Themes, Dreams, and Schemes: Banquet Menu Ideas, Concepts, and Thematic Experiences Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book is applicable to anyone with tons of cash to spare on a party hosted in 1954. As a caterer, I was looking for inspiration, but sadly, only found jello and marshmallow themes pervasive throughout the entire book. Not worth the paper it is printed on!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Themes, Dreams, and Schemes: Banquet Menu Ideas, Concepts, and Thematic Experiences

The only idea resource book of its kind for catering, banquet, and meeting operations.

Get 21% OFF

Click here for more information about Themes, Dreams, and Schemes: Banquet Menu Ideas, Concepts, and Thematic Experiences

Professional Garde Manger: A Comprehensive Guide to Cold Food Preparation Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)To manage cold food preparation in a creative fashion is what Garde Manger is all about. The basics and skills needed to handle the station can flow through into the home kitchen as well if you follow along in this book. For the professional this book will be a way to refine your skills in Catering, Banquet service and general foodservice operations. For the home cook this book will open your eyes to the wonderful world of Garde Manger and help you develop skills that will assist in your home cooking and possibly moving into a professional setting.
The book is broken down into 18 chapters, starting with the Garde Manger Profession and finishing with Buffets and Food Bars. You will learn the very basics of production and follow through with design, plating and adding condiments and decor to round out the recipe. The different levels and expectations of cold food are laid out quite well in Chapter one and certainly leave no stone unturned. If you are a novice in the kitchen you may want to study the book a bit first to pick up the terminology so you can better prepare yourself for what's ahead.
The recipes and methods for preparation are easy to follow and include step by step instructions with pictures and diagrams. If you take the time to look over the recipe before you begin then you have mastered the first rule of the kitchen. Read everything and set your station or area up with the needed ingredients and kitchen tools to get the job done. Once you work through the first selected recipes you will gain a measure of satisfaction and accomplishment that will carry your through the book.
I've enjoyed reading through the book and have utilized several recipes in my professional kitchen as well as adapting them a bit to my home kitchen. I look forward to utilizing these recipes to enhance my cold food preparation skills and as well as giving me some new ideas in cold food production. This book certainly deserves a nice spot on my culinary shelf and I'm sure you will enjoy it as well.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Professional Garde Manger: A Comprehensive Guide to Cold Food Preparation

Get 20% OFF

Click here for more information about Professional Garde Manger: A Comprehensive Guide to Cold Food Preparation

Modern Garde Manger: A Global Perspective Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let me qualify this by saying for a number of years I taught Garde Manger at a Le Cordon Bleu school. I probably own every text book on the subject as it has remained near and dear to my heart as I moved back to the restaurant world.
This is probably the BEST text on this subject I have seen; so much so that I plan to look into their other books. Running the gamut from cold appetizers to a primer on ice sculpting to a discussion of centerpiece carving, this book provides clear concise examples of each process. The full color pictures are fantastic and a welcome addition to the instructions provided. If I was teaching again, this would be my textbook of choice.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Modern Garde Manger: A Global Perspective

Winner of the Prestigious IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Award, The Modern Garde Manger is designed to meet the educational needs of novice culinary students and experienced chefs. Its carefully researched information and fully tested recipes span the broad international spectrum of the modern garde manger station.Five distinct sections covering seventeen chapters of text and recipes focus on the different aspects of the chef s required knowledge and responsibilities. Special features of the text include Chapter Goals; Professional Profiles featuring leading culinary personalities; Review Questions to spark classroom discussion and pique student interest; Activities and Applications that stress the importance of critical thinking skills, relative to the material presented in the chapter; and Key Words in Review. This is the most comprehensive text of its kind available for today s student and professional chef.

Get 28% OFF

Click here for more information about Modern Garde Manger: A Global Perspective

Professional Cooking Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I first learned of Professional Cooking when a friend borrowed the second edition from a friend who's a chef. As soon as I saw it, I had to have it.Any serious cook - amateur or pro - should enjoy this tome. It does what most cookbooks written for the home never get around to: it explains the 'whys' behind the 'how-tos.' Why use egg yolks in sauces and dressings? Why do sugar and onions both (separately) caramelize? Why is baking soda a terrible thing to do to an innocent vegetable?The recipes in this book (designed as exercises for cooking students) are for 15-30 portions. Most, however, can be scaled down to family size. Anyway, each is designed to teach a point or technique, and is great reading even if you never actually make it.This book is easy to follow. Gisslen doesn't get wrapped up in jargon - no small feat in a book written for professionals. If you love to cook, buy it.Benjamin F. Harvill

Click Here to see more reviews about: Professional Cooking

Completely redesigned, updated and richly illustrated revision of the classic instructional guide to professional cooking. Includes step-by-step detail,250 colour photos with thorough coverage of products. One of the most popular and endorsed guides.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Click here for more information about Professional Cooking

Professional Cooking, 4th Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I grew up with great home cooking and always took it for granted. When I went off to University I quickly realized that Macaroni & cheese would not do me the way it seemed to for many of my colleagues, so I set out to bolster my impoverished culinary skills. After several years of over-the-phone consultations with mom, experimentation, and generally bland meals, I still lacked the basic knowledge and skill to tackle any but the most detailed recipes, and I had more questions than answers. Then I stumbled upon Wayne Gisslen's "Professional Cooking 4th Ed." The standard text for many culinary schools, Gisslen's well organized text book is a must for the aspiring amateur home chef. Expertly laid out and documented with beautiful photography, it will take your cooking to the next level. Gisslen has structured his book to first provide you with an in-depth knowledge of ingredients and basic cooking techniques, these are then applied in the many exquisite recipes that follow. For example, chapter 10: Understanding Meats has subsections on: Composition, Structure and Basic Quality Factors; Understanding the Basic Cuts; Cooking and Handling Meats. The following chapter then applies these principles in recipes grouped according to cooking method. The recipes range from fairly simple to more involved and all the ones I've tried have been outstanding. ONE WORD OF CAUTION! This is NOT a step-by-step cookbook that the beginner cook can just pick up to whip up a meal on the spur or the moment. All the recipes require knowledge of the basic cooking techniques which are covered in the previous chapter(s). This is an amazingly in-depth text book and requires time spent in careful study. Also, since the recipes are scaled for the professional kitchen one must scale them down for personal use (covered in chapter 5). However, if you are willing to put the time in, you will be amazed at how much you learn. As your basic skill level increases so will your confidence for tackling previously intimidating recipes. This book will be a treasured resource on my shelf for years to come. A must for the professional as well as the amateur enthusiast and well worth the money.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Professional Cooking, 4th Edition

This newly revisededition of the bestselling Professional Cooking (over 350,000 sold) is completely redesigned, richly illustrated with over 200 new full-color photographs, and updated with new information. A classic text for both professional and amateur chefs, Gisslen's book provides thorough coverage of cooking procedures in easy-to-follow language, with clear, step-by-step instructions. The Fourth edition of Professional Cooking has a number of new features, including over 100 recipes from the renowned Le Cordon Bleu cooking schools in Paris and London, nutritional analyses for all recipes, and a dictionary of international cooking terms.

Click here for more information about Professional Cooking, 4th Edition

Wedding Cake Art and Design: A Professional Approach Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Once again, we have been given a gem in the form of a cake decorating "bible" of sorts except this time, the essence of this book brings you beyond the fondant and royal icing and other assorted expectations with wedding cakes. This time, Ms. Garrett gives you her professional insight into how, when, why, and how much to consider in approaching the subject of the wedding cake business.
For those professionals who are well-associated with the legistics end of cakes, you already know the information within the covers of this book. But for those cake/wedding cake bakers just starting out, or those not quite sure what demands are non-negotiable when choosing to work in this field, here it is just waiting for you.
Toba Garrett is a solid and established player in the field of cake decorating as she teaches at the Institute of Culinary Cake and Design in New York as head of the Cake Decorating and Design Department. And for those who know what ICES is (The International Cake Exploration Society), she is counted among its esteemed members. Add to that her three other books (Professional Cake Decorating, Creative Cookies, and The Well-Decorated Cookie) and you are looking at The Cake Professor.
Where to begin? "Wedding Cake Art & Design: A Professional Approach" is a heavy, luxurious book of top-notch photography and print that draws you into each cake project with zeal. Aspects of planning, creating, and executing that most important cake are all given the respected attention they require and that the wedding couple deserve. But it is also necessary to advise those considering this book, that they have a very solid foundation of cake preparation, decorating, and assembly skills already under their belt. As Julia Child once said, "This isn't for fluffies!".
280 pages await you in instruction, construction, and advice to help perfect your knowledge and skills. The photography is pristine and clear, the teaching precise, and the anticipation heightened as you truly want to achieve the end result. The contents of the book are as follows:
Chapter One: Designing the Cake
Chapter Two: Creative Designs
Chapter Three: Romantic Designs
Chapter Four: Textured Designs
Chapter Five: Modern Designs
Chapter Six: Wedgewood-Inspired Designs
Chapter Seven: Chocolate Designs
Chapter Eight: Seasonal Designs
Chapter Nine: Fashion-Inspired Desgns
Chapter Ten: Floral Designs
Chapter Eleven: Textile-Inspired Designs
Chapter Twelve: Setting Up A Cake Decorating Business
Chapter Thirteen: Recipes and Flavor Combinations
Appendix (with templates and cake-cuttting guides)
Chapter One: Designing the Cake
We have come a long way from the cookie cutter wedding cake of years past. Today's brides (and grooms) know what they want even if they can't conceptualize their thoughts, therefore they will look to you for direction. This is an enjoyable aspect of the pre-cake decorating phase because imagination has no limits. Many aspects of the wedding will most definitely bring you to the style and texture they'll want for the cake, and starting with the color theme, will bring you closer to making the final decisions. How to prepare a bridal couple for their first meeting with you, getting those all-important samplings presented in order to choose a flavor and batter, cake size, cake sketch, cake cost per servings, etc all play together in the cake choice. Also covered is estimating the time and labor that will go into the cake as well as transporting it. The transportion costs themselves, and other legistics, round out this chapter.
Chapters Two through Chapter Eleven involved the specific styles and designs as mentioned in the above "contents" section. This is where Ms. Garrett shines in her skills and imagination. Flowers, textures of the fondant or gumpaste, cameo disks, use of stitched monogramms, fondant pleating, color-washed fondant, marzipan fruit, netting, stenciled designs, petal crowns on the tiers, pastillage disks, chocolates, fondant bows, run-outs, appliques, and most exquisite (and my favorite!) Australian stringwork are just some of the techniques and amazing skills she possesses and patiently passes along to you. While all the cakes are beautiful, some are just masterpieces of art with the most simple being the most exquisite!
Chapter Twelve: Setting Up A Cake Design Business
This is what made the book for me because most cake decorating books are about the baking and the cakes. Period. But what about those of us who are seriously comtemplating a shoppe? What is neccessary to run your business from your home as opposed to a store front? What are the legalities of such a venture? What about the health codes? Once you do decide to open your business, how do you get started and get your name out there? What equipment will you need? While this chapter just scratches the surface of these very important questions, they are a good start from which to find those people and places that can safely guide you through the process. I thought the most important question in this whole chapter was "do you want to be married to your business 24/7?". That will give you a good "think" to be sure!
Chapter Thirteen: Recipes and Flavor Combination
Batters and flavors have gotten way past yellow batter and vanilla buttercream, haven't they? A guide for flavor combinations awaits you at the end of this chapter. So here are some great recipes for:
Chocolate Pound Cake
Lemon Pound Cake
Red Velvet Cake
German Chocolate Cake
Almond paste Cake
Dominican Cake (pineapple juice and rum.....yum-yum!)
Peanut Butter Cake
High-Yield Yellow Cake
Chocolate Fudge Cake
Carrot Cake
Almond-Walnut Pound Cake
Lemon Coconut Cake
Decorator's Buttercream Icing
French Vanilla Buttercream
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Amaretto Mocha Buttercream
White Chocolate Buttercream
Ganache
Dark Chocolate Buttercream Icing
Italian Meringue Buttercream
Meringue Icing
Cream Cheese Buttercream
Confectioners Glaze (aka "glue" for holding things together like flowers or textures to the cake)
Quick Glaze
Marzipan
Marzipan Fondant Paste
Rolled Fondant
Pastillage
Rolled Fondant Modeling Paste
Marzipan Chocolate Fondant Paste
Chocolate Rolled Fondant
Modeling Chocolate (aka "chocolate plastic")
White Modeling Chocolate Paste
Egg White Royal Icing (note: I only use pasteurized egg whites to always be on the safe side)
Meringue Powder Royal Icing
Quick Gumpaste (my ace-in-the-hole many a time)
Flood Icing
Lemon, Lime, or Orange Curd
Pineapple Curd
Passion Fruit Curd
Sieved Apricot Jam
Pastry Cream
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and know that it will be a very welcomed book on your cake book shelves. As I said earlier, Ms. Garrett is one of the best, and while she doesn't get into the exploding field of shaped cakes and forms (animals, "people", themes and such that you see on shows like Food Network, Amazing Cakes, etc), her genteel and pristine works of art are more ethereal in nature.
And if you should have the chance to look at her cookie decorating books, by all means, do so! What a lovely presentation to have not just her cakes, but some of her fabulous cookie art to accompany the wedding dessert table!
Peace!


Click Here to see more reviews about: Wedding Cake Art and Design: A Professional Approach

Get 37% OFF

Click here for more information about Wedding Cake Art and Design: A Professional Approach

The Modern Cafe Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Francisco Migoya has done it again, a wonderful book on a variety of pastries, entremets(cakes), savories, and more. It is divided into sections of business such as the pastry shop, bakery, etc. Mainly made for commercial use with servings of 6 cakes to 20 individual portions and special supplies. There are some mistakes in the components of some recipes such as 12 cake layers instead of 2 but if you read through the recipe first you'll be prepared. Overall it is nice but geared toward larger sizes and specialized machines so it might not be suited for the avid home baker but a good book.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Modern Cafe


Includes nearly 250 recipes plus 150 sub-recipes, more than 100 photographs, and approximately 75 illustrations
Breaks the café down into its five key components -- the bakery, the pastry shop, the savory kitchen, beverages, and the retail shelf -- with expert advice and contemporary recipes for each area
Author Francisco Migoya is an assistant professor at The Culinary Institute of America, where he teaches the Café Operations class for the Baking and Pastry Arts program

With information on all aspects of the café business-finances, human resources, food production, recipe/menu development, and even décor-The Modern Café offers both inspiration and instruction for anyone who wants to operate a successful café.
"The Modern Café is an impressive volume in both breadth and dept h that elevates standard café fare to something worthy of the term cuisine. Francisco Migoya generously shares his years of experience and research, offering a fresh, contemporary approach to casual dining. His technical skill and eye for detail are inspiring, resulting in respectful yet inventive interpretations of the classics. Migoya has given all of us professional cooks, pastry and savory alike, another invaluable resource. " —Michael Laiskonis, Executive Pastry Chef, Le Bernardin
"What a high level of professionalism in a book full of originality and creativity! Francisco Migoya has created a new work with technology, sensitivity, and passion—an invaluable contribution to the world of gastronomy. Enjoy it!" —Oriol Balaguer, Pastry Chef and Owner, Oriol Balaguer Boutiques
"Francisco Migoya's The Modern Cafe is a beautiful book that will be used as a practical guide and inspiration for professionals and home cooks alike. " —Grant Achatz, Chef and Owner, Alinea
"This book is just amazing—there is so much information, detail, and inspiration. You can really see Francisco's passion for pastry. This is an outstanding follow up to his first book, Frozen Desserts." —Patrick Coston, Pastry Chef and Chocolatier

Get 37% OFF

Click here for more information about The Modern Cafe

Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (Culinary Institute of America) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a pretty remarkable collection of recipes. If you are foodservice pro, this book ought to be on your shelf. For the homecook, it can be useful, but with a couple of reservations.
This book has more GM recipes in one place in one book than the rest of my professional cookbooks combined. If you need a recipe, you will probably find it here. It has stuff like: galantines, chaud-froid, homemade cheese, curing your own meat, and a very useful section on aspic and gelatin, and another one on buffet presentations (especially handy if you have never worked one before).
The format is also quite nice. In the TOC, it lists every recipe, so no flipping through pages or trying to decode the index to find a recipe (would that more cookbooks do this). The beginning of each chapter has a really useful section on various techniques. Sadly, these are closer to a master class rather than a beginner's lesson.
For the home cook, much here is useful. Certainly you should be able to use stuff like vinaigrettes, salads, sandwiches, and maybe even fresh grind sausages. However, there is much here you should avoid, and you need to be able to distinguish which is which. Also, the recipes are terse, professional ones, and there is no explanatory material about tips or suggestions or anything else.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (Culinary Institute of America)

The leading guide to the professional kitchen's cold food station, now fully revised and updated

Garde Manger is one of the most important courses culinary students take—and it's often the first kitchen station that a new chef will encounter. This definitive guide has been thoroughly revised to reflect the latest garde manger trends, techniques, and flavors, including new information on topics such as brining ratios, fermented sausages, micro greens, artisanal American cheeses, tapas menus, "action" buffet stations, and ice carving. With over 540 recipes, including 100 created new for this edition, and more than 340 all-new photographs illustrating step-by-step techniques and finished dishes, this new edition of Garde Manger is an indispensable reference for culinary students and working chefs everywhere.

Get 42% OFF

Click here for more information about Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (Culinary Institute of America)

Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This cookbook is a mirror into the reader's own attitude toward cooking.
If you are a professional with all the expensive equipment, a demanding clientele and a pioneering spirit, this book will quickly become an essential reference. If you are a casual home cook curious about sous vide wizardry and perhaps interested in toying with the techniques, you will find this book intimidating and useless. For foodies who have been intrigued by "molecular gastronomy" restaurant offerings, this book may answer a few "How did they do that?" questions. Given the level of creative energy between this book's covers, it is an outstanding value for the listed Amazon price. Understand, however, that as Keller states on p. 38, this book is
"written for the professional kitchen, from one chef to another. No modifications have been made
to accommodate cooks preparing [these recipes] at home, even though some of them certainly can
be done at home with the right equipment"
Recipe mise-en-place is organized by component in a division-of-labor professional kitchen style (not chronologically). All recipes use metric weights, so a digital scale is essential. These stylistic choices are sensible for Keller's audience, but may be offputting to a home cook more familiar with traditional American home cookbook presentations.
Sous vide is, in important ways, both easier and safer than other cooking methods. Some of the advantages include ultra-precise control (and corresponding prevention of cooking errors and waste), extended hold times, intensified flavor, more efficient usage of labor, space and ingredients, and the ability to accomplish certain end results that are impossible with any other approach. Romantics who complain that sous vide reduces the artistry of cooking are ignoring the subjective, analog, soulful decisions that the chef must make concerning ingredients and method before and after bag cooking. In an introductory essay, Keller considers the sense of loss at the diminution of artisanal craft as technology supplants it. This was great writing, truly an artist at his best.
One minor complaint I have with the book is its layout. Too many pictures of serious chefs at work are uncaptioned. Who am I looking at? What am I supposed to learn from this picture? Photos of finished recipes are often a page or two away from the recipe or even from their own caption. There are also artsy "backstage" pictures mixed in, producing a momentary confusion as to what one is contemplating. This is perhaps illustrative of the tone of the book. It's assumed that the reader is going to have the culinary chops to recognize these people (or ones like them) and fit right in next to them cooking obscure ingredients comfortably in a professional setting. Perhaps the effect sought is a coffee table book for professional chefs. I was also a bit disappointed with the layout's trendy approach of having more empty space (big white margins) bordering smaller, lighter type. Bring your reading glasses and good light when you sit down with this text.
Following introductions on philosophy, science and history by Bruno Goussault, Harold McGee, Keller, Jonathan Benno, Corey Lee and Sebastien Rouxel, there in an extended section on Fundamentals, including what sous vide can achieve, basic principles and techniques, safety, use in the professional kitchen, and use in the home kitchen. I found the section on food safety to be particularly valuable and accessible to the home cook.
Over sixty recipes are roughly equally divided into five major categories: Vegetables and Fruits, Fish and Shellfish, Poultry and Meat, Variety Meats, and Cheese and Desserts. Perplexingly, the table of contents lists only these categories and does not itemize the individual recipes. Each recipe generally takes two to three pages, plus a full-page photograph, and involves two or three dozen ingredients, divided into dish components (remember these are complex, composed dishes offered in Keller's restaurants, The French Laundry and per se). An example? "Grilled Octopus Tentacles, Chorizo, Fingerling Potatoes, Green Almonds and Salsa Verde," has 30 ingredients, two pages of instructions including a procedure for peeling green almonds, recipe p. 78-79, photo p. 76, two citations for sources, and one procedural reference to the Basics section. Similarly, "Dégustation de Porcelet, Rutabage Mostarda, Wilted Mustard Greens, and Potato 'Mille-Feuille'" is a tasting of five cuts from a baby pig; this recipe stretches four pages and lists 45 ingredients. The "Basics" section follows the recipes and includes everything from how to make clarified butter to recipes for eight different kinds of stock. Few home cooks are likely to make the composed dishes in their entirety, but experienced or adventuresome readers will certainly come away with ideas for home entertaining or approaches that might prepare only one simplified element from a Keller composed plate. Perhaps you would offer home guests five cuts from a baby pig; weeknight visitors to my home would more likely get pork chops sous-vided à la Keller, with one sauce.
Other than the chapter on safety, perhaps the most useful parts for home sous vide users will be the two closing reference sections. First, there is a marvelous table that lists ingredients alphabetically, specifies how to sous vide the ingredient, and cites a recipe within the text that features the ingredient. Next comes an extended list of sources for equipment and ingredients. This is followed by a more traditional index, then acknowledgements and restaurant staff group photos, for a text of almost 300 pages.
The only comparable text to address the topic of sous vide is Joan Roca's "Sous Vide Cuisine." Roca's text is stylistically quite different and more than a third shorter than Keller's book. The English translation of Roca's book also runs about two hundred dollars, which is quadruple the price of Keller's book. If you can choose only one, Keller's is stronger and a better value.
It's not all things to all people, but "Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide" is invaluable in what it offers and an instant classic in its field.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide

Get 37% OFF

Click here for more information about Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide

The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am in the hotel industry and don't know how I survived all these years without this book! It assists me when I talk to customers so that I can easily explain items and show pictures to them. The only problem is that I need to get another copy so that I have one at home and one in the office. I think that anyone who likes to bake or is a "foodie" needs to BUY THE BOOK!The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional

With more than 4,800 terms and definitions from around the world plus ten appendices filled with helpful resources, The Pastry Chef's Companion combines the best features of a dictionary and an encyclopedia. In addition to the current terminology of every component of pastry, baking, and confectionary arts, this book provides important information about the origin and historical background of many of the terms. Moreover, it offers coverage of flavor trends, industry practices, key success factors, a resources list, illustrations, and phonetic pronunciations.

Get 37% OFF

Click here for more information about The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional