French Cookbook

jam_on_toast

Hi,

I am looking for a definitive french cookbook and I am not sure where to start. I was wondering if anybody would have any advice on the matter or suggestions.

Some I have heard about but am unsure:

-Pierre Gagnaire: Reinventing French Cuisine
by Jean-Francois Abert (Author), Peter Lippmann (Photographer)

-The French Laundry Cookbook
by Thomas Keller (Author), Deborah Jones (Photographer)

-Le Guide Culinaire
by A. Escoffier (Author)

Any help at all would be much appreciated.
Cheers

chefsden

jam_on_toast wrote: »

Hi,

I am looking for a definitive french cookbook and I am not sure where to start. I was wondering if anybody would have any advice on the matter or suggestions.

Some I have heard about but am unsure:

-Pierre Gagnaire: Reinventing French Cuisine
by Jean-Francois Abert (Author), Peter Lippmann (Photographer)

-The French Laundry Cookbook
by Thomas Keller (Author), Deborah Jones (Photographer)

-Le Guide Culinaire
by A. Escoffier (Author)

Any help at all would be much appreciated.
Cheers

these are great books,, the frech laundry is a very good book with great pictures, but it's aimed at profesional chefs and modren trends..

<snip> for more info on the culinary books and picture gallery on the culinary arts.

are u a chef... or a real foodie that like great cookbooks...?

The Sweeper

Chefsden, is there any chance you could stop promoting your own agenda on here? It's becoming tedious.

Mr Magnolia

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

Chefsden, is there any chance you could stop promoting your own agenda on here? It's becoming tedious.

Incredibly. chefsden, read the rules on advertising. Keep this up and your posting rights will be removed.

mildews

To the OP.

For classical french cuisine,
probably (IMO) the definative guide is "La Repertoire de la Cuisine" by Louis Saulnier

Minder

Other authors to consider are Anthony Bourdain, Joanne Harris, Raymond Blanc. Depends on what you want from the book - a chef could probably recommend some of the college text books that are about technique and classic French cuisine (see ^^^). I find Raymond Blanc's recipes from Le Manoir are too complicated - fine if you have a team of chefs at your disposal but it makes my small kitchen a bit crowded. If you want a selection of dishes from across the country, Joanne Harris is not bad, but you can't beat Bourdain's Les Halles for it's sheer brutal honesty. All classic French bistro recipes, no faff.

As with all books, a flick through the pages at the local bookshop will usually give you a good idea if it's what you're after.

As for Keller's books - beautiful coffee table pieces but if you haven't got an OCD complex, his books are guaranteed to give you one.

From Amazon
Thomas Keller, chef/proprieter of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley--"the most exciting place to eat in the United States," wrote Ruth Reichl in The New York Times--is a wizard, a purist, a man obsessed with getting it right. And this, his first cookbook, is every bit as satisfying as a French Laundry meal itself: a series of small, impeccable, highly refined, intensely focused courses. Most dazzling is how simple Keller's methods are: squeegeeing the moisture from the skin on fish so it sautees beautifully; poaching eggs in a deep pot of water for perfect shape; the initial steeping in the shell that makes cooking raw lobster out of the shell a cinch; using vinegar as a flavor enhancer; the repeated washing of bones for stock for the cleanest, clearest tastes. From innovative soup techniques, to the proper way to cook green vegetables, to secrets of great fish cookery, to the creation of breathtaking desserts; from beurre monte to foie gras au torchon, to a wild and thoroughly unexpected take on coffee and doughnuts, The French Laundry Cookbook captures, through recipes, essays, profiles, and extraordinary photography, one of America's great restaurants, its great chef, and the food that makes both unique. One hundred and fifty superlative recipes are exact recipes from the French Laundry kitchen--no shortcuts have been taken, no critical steps ignored, all have been thoroughly tested in home kitchens. If you can't get to the French Laundry, you can now re-create at home the very experience the Wine Spectator described as "as close to dining perfection as it gets."

You would be deluded and driven crazy trying to recreate some of his recipes - the search for ingredients should be enough to put anyone off trying the dishes. (Not a fan).

jam_on_toast

cheers, am not looking for something incredibely detailed. My best bet is probably to just go and have a look at some of the books in Easons or something.

Minder

I just seen a new cookbook by Stephane Reynaud. Ripailles. Could also be worth a look. I found his previous book Pork & Sons to be excellent - but you gotta like pork!