Ma Gastronomie

Ma Gastronomie
by Fernand Point

Ma Gastronomie
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Book Summary Information

Author: Fernand Point
Introduction: Thomas Keller
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-30
ISBN: 1585679615
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Overlook/Rookery Hardcover

Book Reviews of Ma Gastronomie

Book Review: Considered "important" by by self-appointed experts, but no justification given
Summary: 2 Stars

Why on earth do so many people hate my review? If you can't figure out the answer, the book is probably just hyped here on amazon. Personally, I have no clue why people dislike my review.

Today this book is mostly of historical interest. Around a quarter of the savory recipes call for around 100 grammes of truffles - that is at least the same amount in dollars if you travel to France and buy at a local market on location. Other recipes call for pig bladders, etc. The recipes also use a lot of cream and foie gras. The fish used is Dover sole and turbot (and that is a fish that cannot be substituted). If you have access to these ingredients, consider yourself lucky. Personally, I don't mind paying quite a bit for ingredients, but honestly, these kind of ingredients are not much available outside France. And even in France you have to look hard. So this is historical food.

I don't doubt that the author was a central person in the development of French cuisine, but this is clearly not nouvelle cuisine of the 1970s. Unfortunately, the "author" never wrote any books, so his disciples put together this book based on hand written recipes some 10-15 years (!) after his death. The recipes assume basic French cooking knowledge, but sadly there is no attempt to explain Point's approach to cooking. By reading the book you will not learn how he changed French cuisine. If you check wikipedia, the only thing you're told is that he trained many other chefs. To this reviewer most of the recipes are very similar to Escoffier's Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery. That book is more encyclopedic, so it is easier to use today, if you want to replicate classic French (haute) cuisine, ie you can find a decent number of recipes that use ingredients widely available today.

Who should buy this book? Cookbook collectors. People with a deep interest in the history of French cuisine. Home chefs that happen to have reasonably cheap access to truffles, foie gras and Dover sole/turbot. If you are a professional chef, the ingredients are basically too expensive.

Summary of Ma Gastronomie

Since its first publication in France in 1969, Ma Gastronomie has taken its place among the classics of French gastronomy. This essential volume is as celebrated for Fernand Point's wise, witty, and provocative views on food as for his remarkable, inventive recipes--over 200 of them--carefully compiled from his handwritten notes.

An undisputed creative genius of French gastronomy and founder of the legendary La Pyramide restaurant, halfway between Paris and the Riviera, Point revolutionized French cuisine, building on its traditions and creating his own versions of the great classical dishes. His peers called him Le Roi, and during his reign there were few celebrities and no serious gourmet who didn't make the journey to dine at La Pyramide. His disciples, Paul Bocuse, Alain Chapel, and Jean and Pierre Troisgros, are among the world's greatest French chefs. As one of his three-star students, François Bise, said, "Point was an artist. It's difficult to say enough about him." In that spirit, it is not unfounded to assert that no cookbook collection is truly complete without a copy of Ma Gastronomie.

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