesn't dull Sheehan's obvious wit or his passion for the kitchen!

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Savory Sweets : From Ingredients to Plated Desserts Review

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The textbook used by the advance culinary pastry class @ Johnson & Wales University. Study in flavor profiles and "notes" in relation to the tongue and tasting synthesis. Extremely useful for professionals and hardcore foodies alike. Flavor pairings are very helpful in developing your own ideas. Solid basic formulas a must have. Once again, this book reads more like a textbook, with photos and illustrated pictures. Highly recommended.

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A new approach to flavor, ingredients, and techniques
"From a simple idea, Amy Felder has practically conceived a new category of dessert ideation. And her instructional skills, honed in classroom kitchens, allow her to convey this knowledge in a clear, systematic, and inspirational fashion."--Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice and The Whole Grain Revival: Mastering the Art of Whole Grain Breads
Traditionally, pastry chefs have worked mainly with a sweet flavor palette, leaving savory tastes and techniques to their culinary colleagues. Today, fusion cuisine promises new blends of the savory and sweet. For pastry chefs, this means a new world of flavor opportunities--as well as the need to integrate them into dynamic dishes and cooking practice.
The pastry chef's key to the culinary side of the kitchen, Savory Sweets offers a complete, systematic discussion of flavor, techniques, and ingredients, then puts the discussion into practice using specific plated desserts. Author, chef, and acclaimed teacher Amy Felder brings together the culinary and pastry realms, giving students and professional chefs a new, up-to-date approach to flavor. Though the book comes from a baking perspective, culinary chefs will also find the discussion of savory flavors and fusion cuisine extremely useful.
Savory Sweets is divided into four parts:
Vocabulary starts with a scientific explanation of taste, then establishes concepts of flavor and overall plate profile
Culinary Skills looks at cooking methods other than baking and what they have to offer plated desserts; these techniques include sauce work and manipulation of texture
Ingredients examines an assortment of vegetables, herbs, spices, dairy products, and dry pantry products with regard to flavor and partner flavors for each ingredient; plated dishes showcasing each ingredient are also provided
Plated Desserts applies the information from the previous three sections in the form of eight specific desserts, each with its individual personality, plate and flavor profiles, theme, and integration of pastry and culinary practice; recipes for all of the plates' components are included

Filled with helpful figures and brilliant color photographs, Savory Sweets offers advanced baking students a unique, sophisticated, and practical classroom text, while also providing professional chefs and culinary students with an organized and detailed approach to flavor.

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Sandra Gustafson's Great Eats Paris Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the third edition of Sandra Gustafson's book Cheat/Great Eats in Paris I bought. I still find it to be incredibly valuable. Look, if you have 50 Parisian friends and know Paris perfectly and/or what top caliber - high price restaruants this book is NOT for you. If, however, you are like me, you've noticed you can pay lots of money at a brasserie and get mediocre food, get great food but at prohibitively expensive prices, or go to places where attitude seems more important that the food itself. This book has never steered me wrong: You can get great meals at reasonable prices. The truth is, sometimes you WANT a good pizza parlor or sandwich joint if you are on a budget. But you also have the "big splurge" list and many restaurants where you can get really good food at much less than other places. I find her descriptions to be very accurate and honest - I've never gotten to a hamburger joint expecting fine dining.
Is this book for absolute conaisseurs of Parisian restaurants? No. Is it for people who want really good food and don't want to pay double if it is not necessary - YES!
One word of warning: Do call ahead before going to then restaurants. The only bad experiences we've had were when the place had changed owners/the menu/price after the latest edition had come out

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For more than 20 years, savvy travelers have trusted Sandra Gustafson for insider tips and great value abroad. Completely revised, updated and in a new portable size this beloved guide offer in-the-know advice on the best deals and most unique places to eat and stay in the City of Light. For this edition, Sandra revisited each of the recommended restaurants, and scoured the city for great new discoveries. With its lively, detailed, and personal reviews, Great Eats Paris is the antidote to the lowest-common-denominator travel advice, and the perfect companion for anyone in search of the authentic Paris.

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The Sauce Bible: Guide to the Saucier's Craft Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is more of a detailed textbook than a cookbook. It goes into a detailed history of how sauces developed over the last few centuries - dating all the way back to the Roman feasts. Better yet, it doesn't give mere recipes - it details the hows and whys of good sauce making.
This book may be too detailed for an amateur cook to use. It's not the sort of book that you simply take a recipe and use, not unless you're already well-skilled in the saucier's art. It does take the time to explain all the french cookery terms that make up the vocabulary of the text, and if you're willing to actually take the time to learn all the skills Chef Laurousse is teaching, you'll be a far better chef for it.

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A complete contemporary reference on the subject of stocks and sauces, including complete instructions for creating ``arabesques'' of sauce paintings. Features anecdotes, miniature biographies regarding several major and minor contributors to modern cooking techniques as well as historical and linguistic references to specific dishes. Numerous sauces and accompaniments created by other culinary professionals are also included.

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The Professional Chef Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been cooking for quite some time now, and I am always digging for newer and better recipes and even different variations. This book had much more than I had ever thought that it would. It has a chapter dedicated to nutrition, kitchen safety, equipment, and all sorts of examples as well as photo's for everything, including cuts of meats, fish, poultry, etc.
It also thoroughly covers all sorts of food preparation, and the recipes!!! The recipes look just wonderful. It covers everything from simple broths, breads, sandwiches to different types of pastry. It is a great book for the beginner, as well as the experienced cook.
I have already tried a few of the recipes, and they are truely wonderful, and have been well tested. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to cook and bake..
One word of caution... Most of the recipes are geared to cooking of large quantities, for 10 portions or better. Breads for 8-10 loaves, and so on, so be prepared to modify your quantities.

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Becoming a Chef Review

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(More customer reviews)AS a professional of 10 years now(currently working with Wolfgang Puck), this book should be a must read before you commit to being a chef.
It gives a realistic look into what working in the high end kitchens in the World is REALLY like.(The long hours, heat, working sick, tempers,low pay, etc.) What you see on cooking shows is staged and is not a indication of the day to day grind that a kitchen hits you with. Most people have NO IDEA what they are getting themselves into!
I suggest to anyone who is considering taking on the challenge of earning the title "Professional Chef"-REad this book, get a job in kitchen before you spend money on cooking school to see if you like it, and ask yourself-do you love food, or do you just think it would be a glory filled way to fame?


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The updated edition of the book Julia Child called "a 'must' for aspiring chefs"-the James Beard Award-winning guide to one of today's hottest careersWith more and more chefs achieving celebrity status, interest in the exciting world of today's leading chefs is higher than ever. Essential reading for anyone who loves food, Becoming a Chef gives an entertaining and informative insider's look at this dynamic profession, going behind the scenes to look into some of the most celebrated restaurant kitchens across the nation. More than 60 leading chefs-including some of the newest up-and-coming-discuss the inspiration, effort, and quirks of fate that turned would-be painters, anthropologists, and football players into culinary artists.Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (both of New York, NY) are the authors of the bestselling titles Culinary Artistry, Dining Out, Chef's Night Out. Dornenburg has cooked professionally at Arcadia, Judson Grill, and March in New York City and Biba and the East Coast Grill in Boston. Page, the recipient of the 1997 Melitta Bentz Award for Women's Achievement, is a graduate of the Harvard Business School.

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Eating & Drinking in Paris: French Menu Reader and Restaurant Guide 4th edition (Open Road Travel Guides) Review

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(More customer reviews)76 of the 123 pages are menu translations, French to English, and the vice versa so you can ask for what you want or translate what they have; all this very helpful and in a light, compact easy to carry book that makes it worth taking. The "Ten Simple Rules of Dining in Paris" in the begining along with the introduction comments are very good, they will serve you well to help make eating in Paris less stress free. The 25 pages of eating place recommendations is of less use, considering how many there are in Paris this is a very small sample. Near the Sacre-Coeur their recommeded cafe turned out to be a shabby affair with curious looking characters hunched over their rundown tables, which sat directly accross from a more relaxed less rundown place that we felt more comfortable eating at, which had fine food. You have to decide for yourself.
The book is worth taking with you. Paris is thick with places to eat, making it easier to just duck in anywhere with this wonderful little guide to manners and translation. Don't rely too much on the recommendations as the only places to eat at. It would have been nice if they had included a few paragraphs about the different types of wine.

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Nothing can make a trip to Paris more enjoyable and rewarding than a great dining experience – but you have to know what to order! This handy guide helps readers navigate French menus while also steering people to great Parisian restaurants, bistros, cafes, wine shops, food markets and the like. The bulk of the book is the most comprehensive menu reader available, translating thousands of French words into English. There are also sections on restaurant etiquette, a pronunciation guide, English-to-French phrases and words, Parisian neighborhoods from a dining perspective, and descriptions of the many different kinds of food and eating establishments in Paris. Reviews: "...an opinionated little compendium...the right size for a traveler" – New York Times "Those fearless culinary travelers Michael Dillon and Andy Herbach have done it again. This time they have ventured deep into the culinary heart of France--Paris to be exact--in search of authentic French cuisine. They have left no bistro, brasserie, cafe, cheese shop, chocolate shop, creperie, deli, food market, pastry shop, restaurant, rotisserie, sweet shop, tea shop or wine bar untouched while doing the research for this irresistible little guide.” – Chicago Tribune "...a terrific primer for first time visitors...a pack-along must for the less-adventurous eater." - Houston Chronicle "Get an Eiffel, earful, mouthful." – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Cooking Essentials for the New Professional Chef Student Workbook Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is required for the Culinary school that I attend and I have found it extremely helpful. As its title implies, it is for the serious student and a good reference book to keep because it identifies foods, explains proper handling, storage, and preparation tecnique, and also includes recipes. If you just want to throw together a recipe, buy a Betty Crocker cookbook. If you want to do it the professional way, buy this book.

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The Fat Duck Cookbook Review

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(More customer reviews)Heston has an (scientific) obsession for making the best tasting and best looking food possible. This obsession is likely to make him legendary.
This is a cookbook for a small minority of customers. You must have an interest in molecular gastronomy methods. You must have a budget that allows you to eat at expensive restaurants. You must like odd people that don't conform to all the norms of society.
Other reviewers have pointed out the recipes are extremely complicated. A lot of details are given, but you should be prepared to shell out a couple of thousands of dollars on (used) equipment before you can get started. The book has some pictures of the dishes, but could do with more descriptive pictures.
However, this is just not a glossy book to boost the ego of its author. I find the discussion around taste, chemistry and visuals relating to each recipe very interesting. You really get a look into Heston's thought process. I don't think Heston has used a ghost writer. I would imagine this can inspire both professional chefs as well as amateur cooks, if so inclined. One place to start experimenting might be with the whisky gums, which don't require any expensive equipment.
Heston's general approach is to perfect a dish. You can set out to do something similar given your budget constraint. If you don't have a professional vacuum sealer maybe try with cheap 100 dollar device, and see what happens. Or my might use a vacuum cleaner to suck out the air of the bag. The only thing you need is time!
There is one other audience for this book and that is people interested in the creative process in general. The long biographical essay describes an obsessive person setting out to do something creative. It is written in a fascinating manner, if and only if you are interested in the creative process. Actually this section could serve as ispiration for some young people to follow their intuition rather than go for a very safe career. For this type of reader, I can also recommend Adria's "A day at Elbulli".
I would recommend this edition of the book. It is a normal hardcover edition. There is also a superexpensive big edition. I would not recommend that unless you want to have a thick tome to impress. The cheaper edition is hardcover too, so more than enough for most people.

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Back by popular demand, a lower-priced version of the must-have book from the genius behind the Fat Duck, the restaurant named best in the world by Restaurant magazine. The cookbook hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a "showstopper” and by Jeffrey Steingarten of Vogue as "the most glorious spectacle of the season…like no other book I have seen in the past twenty years” is now available in a reduced-price edition. With a reduced trim size but an identical interior, this lavishly illustrated, stunningly designed, and gorgeously photographed masterpiece takes you inside the head of maverick restaurateur Heston Blumenthal. Separated into three sections (History; Recipes; Science), the book chronicles Blumenthal’s improbable rise to fame and, for the first time, offers a mouth-watering and eye-popping selection of recipes from his award-winning restaurant. He also explains the science behind his culinary masterpieces, the technology and implements that make his alchemical dishes come to life. Designed by acclaimed artist Dave McKean—and filled with photographs by Dominic Davies—this artfully rendered celebration of one of the world’s most innovative and renowned chefs is a foodie’s dream.

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Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise Review

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(More customer reviews)Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires, an account of her years as restaurant critic of the New York Times, is simultaneously hilarious, refresing and poignant, altogether a five-star read in the light memoir category.
The hilarity comes from Reichl's penchant for donning elaborate disguises, the better to assure anonymity in assessing New York's most prominent eateries. These incognita excursions allow Reichl to skewer the pretensions and omissions of such well-known restaurants as Le Cirque and Tavern on the Green.
Garlic and Sapphires sets a refreshing tone due to Reichl's insistence on recognizing excellent dining in all of its venues, from humble ethnic restaurants to New York's most elegant establishments. Reichl's penchant for ferreting out little-known gems earns her the opprobrium of Bryan Miller, her predecessor as the Times's restaurant critic, and his supporters, all of whom charge Reichl with "letting down standards". But the many New Yorkers who experience life without expense account or trust fund appreciate her excursions to the wrong side of the tracks to identify dining delights.
Most important, Garlic and Sapphires provides a poignant look at what it is like to be too old, too unfashionable, or too poor to fully take part in the glories of the Big Apple. Reichl's disguises frequently place her in one or more these overlooked groups, and she provides a sensitive picture of what it is like to be marginalized-- not only by headwaiters at four-star dining establishments, but by society. One hopes that Reichl's tenure as Times restaurant critic made top restaurants more likely to treat all of their patrons with dignity and respect.
Garlic and Sapphires led me to develop the following advice for restaurant patrons:
--As Reichl notes, restaurant preferences are subjective. Go to the places you enjoy, rather than the places fashion dictates.
--Restaurants are there to serve you. If you are unhappy about food or service, speak up-- preferably to a manager, if your waiter or waitress hasn't dealt with the problem. Above all, don't be intimidated. If you need instruction on what fork to use or what wine to order, you should be able to ask without embarrassment.
--You are especially entitled to fine service and cooking in a top restaurant-- don't let the establishment off the hook. If you have arrived on time for your reservation (or called ahead to notify the restaurant if you are delayed) and behaved courteously, any lapses in food or service reflect a deficiency in the restaurant, not a deficiency in you.
--At least in the U.S., tips are discretionary. If you're not happy, reduce the tip accordingly. Feel free to advise your friends of the restaurant's shortcomings. And fortunately, you're not a critic who must return to give the establishment a fair chance. If you're not happy, you need never darken its doorstep again.
One final piece of advice-- if you enjoy books about the food world, read Garlic and Sapphires.


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