Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic instruction but lackluster index
Review: I have found no problems with any of the recipes in the Professional Chef. It is informative and incredibly effective in teaching the most interesting and esoteric of cooking techniques as well as the most banal. My only problem is that it refuses to act as a recipe book inasmuch as it is often impossible to find something in the index. I would recommend this to anyone looking to expand their cooking techniques but would have to recommend the Joy of Cooking original to those who want instruction as well as fantastic and easy to find recipes.
Rating: 
Summary: A "Must Have" for any cookbook collector and cook.
Review: This book ranks up there with Larousse for a wealth of information. As an avid cookbook collector, this is an anchor and will be for years to come. While not for a novice cook, if you're knowledgeable in the kitchen, this will only add to your reference collection for the ideal ways to use ingredients. If you're a student or professional chef, you'll get your use out of this one. It's an investment well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: The Bible in the Kitchen
Review: As an aspiring chef, this is an absolutely indispensible resource in my kitchen. Upon first inspection, the book is rather overwhelming given the incredible selection of subjects, techniques, recipes and more. But once you start using it, you see the logic in the way it is organized. Every subject is presented in the same manner: A brief introduction, hands-on instructions on preparation followed by suggested variations on the concept. This is really what makes this book shine. It essentially gives you a solid base to build and explore from. It's exactly what I hoped it would be!
Rating:
Summary: ALWAYS HANDY!
Review: I have probably 100+ cookbooks, and I've been going back to the same four or five for quite a few years. This will be one of them! Very informative book with great recipies and teachers. A little pricy, but i would rather spend a few extra dollars and get something I will read for years!
Rating:
Summary: The Bible of Culinary Arts
Review: This is truly an awesome book. If you need to know anything about any aspect of cooking, you consult The Professional Chef, 7th Edition. Need to fabricate a whole salmon? Sure, more than one technique for more than one outcome. A perfect demiglace? Of course, brown sauce in no time. Don't understand any terms I am using? :-) Look in the book! It is all there. From the history of the culinary profession to techniques and procedures, this is the book that should be on the shelves and tongues of true foodies everywhere.
Rating:
Summary: For anyone concerned with cooking well
Review: There is a lot in this book that is not covered in any other book that is regularly available. I had struggled with simple tasks like cutting an onion. With simple and clear pictures and language I now know how to quickly get that perfect dice. It covers preparing all the standard cuts of meat and fish to all types of vegetables. It is the best source outside of Peterson's book on soup for preparing stocks, consommés and broths. This book is filled with all those fundamentals of cooking you just don't get in your average cookbook, and it provides them with clear pictures and language. From how the raft forms during clarification of consommé to a bevy of traditional and modern example recipes. This book is for anyone who wants to learn to cook well.
Rating:
Summary: Culinary techniques
Review: The text contains an incredible amount of information - far too much to try to summarize here. But, as an example from one particularly well written section, if you're wanting to learn not only how to make some exquisite stocks and sauces - the truly professional methods used - this section is awesome. There are a number of select recipes to match say a brown sause to a particular dish. Methods of flavoring, coloring, thickening, and more are all covered in this section. Each chapter has an incredible amount of detail like this section so you can expect a volume of information on many topics. The first two hundred pages are geared toward classroom instruction which I found boring and unusefull. I'm not sure what student would find it helpfull either since it's very incomplete (choice of equipment, discussion of fresh spices, and other areas). Further, throughout the text, pictures that show some prepared dishes are so out of focus they are a waste. I haven't seen previous editions but there is definitely room for improvement in these two areas. If you're looking for professional instruction though - this is an excellent choice and at a very good price. It's not a book of recipes - it's a book of methods, techniques, and instructions with recipes to apply using them.
Rating:
Summary: Great for the cooking enthusiast!
Review: I liked this book because it educated me on various foods (meat cuts, French vocabulary, etc.). It was clear and very direct about working in the chef profession. Good as a reference book, and the recipes are good practice of what you've learned. I like the book about knives as well.
Rating:
Summary: Primarily for professional chefs.
Review: First, this book is heavy,can't be held while turning the pages nor will it fit into my book holder. It is more in the form of a text book for professional chefs and though I could glean a little info regarding methods, if I were a beginning cook, this book would overwhelm me. Also, I found it hard to find just what I wanted in the book - it would take quite a while searching before I would find what I needed to know...first trying the table of contents, then the glossary then endless reading of text. There has got to be a easier format for a method book!
Rating:
Summary: Starts out basic and gets very professional
Review: I love this book. I talk about it often and I see the same sauces in other books such as "Wolfgang Puck's Pizza Pasta and More". If you want to get good a cooking, and wanted to buy just one book, this would be that book.
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