Author(s): Thomas Keller
Publisher: Artisan
Publication Date: 1999-11-01
Pages: 336
Review: I cook a lot - both formal and informal fare. The book has some great information and nice ideas, but in reality there are problems with many of the recipes either in the instructions or in the actual outcome. For example, the tomato sorbet tasted like ketchup sorbet. While the verjus sorbet was delicious, it melted very quickly and was thus hard to serve. Also, the crowd I served the verjus sorbet with poached peaches to agreed that the dish was too acidic and needed other elements to balance it out. Another example of a problematic recipe is the striped bass with artichoke ravioli recipe. In this recipe it there were editorial errors and lack of direction. It also seemed unnecessarily laborious for the result. In all, you need to be prepared to labor without too many expectations because you can’t be sure what the final outcome will be.A wonderful read, beautiful photos, and recipes of culinary refinement that can be duplicated in your own home. Worth every cent - even better when on sale! I bought this as a Christmas gift for my mom, and she was more than thrilled when she got it. I would suggest it for Mother’s Day or Birthday gifts. Not everything in it is completely out of an average person’s budget, although there are several recipes that call for some out of reach ingredients, but there are some substitutes available for most of those.For the most part good. However, extremely disappointed in the large amount of information on foie gras. Told quite a bit EXCEPT how extremely inhumane the preparation of this brutal ‘delicacy’ is.Anything by Thomas Keller is a must-have for the serious French cook. This is definitely not the cookbook for the beginning home cook, as most of the recipes are multi-step–time-consuming for some. The recipes are unique, fresh, and simply delicious. The written instruction is clear and easy to follow. As an aside, I bought The French Laundry and Bouchon together, which saved me some money because I got free shipping from Amazon, not to mention the prices of both books was considerably cheaper then prices in book stores.
Price: $50.00 Buy This Book