Rating: 
Summary: If you Needed ONLY One Book In The Kitchen, Get This!!
Review: My mother wanted me to learn how to cook. I had no interest, and often gave her the slip. Why learn, when she was an excellent cook? Once, on the pretence of "helping" her bake a pound cake, she tricked me into doing the whole thing by myself! It is a different story now, because if I don't cook, I don't eat. Take out has its limits in more ways than one. The New Professional Chef is perfect for someone like me. The title did not scare me one jot, because I needed professional help. The truth is, that this book is REALLY for everyone. Perfect for ANYONE really, who if forced to have just one general reference/cookbook, which would be kept close at hand in the kitchen, could find EVERYTHING one needed to know about: Nutrition and Healthy Cooking, Equipment Identification(knife identification, hand tools, pots & pans), Raw Ingredients (excellent illustrations on various cuts of meat, poultry and game birds, fish & shellfish, a wonderful section on grains), and my favorite section, Mise en Place, which shows you the necessary skills & techniques that you will need in the preparation of ANY meal. Various cooking methods are also presented, and a great many recipes are available to chose from. This is the perfect gift for anyone from a college graduate who is setting up their first apartment, to newlyweds. I rely on it often, and it is a trusted reference book that I would not do without! My mother would be ecstatic if she could see me now.
Rating: 
Summary: Impressive
Review: Not being a professional chef, this book was quite intimidating. The info regarding ingredients was great, and the recipes so far have not let me down. This is a great aid in helping a normal guy like me prepare a very nice meal for company the RIGHT way. A great appreciation for fine cooking is developed after studying this book. The ingredient measurements in weight were a bit of a stumbling block for me at first - if you don't have a scale, you had better be an excellent guesser. Overestimating and buying too much veal loin can be pretty expensive. This is THE book for basics and, of course, a fine meal for that special occasion when company is planned (most meals here require several steps and multiple sub-recipes, and are not fast, Betty Crocker projects). Well worth the price for the smile on your guests' faces.
Rating:
Summary: The essential cooking reference!
Review: The New Professional Chef is a wonderful, albeit unwieldy, collection of recipes and cooking techniques for the aspiring professional or amateur chef. My wife and I had the good fortune of dining at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in picturesque St. Helena, California right in the middle of Napa Valley. The Wine Spectator Greystone restaurant on the campus is a wonderful place to dine and I heartily recommend it. The atmosphere is inviting and it's great to watch the chefs preparing mouth-watering dishes in the open kitchen. It was a treat for me, as a cooking enthusiast, to visit this presitigous cooking school. After visiting the CIA, I found this book and knew I had to have it as a reference foundation for my cooking skills. It has step-by-step techniques and recipes presented in a concise and easy to follow manner. I would recommend this book to anyone serious about learning the skills that professional chefs use every day. Please note that a kitchen scale is highly desirable when using the recipes. Most recipes use weight measurements instead of volume. Additionally, you will find that the recipes will need scaling down to feed average families, since they are designed for the professional restaurant chef. Great for the serious cooking enthusiast!
Rating:
Summary: The essential cooking reference!
Review: The New Professional Chef is a wonderful, albeit unwieldy, collection of recipes and cooking techniques for the aspiring professional or amateur chef. My wife and I had the good fortune of dining at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in picturesque St. Helena, California right in the middle of Napa Valley. The Wine Spectator Greystone restaurant on the campus is a wonderful place to dine and I heartily recommend it. The atmosphere is inviting and it's great to watch the chefs preparing mouth-watering dishes in the open kitchen. It was a treat for me, as a cooking enthusiast, to visit this presitigous cooking school. After visiting the CIA, I found this book and knew I had to have it as a reference foundation for my cooking skills. It has step-by-step techniques and recipes presented in a concise and easy to follow manner. I would recommend this book to anyone serious about learning the skills that professional chefs use every day. Please note that a kitchen scale is highly desirable when using the recipes. Most recipes use weight measurements instead of volume. Additionally, you will find that the recipes will need scaling down to feed average families, since they are designed for the professional restaurant chef. Great for the serious cooking enthusiast!
Rating:
Summary: Impressive
Review: This is a great book for the person serious about food. I like it not only because on the recipes in the back but the front is dedicated to the how's, why's and what's of food.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for any "food fanatic" that needs resources.
Review: This is a great book for the person serious about food. I like it not only because on the recipes in the back but the front is dedicated to the how's, why's and what's of food.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference book!
Review: Very concise and complete. The recipes actually work as written, and are fun to produce! The book is a bit large and heavy, but its usefulness overcomes this. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference book!
Review: Very concise and complete. The recipes actually work as written, and are fun to produce! The book is a bit large and heavy, but its usefulness overcomes this. Great book!
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