Product Description

Bursting with luscious color photography and clear step-by-step techniques drawn from the world's top chefs, this is a one-stop reference for all home cooks-from those who want to gain more confidence in the kitchen and hone their skills- to anyone who is eager to learn basic methods from scratch.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #192365 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-29
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 648 pages

Amazon.com
If you have somehow never cooked and yet want to, there's always that troublesome problem of where to begin. Fortunately, The Cook's Book, edited by Jill Norman and published by those masters of how-to books, Dorling Kindersley, has answered that question in over 600 glorious pages. With The Cook's Book you can pick your point of entry and launch yourself into the world of food with no fear.

You could order take-out for everything but dessert, for example, and start there. And whose holding your hand? Well, Pierre Hermé, one of the great pastry chefs in the world. Or how about if you build a dinner party around a fish course and order in everything else? Charlie Trotter will see you through to an excellent end. There are fully 18 internationally renown chefs represented between the covers of The Cook's Book. These are not the sort of folks who generally give introductory courses, and yet that's what this tome delivers in depth. Trotter's chapter on fish, the way it is lavishly illustrated and carefully explained, is a publishable masterpiece on its own. But it's only one chapter among 24 that guides the new cook through basic prep and cooking technique with side trips into a variety of international cuisines. Everything is explained editorially and visually in this brilliantly designed production. One glance at the photo of creamy risotto and you'll know if your risotto is creamy or not.

This isn't to say seasoned cooks won't find themselves slavishly turning these gorgeous pages and licking their chops as well. But what's wonderfully important about The Cook's Book is that it is the answer for any neophyte wondering where to begin. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly
This superlative volume is a culinary arts education in itself: what foodie wouldn't want to read Charlie Trotter's tips on preparing fish and shellfish, or Norman Van Aken's take on Latin American cooking? Instructions from world renowned chefs like Paris's Pierre Hermé and Japan's Hisayuki Takeuchi ring with authority, though female chefs are notably absent, save for Sydney's Christine Manfield. This book takes a two-tiered approach by expanding on the basics in chapters on sauces and dressings, flavorings, and poultry and game birds, and exploring specific cuisines in sections on India, Japan, the Middle East and other regions. The book may be best suited to professional chefs; amateurs might not be ready to tackle Ferran Adrià's Potato Foam: 21st Century Tortilla, or Shaun Hill's Roast Woodcock, in which the head is left on, "since the brains are a delicacy... eaten in much the same way as a lollipop." Technically, this is more than just a cookbook, but the recipes (with luscious photos) for dishes like Paul Gayler's Venison with Cherries, Cinnamon & Walnuts; Peter Gordon's Vanilla & Duck Broth with Rice Noodles; and Dan Lepard's Flatbread with Pumpkin, Green Olives & Shallots are worth the price of the book alone. (Sept.)
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Customer Reviews

Balanced book covering common cooking techniques an 21st century Western household needs
This is a book that emphasises the basic and moderately demanding cooking techniques and more than 600 common recipes. The sections are contributed by different chefs from around the world including Pierre Herme from France (desserts), Marcus Wareing from Britain (meat), Charlie Trotter from the United States (vegetables and seafood), David Thompson from Australia (Thai cooking), Stephen Franz from Germany (cakes) etc. A lot of the things are basic like how to make a basic chicken stock and how a good roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is made, but there are also a lot of easy to moderate restaurant grade dishes like entrecote steaks bordelaise or sachertorte. It is by no means exhaustive and in a sense I have a feeling that it is trying to be too clever but comes short on both ends - a professional chef will find this nice although this will need to be supplemented by more detailed books as the coverage is too superficial, and home cooks will need something more like a household guide for more basic instructions to supplement this. Serious foodies will love this although they may decide to buy professional chef reference works altogether.

Having said this, I enjoy the chefs' takes on basic and not-so-basic recipes. And like some basic home cookbooks, photos of intermediate procedures are available for a majority of recipes which enables you to visualize how a dish done properly looks like.

There are some other reviewers who believe non-English speaking Western countries' cuisines should get their own sections. I believe their absence indicates more how the cooking of Germany, France, Italy etc are assimilated into the major sections. For example, much of desserts is French, cakes German, there is a specific section on pasta and gnocchis. In contrast, Chinese cooking presents examples on stir-frying and braising, Japanese section on sushi making, which are very different from Western techniques.

Although the book is touted as global in focus, in reality this belies the book is fundamentally Anglocentric by the fact that Britain has the largest share of home bases of the contributors. The selection of "ethnic styles" selected also reflects modern British tastes: Spanish is not counted as "ethnic cuisine" and assumed to be pretty mainstream, and the "exotic cuisines" receiving the most attention are Indian, Mexican, Thai, and Chinese. An Australian focus would probably have diminished the French flavours in the main sections and added non-Thai Southeast Asian cuisines like Malaysian, or an American focus would have more non-English speaking European cuisines like Italian and French as "ethnic" as well. It still doesn't hurt the quality of the book, but keep in mind the cultural background of the editor does influence the focus before you grumble.

All in all, this book is generally a worthwhile investment if you are interested in some serious cooking but do have want to invest your money on professional works or enrol into a culinary school.

For Beginners and Seasoned Cooks Alike
"The Cook's Book" by Jill Norman is a text that has increased my kitchen skills by leaps and bounds. Regular pizza became stuffed pizza pie, ordinary chocolate chip cookies took on a cappuccino flare, and maduros were added to our realm of savory side dishes. (See site for photos.) More than these particular dishes, "The Cook's Book" expanded my knowledge of cooking techniques. I learned, for example, how to make an array of sauces, ranging from velouté to berbere and many places in between. But before you are even given a specific recipe the first page of the "Sauces and Dressings" chapter takes you step-by-step through the terms used when making sauces (skimming, sieving, deglazing), then explains the various ways in which sauces can be thickened (roux, butter, arrowroot, etc). All this is done through the use of clear explanations and - get this - photographs for every step. By page 57 an entire world of possibilities had opened before my eyes, and I hadn't even reached the "Foam," "Soups" or "Flavoring" sections, not to mention the remaining 537 pages of the book! It's astounding what a well-written, beautifully photographed cookbook can accomplish. The Editor, Jill Norman, collaborated with some of the world's best chefs when putting it together, including Rick Bayless, Pierre Hermé and Greg Malouf. I have to say that while working through this book you feel as if you are learning directly from the chefs you admire.

In addition to the chapters mentioned above, "The Cook's Book" includes sections on eggs & dairy products, fish & shellfish, poulty & game birds, vegetables, pasta & dumplings, breads & batters, and pasty & sweet doughs. The list goes on. These topical chapters are supplemented by sections on Indian cooking, Chinese cooking, Thai cooking, Mexican cooking and Middle Eastern cooking - each presented by a chef who has mastered the area and has created a menu for you. Hence, the Mexican cooking chapter written by Rick Bayless includes recipes for squash blossom-filled corn masa boats; tortilla soup with chili, cheese & avocado; braised pork in red chili sauce and lime ice cream with cajeta. Chapters in "The Cook's Book" are relatively short and by no means comprehensive, but that's alright because the point of this text is to teach you essential skills that will enhance your overall ability. Recipes range from simple (how to cook rice perfectly), to challenging (how to make frankfurter kranz), to difficult (how to make croissants), but I appreciated this fact. This is a cookbook that engages you, the cook, on every level. I had to make the stuffed pizza pie referenced above twice before it came out the way I wanted, the same goes for my gnocchi from semolina flour. Yet the end results were delicious and I gained a tremendous sense of accomplishment from learning such tasty new skills.

There isn't much that can be said about this book that would fall into the negative category. It is a huge text and hence a bit cumbersome, but that is to be expected from a book that transmits such a monumental amount of knowledge. At times the ingredients are a bit esoteric, yet I don't see how this can be avoided in a book that truly tackles the gourmet side of cooking and baking. Most of the less-common ingredients can be found at Whole Foods or your local speciality food store, and if those avenues fail there is always the internet. Overall I strongly recommend this book to cooks and bakers of every level.

great first cookbook
Gave this as a gift. Has lots of recipes and kitchen tips for non-cookers as well as seasoned vets. Nice quality hardcover edition with lots of details and pix. Great gift for your anyone who wants to learn how to cook or improve kitchen skills.