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Summary: A Hobby Chef's Dream Tool
Review: As a business professional, there is very little time to enjoy the great things in life. A good part of this precious time is spent in the kitchen. I love to cook. It is quite a stress reliever. I have been cooking now for the last 14 years. While I tend to use cook books and cooking magazines to guide me, I did invest in the Professional Chef book about 3 years ago. It is an ideal tool. Not only does it have recipes galore, it is the A-Z catalog of cooking ideas, instruction, types of utensils one needs, etc. I highly recommend for those that are starting out; for those like me that treat cooking as a serious hobby; and for those serious chefs that are in constant pursuit of recipes...The CIA is magnificent...
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Summary: Outstanding book. Need more/better indexes
Review: This is an outstanding book and I have only good things to say about it. The only suggestion I'd make is that the authors improve the indexes. A more complete index and ones by ingredient and technique would make it a more workable reference book instead of a beginning-to-end/chapter-by-chapter textbook.
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Summary: Much more than anticipated
Review: I have been cooking for quite some time now, and I am always digging for newer and better recipes and even different variations. This book had much more than I had ever thought that it would. It has a chapter dedicated to nutrition, kitchen safety, equipment, and all sorts of examples as well as photo's for everything, including cuts of meats, fish, poultry, etc.
It also thoroughly covers all sorts of food preparation, and the recipes!!! The recipes look just wonderful. It covers everything from simple broths, breads, sandwiches to different types of pastry. It is a great book for the beginner, as well as the experienced cook.
I have already tried a few of the recipes, and they are truely wonderful, and have been well tested. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to cook and bake..
One word of caution... Most of the recipes are geared to cooking of large quantities, for 10 portions or better. Breads for 8-10 loaves, and so on, so be prepared to modify your quantities.
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Summary: WOW! This is some whopping book!
Review: I just got this, but I'm so excited about it! I feel like I'm entering the professional chef's world, but learning plenty I can use right at home. The book is HUGE and packed with a tremendous, tremendously instructional amount of information with tons of pictures to show how to do things. Judging from what I've read so far--about things like "mise en place"--there's a lot about how to cook like a chef that's new to me--it seems like learning a foreign language! It shows the proper way use and sharpen a chef's knife, identifies all the different cuts of meat, shows the difference between a "batonette" or "brunoise" cut of vegetables. But I've already tried holding my knife differently, like the book tells you to, and it's definitely an improvement. There's also tons of recipes that sound great, and I like the fact the book teaches you the steps to make "major" recipes (for example, for risotto), so then if you learn it and get the hang of it, you can make a whole slew of different recipes (ex. mushroom risotto, risotto with asparagus tips, saffron risotto with shrimp, etc.) I can't wait to get through it all!
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Summary: A Cook's Best Friend rev. by jarkens@dsisd.k12.mi.us
Review: I received "The Professional Chef" as a gift from a valued friend; it certainly is a challenging source of inspiration and information (glossaries, diagrams) for aspiring as well as veteran cooks. The recipes are set up in three-column tables, with Ingredients, Quantity, and Methods (numbered) in separate columns. From the basics to ideas and photos of advanced plating and buffet set-ups, this book is worth its weight in gold to anyone who cooks for fun or profit.
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Summary: An excellent source of reference
Review: This seventh edition of a Culinary Institute of America classic is an excellent reference guide and source of recipes for the serious chef/cook. Note I said "serious" because it is most definitely not intended for the beginning chef or cook. The recipes are written with the intent of providing large quantities of prepared foods and can be quite complex.
Ingredients may not be available in all areas and the "average" home kitchen will not have all the equipment necessary to produce some of the recipes. That said, the basics of the book including sections on nutrition and ingredients were a more interesting read than I had expected and I learned a great deal. The companion study guide helps to reinforce the information learned. Covering all facets of cooking from sauces to desserts The Professional Chef provides an amazing amount of information in one text.
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Summary: Wonderful resource
Review: I'm not a professional cook nor am I planning on becoming one. But this is the first book I bought to help with my self-study in cooking, and I wasn't anything near disappointed in my choice.
Rather than alot of cooking texts which assume you have a basic background in cooking, Professional Chef takes you step by step, lesson by lesson to show you what you need to know. Starting out with an introduction to being a professional chef, they move on to food handling and safety, tools, knives, terms, ect.
Even for a homemaker like me who just wants to learn how to be a better cook, this text is indispensible. Don't be scared by the price for Professional Chef pays for itself many times over.
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Summary: Improvements already!
Review: I've been cooking since I was about 12, and in all the time since then I've basically been doing the exact same thing. Chop this, bake that. I hadn't really improved my cooking skills or learned anything new in years. I wanted to challenge myself. So I did a little research and decided to buy this book.
I've had it for a little less than two weeks now, and I am still amazed at the sheer depth of information in it. Not only are the recipes delicious, but the step-by-step instructions make even the most difficult concept easy to follow along.
Last night I made medaglione di bue alla pizzaioli with sauted potatoes for my entire extended family and chocolate XS cake after. Without a doubt the most complex meal I've ever made, and thanks to the crystal-clear instructions it all came out perfectly.
It should be said that most of the recipes take a lot of time and energy to make. If you include the time to make the sauce, it's rare to find a recipe that will take less than a few hours. But if you take a few hours over the weekend and make a couple good stocks and broths they'll last quite some time.
Already I've learned a lot, and am now much more aware of the balance between art and science that cooking really is. With every page I read and every recipe I try I improve my skills. This book is exactly what I wanted. Not just another cookbook, this spends as much time on technique as it does listing recipes.
This book is way more than you need if you're just looking for a cookbook, and will do nothing for you if you're not willing to spend hours preparing a single meal. But if you've got the patience to dedicate to the art that is gourmet food, then this is probably the most rewarding book you could ever hope for.
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Summary: A Can't live without book for the serious chef
Review: As a chef and graduate of the Culinary, I have hauled this mammoth book around from location to location. However, on one such occasion, I lost my most favorite tool. So here I am, replacing my most valuable training and reference tool. I highly recommend this book for anyone in the industry that wants to pass on knowledge, or for the serious home or restaurant cook that wants to take their cooking to the next level.
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Summary: The Professional Chef, 7th
Review: This is really a great book. It contains the standards updated and is current to reflect ingredients, techniques, and tools. This is certain to be a cornerstone in anyones cookbook library. If I were to have just one, this would be it.
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