Alinea
by Grant Achatz
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Book Reviews of Alinea
Book Review: From such a young chef-remarkable!
Summary: 5 Stars
As a European, I'm from Norway, and naturally following the European top restaurants, especially. El Bulli 2003-2004 and The Big Fat Duck Cookbook I discovered Grant Achatz 3 years ago. This amazing book has given me a deeper and more close up information about how things work in the "Alinea World".
With this knowledge as a young man I predict that Grant Achatz, within 10 years will be the nr.1 chef in the world, and as far as I can see he is the only one challenging the "old chefs".
If you want to follow the developing of the new way og cooking, this book is a "must".
And here at Amazon you even get it for a very good price.Alinea
Book Review: Don't try this at home
Summary: 5 Stars
I read a lot about molecular cooking on the internet. In fact, I even tried making fruit caviar at home.
This is cooking on 3 star level - it's just very very hard to do at home. Yes it can be done with time and money and many attempts, however you have to be really dedicated.
For most, this is just inspiration. Beautiful pictures, awesome ideas on taste combinations and how they approach and develop recipes.
Lastly, the Alinea Mosaic website backing it, it encourages to just take this and do your own. I probably will never cook a single recipe out of this book, but will take some ideas for plating. I also will experiment with dehydration which I never considered and may take single elements out of recipes and add that to my own.
For that what it is, not a recipe collection for a home cook, it is very well done. You just have to understand what yo are buying.
Cheers
Book Review: A beautiful tome perfect for sensory overload
Summary: 5 Stars
I just couldn't wait to get a copy of Grant Achatz's book when I heard he was writing it. This is such a great-priced book considering its quality, the sumptuous pictures and the unique content. To my delight, it contained a lot of the dishes that I was lucky enough to enjoy when I made my pilgrimage to Alinea. Even though I knew then that all the dishes were intricate and detailed, I only know now just exactly how intricate and challenging they are to perfect!
As you can imagine, this is no typical cookbook from which the everyday home cook can follow easily (unless you have easy access to liquid nitrogen or sodium citrate or the various alginates). It is a beautiful peek into the workings of the Alinea kitchen and a source of inspiration for molecular gastronomist wannabes. It also makes a hell of a gorgeous coffee table book, a perfect holiday or birthday present for any foodie!
Book Review: Suck it up and buy the equipment
Summary: 5 Stars
For all of you ordering/reading these amazing new MG books especially using sous vide techniques, just suck-it-up and buy an immersion circulator and a vacuum chamber. I tried doing the "home-made" versions with a cheap vacuum machine (not anything like a chamber) and a water bath with a temp gauge...not the same. You can buy a reasonable priced vacuum chamber for ~$1,000 and a circulator for around $600. They have transformed my life, cooking level and convenience. They are worth every penny. I am just a home cook (not professional) and can't live without them. You will make your $$$ back from buying bulk, low cost of vacuum bags (compared to zip-lock or vacuum perforated bags), lack of waist/spoilage, and just ease of mind/convenience when preparing a meal. It will be the best investment you will ever make if you enjoy cooking.Book Review: An incredible book, don't write it off as too complex
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't get discouraged at the complexity of some of the recipes in this book. Achatz and his team use a lot of agar agar and gelatin in their methods, both of which can be found at the grocery store. Many of the food additives which sound scary at first can be found quite easily online, and you can oftentimes get free samples which will be more than enough to experiment with.
This book is an amazing testament to the highest standard of American cooking at the moment. Like the French Laundry book, finesse and attention to detail are what sets the Alinea book apart from all the rest. The fact that we now have some access into their kitchen is awesome, so try out some of the recipes, I'm sure you'll be amazed.