The Professional Chef®

As described

A very useful reference work, with clear pictures and diagrams of essential skills. Recipes tend to be in large quantities, but numbers of servings included. A lot information on foundation topics such as nutrition, food safety, equipment etc.

as of now im officially no longer a member of newcastle college of catering. As a leaving gift my section leader (a former executive head chef of newcastle college) gave this book to me as a guide in to the world of culinary arts; as you read through the book it gives you all the info you need from basic equipment to fine dining and foods! To the author of this book well done!!! it is one of the best books out in the shops today

Well, what can I say about this 1000 page epic??? First and foremost, it's a text book, not one of those standard, get into the kitchen and follow the book kinda books. If fact, there are no recipes on the first 200 pages, not something any of the celebrity chefs can boast. This book is for people who want to learn all about life in the kitchen. This book is not for those who just want a few recipies to try out, having said that there is no shortage of them within the book. Also note, most recipies dish out 10-20 portions(it's called the professional chef for a reason!) and not your usual 2-4. All in all, a great value for money.

Arrived damaged

I am not a professional chef, but I sure enjoy well made food. I have a curiosity about how the chefs on television or at great restaurants come up with and serve those wonderful recipes. With this book, now I know most of the secrets. I think this book would make a great gift for anyone interested in foods. It is a textbook for the students at the Culinary Institute of America - you may have never heard of the college because they don't have a great football team. However, we do get the luxury of getting so much information and instruction in this book, it is almost like attending the instiitute yourself. Statrting with a slight history of restaurants (originated by the French in its modern form), we get the insight of being a professional chef, necessary tools, and then technique. This book is ideal for the person who wants to know about how to make their recipes better at home. Pleanty of pictures also help you understand the text. How to cut properly, or prepare fancier foods at home, everyone can use this knowledge. By learning how to make all those things you may crave at a certain restaurant, you can save money and enjoy making these things yourself at home (once in a while as I am not Howard Hughes, so I actually enjoy getting out on the town too.) I am sure for actual people running a kitchen, this book is also ideal, however, from my perspective, it is a book which teaches you how to select foods, how they should be stored and other interesting techniques of cooking and making your kitchen a showplace! This book has recipies geared for the professional kitchen. The portions typically make 10 or more portions. Yes, the nook shows you how to reduce or enlarge the recipes using math, but I would also suggest taking 10% or 20% of the suggested items and making it practical for you and your wife, husband or whomever. The main point of this book for you, the amatuer, is to understand how these 'fancy' things are made, and being able to apply it to your everyday cooking experiences. Interestingly, some of the things in the book I learned through much trial and error, but to also learn WHY it is done a certain way is most enjoyable. In short, this a is a treasure-trove of learning the techniques taught to professional chefs, that you have the opportunity to learn for yourself. I would encourage you to get this book, and think about your friends that may enjoy it for themselves. Finally, at least one CIA gives us the secrets we have been waiting for : -- )

When you want to learn to cook in a style that will amaze your friends, turn to the professional chef. This book, which lays out the basics for all forms of cooking and food preparation, will not turn you into a chef. Being a chef is all about creating good looking, well prepared and presented food, with your own tastes. This book gives you all the basics in order to accomplish that and goes farther it gives you recipes in order to practice the skills that it teaches you. Simply amazing photography shows you visually steps of different styles of cooking and gives you information on all sorts of cooking including converting from european measurements to U.S. Most people know the high standard that the Culinary Institue of America (CIA) shows and the high quality of graduate they turn out. This book, used at at the CIA, is an invaluable asset to those aspiring to be chef and those looking to turn out a perfectly cooked pleasing meal. Try this book. There is no one I know who would be displeased at either recieving this book as a gift, or purchasing it for oneself. The cost is truly small compared to the insight and wisdom that it gives you.

This is it! The one book that EVERY cook or gourmand must have! This text book, written by the world's premier culinary school, of which I am a student, is issued to every incoming student at the CIA. Time and time again I have turned to this book, and not just for my classes. As a chef, I often turn to this book to refresh my memory about an obscure technique, or even to remind myself about a fundamentally basic cooking method. This is BY FAR the best edition of Professional Chef that the CIA has put out to date! Writen by the staff and educators of the Culinary Institute of American, including Certified Master Chefs, this book is complete with BEAUTIFUL full page photographs, insightful advice and tips, product identification charts and photographs, detailed explanations about the "mysteries" of cooking or sauce making, complete and easy to understand recipes, fully detailed conversion charts, and more! What else could a chef want in a cookbook?! Once again, this book a must for anyone who loves food, loves to cook food, or loves to eat food!

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.

This is an outstanding textbook. I read it cover to cover the first week I got it, and was amazed at how much I learned. The authors use the approach of teaching a technique or style of preparation by walking you through an exemplar of that style, giving you step-by-step instructions starting from mise-en-place (pre-preparation for us lay-people) to evaluation of the finished product, then giving you a series of recipes which use that basic technique. I am still no master chef, but I feel that my basic cooking skills have come a LONG way since I first bought this book four years ago. I still use the book for reference fairly often, both for technique review and for recipe ideas.