The Professional Chef
by The Culinary Institute of America
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Book Reviews of The Professional Chef
Book Review: Excellent resource for foodies, casual, and professional chefs
Summary: 5 Stars
After taking two classes at the CIA, Soups, Stocks and Sauces and Cooking Principles 1, I've come to appreciate the well thought out planning and research that went into the Professional Chef 8th edition. My two culinary instructors Chef Kanner and Chef De Shetler both taught from the heart and gave excellent examples of why this book is top of the line. True there are other works out there that go the distance, such as Larousse Gastronomique, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and the Joy of cooking to name a few. Each has their own special nitch and this work certainly does the same even if at a large scale.
One reviewer wrote of how the recipes are simply in bulk and not scaled for the common cook, but if you look at why the book was written then you can see that the recipes are scaled as needed. If you work everyday in a production kitchen then simply do the math and break down the recipe for what you need or increase it just the same.
Within the first few pages you will begin to see the science and the art of cooking unfold before you and if you by chance get the pleasure of taking a culinary class or two at the Institute in Hyde park then you will certainly see first hand why this book is key to your culinary development. The chapters are straight forward and easy to read and give you as much information as needed to begin your culinary journey. With close to 50% off the cover price, this book is certainly worth purchasing and picking up a copy for friend that may be as equally interested in all things culinary.
You will not be disappointed in your purchase and I speak from experience when I say it's my go to source for culinary questions, ideas and concepts. I highly recommend this work for your culinary library no matter what the cost.
Book Review: Lack of Video and Recipes from the description, great Picture and instructions
Summary: 3 Stars
This book cover from the very basic of cooking which is the ingredients, utensils and herbs. Although they presented vividly, their organization of the ingredients is pretty messy especially in vegetables and meat part (unless for someone who knows ingredients and looks for something new). The recipes was good but lack the essential recipes from the descriptions. For instance, the beef brisket/flank steak can be cook for London broil, but they did not tell anything about it which for me is very annoying. Although it contains a lot of recipes, this book lacks some of the traditional cooking like aglio e olio (although it seems easy, not many people can extract all the garlic flavor and fused it with olive oil), or opera cake which not many people know, but a classic french desserts. It also forgot to cover on how to clean fish properly (like an Asian style); they just presented by cutting the entire head and fillet it.
I give only 3 because 1 star for video - it is better to use video to explain on how to clean like fish/meat/etc, and 1 more star for basic information - as this book becomes a reference to any chef, it would be best to have all the basic nail down so that they can invent other variation recipes from the basics.
Advantage of this book: cover pretty a lot, but not complete basic skills and recipes. many pictures
disadvantage: Too many open space it will not be useful for comments or ideas; it is better for the recipes to be reorganize so that can put more basic recipes with quick instructions like "The best recipes" collection
Book Review: A bit disappointed
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been looking for a book to help me make the leap from a so-so cook to a so-so chef, to be able to create my own dishes and free myself from recipes sometimes. My wife got me this book for Christmas, and while it has some good information on cooking techniques and other basics, it does not really live up to its reputation.
As other reviewers have noted, it is geared towards beginner chefs. This means: 1) people who have almost no knowledge about how cooked food arrives on their plate, 2) those interested in pursuing a career in restaurants. I thought the large scale recipes (gallons of stock; ten servings) wouldn't be a big problem, but it is much harder to scale down to family size than I thought. The "how-to" info is way too basic; if you watch Alton Brown's Good Eats on the Food Network regularly, you probably already know most of what is in the book, and Alton gives much more in depth knowledge, I think.
The book is more useful as an encyclopedia of food: sections on world cuisines and their central ingredients; breakdowns of meat cuts, fish varieties, grains, pastas, etc. and their properties and best uses. Stock and sauce making are particularly good sections also. For $44 I would say it is okay, but I don't think it is worth the full cover price. For that, get Good Eats on DVD.
Book Review: Good for beginer cooks
Summary: 3 Stars
If you are a beginer cook, this book is perfect for you. It provides broad topics such as regional/international ingredients down to detailed recipes.
If you already have some cooking experience and are familiar with the basic ingredients in international dishes, a third of this book can be skipped. I bought this book mainly to improve my food preparation, organization, and cooking skills, however, I've found that information to these are just a notch or two more than what I already know.
If you are expecting to get lots of recipes for dishes that you know of but haven't tried, then there are plenty covered. For me, I already can use the internet, many celeb cook books that I have, and family/friends for recipes, so other than the basic recipes such as sauces, stocks, etc, this book would be last for me to reach for when I need a recipe for certain dishes.
The book is physically big and heavy. I don't exactly know how heavy but let's put it this way: it arrived with a nicked corner and broken delivery box. If use as a kitchen reference, you would want to find a kitchen counter spot for it to rest. The cover print is like sanded copper pots and looks great on my shelve.
Book Review: Essential.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a big foodie and have been for many years. This is my cooking bible along with "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee.
If you want a foundation in cooking that will allow your skills to spread like wildfire than this is the book you want. Part cookbook, part text - it teaches you the essentials then let's you spread your wings a bit with a variety of recipes from all over the world. Not the definitive source for every recipe, but the definitive source for techniques and application of those techniques to produce amazing food. Endorsed by the likes of Thomas Keller, Anthony Bourdain, and The Two Hot Tamales.
Does take some time and dedication on your part though. I spent a year reading and working through it (with previous editions). The newest offering is cleaned up, a few errors were fixed, more recipes, and includes a greatly expanded introductory section.
I first got on board with a tag-sale copy of the 6th edition. Wish I would have found it when I first became interested in cooking! I would easily pay $500 for it.