Professional Books - Page 2

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

Ruth Reichl

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 131 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This delicious new volume of Ruth Reichl's acclaimed memoirs recounts her "adventures in deception," as she goes undercover in the world's finest restaurants. Reichl knows that "to be a good restaurant critic, you have to be anonymous," but when she signs up to be the most important restaurant critic in the country, at The New York Times, her picture is posted in every four-star, low-star, and no-star kitchen in town. Managers offer cash bonuses for advance notice of her visits. They roll out the red carpet whether she likes it or not. What's a critic in search of the truth to do?

Reichl dons a frumpy blond wig and an off-season beige Armani suit. Then on the advice of a friend, an acting coach with a Pygmalion complex, she begins assembling her new character's backstory. She takes to the assignment with astonishing ardor-and thus Molly Hollis, the retired high school teacher from Birmingham, Michigan, nouveau riche from her husband's real estate speculation, is born. And duly ignored, mishandled, and condescended to by the high-power staff at Le Cirque. The result: Reichl's famous double review, first as she ate there as Molly and then as she was coddled and pampered on her visit there as Ruth, The New York Times food critic.

When restaurateurs learn to watch for Molly, Reichl buys another wig and becomes someone else, and then someone else again, from a chic interior decorator to an eccentric redhead on whom her husband-both disconcertingly and reassuringly-develops a terrible crush. As she puts on her disguises, she finds herself changed not just superficially, but in character. She becomes Molly the schoolmarm, Chloe the seductress, and Brenda the downtown earth mother-and imagine the complexities when she dines out as Miriam, her own mother. As Reichl metes out her critical stars, she gives a remarkable account of how one's outer appearance can influence one's inner character, expectations, and appetites.

Reichl writes, "Every restaurant is a theater...even the modest restaurants offer the opportunity to become someone else, at least for a little while." Dancing with the Stars examines character, artifice, and excellence on the sumptuously appointed stages of the restaurant world and offers an unprecedented backstage tour of the theater where Ruth Reichl played the role of a lifetime, as the critic of record at The New York Times.

Culinary Artistry

Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page

Amazon Price: $23.48 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $16.81

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 69 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"In Culinary Artistry...Dornenburg and Page provide food and flavor pairings as a kind of steppingstone for the recipe-dependent cook...Their hope is that once you know the scales, you will be able to compose a symphony."a Molly O'Neil in The New York Times Magazine.

For anyone who believes in the potential for artistry in the realm of food, Culinary Artistry is a must-read. This is the first book to examine the creative process of culinary composition as it explores the intersection of food, imagination, and taste. Through interviews with more than 30 of America's leading chefsa including Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Gray Kunz, Jean-Louis Palladin, Jeremiah Tower, and Alice Watersa the authors reveal what defines "culinary artists," how and where they find their inspiration, and how they translate that vision to the plate. Through recipes and reminiscences, chefs discuss how they select and pair ingredients, and how flavors are combined into dishes, dishes into menus, and menus into bodies of work that eventually comprise their cuisines.

Larousse Gastronomique

Larousse Gastronomique

Amazon Price: $53.55 List Price: $85.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Clarkson Potter Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $40.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Since its first publication in 1938, Larousse Gastronomique has been an unparalleled resource. In one volume, it presents the history of foods, eating, and restaurants; cooking terms; techniques from elementary to advanced; a review of basic ingredients with advice on recognizing, buying, storing, and using them; biographies of important culinary figures; and recommendations for cooking nearly everything.

The new edition, the first since 1988, expands the book’s scope from classic continental cuisine to include the contemporary global table, appealing to a whole new audience of internationally conscious cooks. Larousse Gastronomique is still the last word on béchamel and béarnaise, Brillat-Savarin and Bordeaux, but now it is also the go-to source on biryani and bok choy, bruschetta and Bhutan rice.

Larousse Gastronomique is rich with classic and classic-to-be recipes, new ingredients, new terms and techniques, as well as explanations of current food legislation, labeling, and technology. User-friendly design elements create a whole new Larousse for a new generation of food lovers.

Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking

Masaharu Morimoto

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Morimoto's cooking has distinctive Japanese roots, yet it's actually, as the chef calls it, "global cooking for the 21st century." Morimoto's unique cuisine is characterized by beautiful Japanese color combinations and aromas, while the preparation infuses multicultural influences such as traditional Chinese spices and simple Italian ingredients, presented in a refined French style. Bringing all these elements home, with helpful step-by-step instructions and gorgeous photography, this accessible book explains Chef Morimoto's cooking techniques and plating philosophies and brings Japanese cooking to your own home. AUTHOR BIO: Chef Morimoto has been the Japanese iron chef on the Food Network's weekly show, "Iron Chef," and its spinoff "Iron Chef America," since 1999. The show airs in the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, and Hong Kong. Formerly the Executive Chef of the Sony Club and Nobu, Chef Morimoto now has his own restaurants in New York, Philadelphia, Tokyo, and Mumbai, and also created his own brand of sake and beer.

Gordon Ramsay's Three Star Chef

Gordon Ramsay

Amazon Price: $40.95 List Price: $65.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Key Porter Books Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $37.50

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

This is an eye opener for all home cooks. 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

As a home cook, things were simple and fulfilling.

I opted to purchase this book to see what makes a 3 star Michelin service. I was pleasantly surprised that Gordon Ramsay had the same (relatively) approach. Simple, fantastic food. This book opened my eyes to making simple dishes into what he has made fantastic food.

I do have this warning: THIS IS NOT FOR THE NOVICE COOK.

However, for the conditioned chef/cook, this has really openened my eyes, nose, and tongue for the intricacies that make a Michelin 3 star chef. Be prepared to prep chicken, veal, fish, stock the night before, however you will not only understand why sous chefs report at 7am the day of service, but you will benefit from the taste that all of that effort takes.

AGAIN NOT FOR THE NEW COOK.

There are only a few instances where a genious will let us glance into his notebook, and this is it. So for you cook's who want to expand your repetoire, GET THIS BOOK! Even if you don't like the recipes, you'll undoubtedly get ideas to make your home cooking miles from what it is now.

5 Stars on Amazon, a definite 3 stars for Michelin.

Happy Cooking.
FJV

Editorial Review:

Gordon Ramsay’s no-holds-barred television persona has garnered widespread attention both stateside and abroad, but his food continues to be his greatest achievement. His passion for fresh ingredients is fully apparent in this collection of fifty classic Ramsay recipes. Describing both the restaurant methods for preparation, along with a down-to-earth guide to recreating the dishes at home, this beautifully photographed book showcases Ramsay’s immense talent. Including Gordon's signature Lobster Ravioli, Corn Reared Beef Fillet with Marrow Crust, Ginger Mousse and a Bitter Chocolate Cylinder with Coffee Granite, this cookbook is both a valuable cook’s resource and an arresting look at a man who has been dubbed “the best chef of his generation.”

Working the Plate: The Art of Food Presentation

Christopher Styler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

not inspiring and not informative 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Some nice pictures...many cookbooks have better. No discussion on style or technique and certainly no recipes worth buying the book for. Check it out at a bookstore or library before you purchase it...watching a food network show will give you more information on plating than this book will in my opinion. There is also the fact this book is TINY, not worth the money or a second look it is so lacking in information. So disappointing. I was at least expecting pictures of several presentations of different courses even if there was not a lot of explanation, a picture is truly worth a thousand words when developing this skill. Did I mention this book is a big disappointment.

Editorial Review:

Feast your eyes.


Long awaited by professional chefs, this groundbreaking guide to food presentation will also delight and inspire culinary students and sophisticated home cooks. Acclaimed food writer and culinary producer Christopher Styler describes seven distinctive plating styles, from Minimalist to Naturalist to Dramatic, with several striking examples of every genre. Each plating suggestion is accompanied by clear instructions along with color photos of step-by-step techniques and finished plates. Complete with essays on plating from ten leading chefs and recipes for the dishes featured, this book is a work of art in itself--a must for the kitchen shelf.

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition, and Health, Revised and Expanded Edition (California Studies in Food and Culture)

Marion Nestle

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good information in a dull format 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Marion Nestle has a lot of useful and important information in this book; however, her style is very clinical and mundane. I found myself working to stay awake whenever I read the book. I did finish it, because I think it's good knowledge to have, but a better writer could have made the material pop.

The same people pushing to "empower individuals" do all they can to disempower you 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

There's much to say about Nestle's "Food Politics" and "What To Eat," but the overarching message is that the food industries lie compulsively in order to maximize profits. There's no reason to assume that food-company profit maximization would lead to any desirable outcome: they will produce more food every year in the quest for profit growth, and that food will be as artificial and toxic as the laws will allow them. They will resist any food labeling that might harm their sales. This includes:

* "organic" (which implies that some foods are better than others)
* warnings about toxicity (e.g., methylmercury in tuna)
* the USDA food pyramid, which explicitly places junk food at the top and low-profit vegetables near the bottom

They offload the regulatory burden onto consumers: if you're getting fat, it's your own fault. Of course, they say this while they fight tooth and nail against any labeling requirement that might help you choose. And they fight against any regulation that might make you safer at their expense.

And of course there's the advertising. The same companies that tearfully demand your 'freedom to choose' with hand over heart are the same ones that target your children: everything from Saturday-morning cartoon ads to McDonald's sponsorship of Teletubbies to Coca-Cola branded baby bottles. In-depth psychological research understands exactly what will make your child tug at your sleeve in the grocery store and beg for the most profitable sugary cereal. So you have the 'freedom to choose', defended by companies that do all they can to deny it.

Marion Nestle's magisterial books prove these points in extraordinary detail, yet they pull off the trick with an eloquence that makes them read like novels. The basic premise, though, is beyond dispute: food companies exist to maximize shareholder return. Their investors demand growth every year. There's no reason to expect that this demand will work in your favor.

Editorial Review:

An accessible and balanced account, Food Politics laid the groundwork for today's food revolution and changed the way we respond to food industry marketing practices. Now, a new introduction and concluding chapter bring us up to date on the key events in that movement. This pathbreaking, prize-winning book helps us understand more clearly than ever before what we eat and why.

The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute

Michael Ruhlman

Amazon Price: $11.56 List Price: $17.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Holt Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 79 new & used starting at $4.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 100 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Well written, dragged a bit at times, but learned so very much 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Well if you are not a foodie I would suggest reducing the review by 3 stars and finding something else to read, but if you are a foodie this book was excellent. A nice fairly complete telling of what it is like to go through the Culinary Institute which is something I always wanted to do but either didn't have the time nor wish to commit so much of it. I am always playing in the kitchen and I got a ton of direction from this book as to the why of what I often do without knowing it (of course if that is all you are looking for there is McGee). Even little things that I picked up were great, for example, my wife hates wet sandwich bread, here in America we eat a lot of sandwiches so this small thing is a big problem. In the book they make mention of how the CIA club sandwich always puts cheese on the bread to create a barrier, so simple but something that never dawned on me, sounds silly but now I know how to make my sandwiches and her happy at the same time, thats worth a lot more than the price of the book right there.

Editorial Review:

Now in paperback, the eye-opening book that was nominated for a 1998 James Beard Foundation award in the Writing on Food category.In the winter of 1996, Michael Ruhlman donned hounds-tooth-check pants and a chef's jacket and entered the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, to learn the art of cooking. His vivid and energetic record of that experience, The Making of a Chef, takes us to the heart of this food-knowledge mecca. Here we meet a coterie of talented chefs, an astonishing and driven breed. Ruhlman learns fundamental skills and information about the behavior of food that make cooking anything possible. Ultimately, he propels himself and his readers through a score of kitchens and classrooms, from Asian and American regional cuisines to lunch cookery and even table waiting, in search of the elusive, unnameable elements of great cooking.

The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection

Michael Ruhlman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An insider's peek at the CIA's Master Chef Certification exam 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Here, Ruhlman returns to continue the journey that began with The Making of a Chef, albeit this time with a different set of people, attempting a different degree.

In this book, he takes the reader along for a ride as several gifted chef alumni make a pilgrimage to the CIA, from their separate (and thriving) careers, in order to attempt an advanced culinary masters certification ... a very prestigious credential that few people, even elite chefs, ever achieve.

Think Reality TV, following the journey of a small group of hot chefs, as they attempt to climb the Mt. Everest of culinary certifications, and you'll have the basic idea.

Ruhlman, as usually, pulls it off with is usual soulfulness, grace and aplomb ... and unlike most food writers, he's got the culinary chops (pun intended) to keep up with the people making the journey.

If you like Making of a Chef, you'll like this one too.

Editorial Review:

In his second in-depth foray into the world of professional cooking, Michael Ruhlman journeys into the heart of the profession. Observing the rigorous Certified Master Chef exam at the Culinary Institute of America, the most influential cooking school in the country, Ruhlman enters the lives and kitchens of rising star Michael Symon and renowned Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. This fascinating book will satisfy any reader's hunger for knowledge about cooking and food, the secrets of successful chefs, at what point cooking becomes an art form, and more. Like Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef, this is an instant classic in food writing-one of the fastest growing and most popular subjects today.

How to Open and Operate a Home-Based Catering Business

Denise Vivaldo

List Price: $15.95 By: Globe Pequot Pr Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Ilegal to cater from home 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Although the concept of this book is appealing, it is ILLEGAL by health department standards to cater from any home kitchen UNLESS it is fully licensed and certified as a commercial kitchen. Hopefully, this author is not giving permission to folks to attempt to cook and deliver food from home kitchens, which is completely against health department rules.

Amazing and captivating 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I read a lot (and I mean a lot, as I have thousands of books in my library), but this is one of the very few business books I've been truly inspired and uplifted by. When I say "the only book you need to succeed in catering" it's not only a cliche, I believe it's really true! In her writing, the author strikes the fine balance between telling you the 'real deal' and hardships of starting your own business, while managing to keep you motivated and telling you about all the positive that can come out of your efforts as well. It is extremely detailed, honest, passionate, and credible. This has truly been a fantastic help to me while I'm planning to launch my own catering business next year. Brava!!!

Editorial Review:

Learn all about how to start a home-based catering business from the owner of a successful catering enterprise. This edition includes an additional chapter of catering recipes, including five special occasion menus with 25 crowd-pleasing recipes.