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Summary: A superb learning tool and reference
Review: I grew up with great home cooking and always took it for granted. When I went off to University I quickly realized that Macaroni & cheese would not do me the way it seemed to for many of my colleagues, so I set out to bolster my impoverished culinary skills. After several years of over-the-phone consultations with mom, experimentation, and generally bland meals, I still lacked the basic knowledge and skill to tackle any but the most detailed recipes, and I had more questions than answers. Then I stumbled upon Wayne Gisslen's "Professional Cooking 4th Ed." The standard text for many culinary schools, Gisslen's well organized text book is a must for the aspiring amateur home chef. Expertly laid out and documented with beautiful photography, it will take your cooking to the next level. Gisslen has structured his book to first provide you with an in-depth knowledge of ingredients and basic cooking techniques, these are then applied in the many exquisite recipes that follow. For example, chapter 10: Understanding Meats has subsections on: Composition, Structure and Basic Quality Factors; Understanding the Basic Cuts; Cooking and Handling Meats. The following chapter then applies these principles in recipes grouped according to cooking method. The recipes range from fairly simple to more involved and all the ones I've tried have been outstanding. ONE WORD OF CAUTION! This is NOT a step-by-step cookbook that the beginner cook can just pick up to whip up a meal on the spur or the moment. All the recipes require knowledge of the basic cooking techniques which are covered in the previous chapter(s). This is an amazingly in-depth text book and requires time spent in careful study. Also, since the recipes are scaled for the professional kitchen one must scale them down for personal use (covered in chapter 5). However, if you are willing to put the time in, you will be amazed at how much you learn. As your basic skill level increases so will your confidence for tackling previously intimidating recipes. This book will be a treasured resource on my shelf for years to come. A must for the professional as well as the amateur enthusiast and well worth the money.
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Summary: I have been waiting for this book for more than 4 weeks.
Review: I ordered this book OCT. 4,2002, the shipping info says "ships in 2-3 days" and today is Oct 31,2002 , I still waiting for this book.
So if you need this book right way, think twice before you order it.
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Summary: LE CORDON BLEU COMPLETE COOKING TECHNIQUES
Review: I REVIEW ALL BOOKS AND ALL ARE EXCELENTS.
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Summary: Too bad they don't have an entry for 6 stars
Review: One word - incredible.I've always loved cooking, and have always been a capable cook in the kitchen, but always wondered why certain things are done the ways they are (such as how does flour thicken a sauce without it getting pasty) and how to make simple things such as bases for sauces. This book has that information and a LOT more. After getting roughly 30 cook books through the past 5 years, I realize now that this is the only one I ever needed. All of the recipes I've tried have been incredible (the only annoying thing is the large scale they're made to, though that's easily remedied), and it's a cookbook that I actually like to READ as opposed to just pull recipes out of. HIGHLY Recommended for any type of cook.
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Summary: The Book Was Excellent!!!
Review: The Book Was excellent!! I used it while taking a professional cooking class. I wish I would have kept the book but it got trown away.
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Summary: Outstanding...for the most part
Review: This is a great text-book...but it is definitely not for the "home cook". It is too colloquial towards the industry, and many of the terms will not be understood for Joe Q. Public. It is however easily adaptable to home cooking if you understand the jargon!
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Summary: Five Star Book!
Review: This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the Culinary Arts. Beginning with a brief story of the origins of contemporary cooking with Escoffier, going through Hygiene and Sanitation, Kitchen Equipment and utensils, covering all the necessary techniques for the future Culinary Professional, clear, step-by-step illustrations and excellent pictures, this is the most complete cookbook I have found. It combines both the French techniques with the collaboration of Le Cordon Bleu Chefs and the American influence with the expertise of the author. As a Chef Instructor, I will use this Professional Cooking as reference for all my future classes.
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Summary: Coast Guard Food Service
Review: We adopted the Professional cooking book as our food practical handbook in the Coast Guard. This is an excellent book for all professionals to have as their guide. I highly recommend any culinary student to use this text.
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Summary: Excellent Culinary textbook
Review: While I am not a culinary student, I do love to cook and learn the science behind the food. This book is the most comprehensive, best photographed book I have seen. This is written for the student, or professional preparation in terms of quantities the recipes make. You can easily scale most of them to suit your personal needs. The book is divided into various sections there is a textbook feel as each area of food is explained thoroughly, then come the recipes. This book is nice as it offers many suggestions and ideas with each recipe. While this may not be the best choice for every cook at home, I think this is a good choice for people that want a little more out a cookbook.
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Summary: A very in depth book!
Review: While I am not a culinary student, I do love to cook and learn the science behind the food. This book is the most comprehensive, best photographed book I have seen. This is written for the student, or professional preparation in terms of quantities the recipes make. You can easily scale most of them to suit your personal needs. The book is divided into various sections there is a textbook feel as each area of food is explained thoroughly, then come the recipes. This book is nice as it offers many suggestions and ideas with each recipe. While this may not be the best choice for every cook at home, I think this is a good choice for people that want a little more out a cookbook.
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