# The Professional Chef VS On Cooking



## bidul

Hi Everybody,

I'm looking for a book to learn about cooking skills. I cook at home, but I'd like to learn the way chefs learn, even though I might take a little more time... 

After searching, I ended up with 2 books:
The Professional Chef, from The Culinary Institute of America
and
On Cooking, A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals

I didn't find anything about them on the forum...

Does anybody know something about them, and could maybe compare them?..

Thanks a lot!


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## mastersniper

I cook at home as well and I own 'the professional chef' 5th edition. I think it is a very thorough tomb of knowledge. In depth coverage of food safety, equipment identificaion and uses, product identification and storage, meat/poultry/fish fabrication, mise, stocks, sauces. It also breaks down cooking methods, dry heat without fat vs dry heat with fat vs moint heat vs combination methods. the recipies are food service sized but can be scaled down easily enough for the home cook for example the croissant dough recipe is for 12.5 Lbs but you can scale it down to say 2 lbs and work with it at home. 
I would recommend it without hesitation but I did read some reviews of the later editions that said they were not as complete (on Amazon I belive) but I have not seen the later editions since my edition has served me well for going on 30 years.

Having said that this is a cover everything book there are better books for specific topics. For example bread has The Bread Baker's Apprentice.


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## phatch

i have the Professional Chef. As a home cook, I'm not impressed with it. It's interesting one time through but it assumes a fair bit of class time to expand on the material. It lacks the explanation and depth a home cook would benefit from. Just borrow it from the library and save your money. 

I've no experience with the other one.


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## missyjean

I don't have experience with that particular book either but I did buy Cooking At Home With The Culinary Institute of America and Baking At Home With The Culinary Institute of America.

I didn't really getr anything out of those books and returned them. 

I did pick up a copy of Alton Brown's Good Eats and I'm Just Here For The Food and learned something the very first time I opened the book.


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## bidul

Wow, there is just so many books out there, that it's difficult to make a decision...
What I'm really looking for, is something to develop the basics to really have good control of them, and learn more about the culinary art, like chefs do when they learn the skills.
I need less a recipe book than one giving me the tools to make my own dishes and recipes, understanding the what and the how...


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## phatch

James Petersons _Essentials of Cooking_ is good for the technique.

Making your own recipes requires an intuitive understanding of food which you'll develop over time. That said, there are books that can help out along the way, but you'll need to re-read them every year or so for those Aha! moments that occur after sufficient experience has developed.

In that list:

_On Food and Cooking_ by Harold McGee Others would put in _Cookwise_ and _Bakewise_ by Shirley Corriher but I personally wasn't impressed with those. Your experience may vary.

_Ratio _by Michael Ruhlman

_The Chef's Art _It's been a long time since I read this one from the library, but it was really good. I think it's the one by Wayne Gisslen as that's the only real hit on the title at Amazon, but it might have been another.

And if you like to barbecue, this book produced a lot of Aha! moments for me after I had a couple of years experience with a smoker. _Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue Sauces_ by Paul Kirk.


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## chef_wade

The Professional Chef is the book to get. Its used as the introductory textbook for most culinary programs. I still have my original copy from way back when and still use it as reference from time to time. Granted its not the only one but between the two I would pick TPC.


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## bidul

I had some more research going on, and I limited the selection to these 3 now.. :

The Professional Chef
Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques
Culinary Fundamentals

I didn't know there are so many out there!! 

When you write about a book, could you explain as much as you can what is it different from an other, and why it makes it peculiar for you?..

Thank you very much for your help!!


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## just jim

I have the 6th & 7th editions of The Professional Chef.
Good books.
I picked up my most recent version rather inexpensively.
I joined The Good Cook book club.
Similar to CD and DVD clubs, you get a few initial books for a buck apiece (The Professional Chef counted as 2).
I filled my bookcase over a few years through this club, but eventually they ran out of books to entice me.
You may or may not find it of interest.

Cookbooks - Beginners, Gourmet, Best Selling - The Good Cook Book Club


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## cape chef

Not to debate either On Cooking or The Professional Chef as I find they both have strong benefits to young culinary professionals. I would recommend Culinary Artistry by Dornenburg & Page. It's a book dedicated to helping one consider why & how things go together.Google it.

I enjoy all there books.


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## ed buchanan

For a home cook. Keep it simple like Fanny Farmer, or Practical Cooking, or a Julia Child book.


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## saborito

dont forget one culinary classic:

the new york times cookbook by craig clairborne.

this book is chock full of home cook recipes which any chef will tell you are the best.

try the new england buttermilk donuts.

in general, I like books like this one because they have a myriad of dfferent recipes listed categorically, salads, soups, desserts, etc.

handy when you are drawing a blank, even handier when you want to "check out" a recipe from somewhere else. I compare recipes often in this way, and this allows me to create my own fine tuning.

as far as "big cookbooks of all time" I am more than surprised that nobody has mentioned gastronomique from larousse. The professional chef is a textbook, not a cookbook.

I love cookbooks. remember that their most important value is in the way that they inspire you.

saborito


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## phaedrus

I highly recommend The Chef's Art: Secrets of Four-Star Cooking at Home by Wayne Gisslen. Maybe not the best book for a total nOOb but if you have basic idea what you're doing in the kitchen the book is a great resource.


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## suzanne

If you can find it in the archives of The Daily Gullet on eGullet, there's a review I wrote of _Professional Chef_ as a tool for a home cook. The short version is: it's not good. In fact, as much as I love _On Cooking_, I don't think that any book written to be a classroom textbook is good for a home cook. Why not? Because textbooks are meant for someone to teach from, not just for a student to learn from. You need to be able to ask questions about what you read. (Yeah, well, ChefTalk is here, but still . . . :lol.

For home cooks, I much prefer Pépin's _Complete Techniques_ and Peterson's _Essentials of Cooking_. They are written with the home cook in mind and can stand alone. I especially like them for all the pictures.

And for someone just learning, or even for someone who knows basics but wants to understand things better, I love _The New Cook_. It's one that I give to friends and relatives who say they want to learn to cook. Very well done, and again, with lots of pictures so that you know how things should look.


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## dc sunshine

I don't have a cookbook to recommend, but would encourage the OP to look on YouTube for cooking demonstrations and techniques, lotsout there, mostly good.

Just a thought.

DC


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## missyjean

What you describe I have found true in the other CIA books as well. Very surface stuff.


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## missyjean

I had Mastering the Art of French Cooking in the early 70's but no longer have it due to moving.

Last night we watched Julie and Julia and I got inspired to get that book again.

Would you recommend it?


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## boar_d_laze

Yes. And more highly than almost any other books mentioned in this thread. It's both a fantastic set of recipes -- interesting enough for a good cook -- and an almost equally good way to learn cooking.

The only criticism I have is that a few of the recipes have become a little dated. But, in their zeal to keep French food sufficiently straightforward and simple for an American housewife to cook at home, the authors anticipated the modern trend. By and large the recipes are timeless classics.

You could do worse,
BDL


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## missyjean

Okay, I'll give it another try. When I had the book in the 70's, the few things I made came out great. I was a different person then. Now I am more patient and I don't mind spending time cooking. Also, I have a different husband now ( I was widowed) He cannot tolerate anything spicy or full of garlic but he does like wine, bacon and butter


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## missyjean

I received Mastering the Art of French Cooking 1 in the mail yesterday. 

I made the braised carrots and herbs as an accompaniment to left over chicken cutlets

My husband started complementing the carrots as soon as he tasted them and he continued throughout dinner

This is what I mean about a wow effect. I am looking for other books that will induce the same reaction

Other things I have made, from other books, get just a, "That was delicious, sweetheart" at the end of the meal-sort of a cursory response.

My husband almost ate the entire pound of carrots:roll:


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## dscheidt

yes. However, I think _the professional chef_ is worth having (if you buy it from someone like amazon, who sell it for much, much less than the cover price) just for the section on equipment and ingredients. There are a bunch of things that bug me about the CIA books. They tend to say things like "X can be exchanged with Y for changes in behavior", but not what the changes *are*.


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## cyn

On Cooking is my culinary school textbook. I like it a lot. I plan to get The Professional Chef but haven't yet. Professional Cooking is good, too.


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## deltadoc

I have Craig Clairborne's book. Don;t like any of the recipes I tried out of it, especially Doris Day's Mousaka!

I have Professional Cook, and Professional Cooking. They are different enough to warrant referencing both, as you can get an idea of how much technique and quantities and ingredients can differ to come up with delicious end product, for instance brown stocks.

I wouldn't be without my 1960's version of Joy of Cooking. And I have a book, called something like "Chef Essentials" (I don't have it in front of me, but it gets down to the very basics of cooking. I will have to look it up this weekend, as I haven't used it in a while.

Lots of times, i'll just google recipes and read 10 or 20 of them, and from them I can garner what I want to use, and how much of it to get a dish that I think will be pleasing. I almost never ever make a recipe as written, except out of Professional Cook or Professional Cooking. And then I sometimes end up altering those a bit.

doc


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## boar_d_laze

deltadoc;296515 said:


> I have Craig Clairborne's book. Don;t like any of the recipes ... /QUOTE]
> 
> Craig Claiborne -- some historical interest there. I don't think I'd term Claiborne's major books like the NY Times Cookbook a waste of time. Claiborne still provides a window on 70s cooking, which was a very interesting -- revolutionary -- time. Claiborne pretty much missed the revolution, so his writing and recipes also provide insight into the "pre-revolutionary" "Continental" cuisine that passed for high-end in post War America until cuisnes Gourmand and Novelle, California Cuisine, etc., changed the way we think about great food.
> 
> Plus you've got to give him points for his relationship and collaboration with Pierre Franey -- who was one of the best French cooks in America. Ever.
> 
> Also interesting to note that with the popularity of American regional, "comfort" cuisine, "boy food" and the creation of "New American" through the nineties and naughts, there's been something of a return to the old, rich ways.
> 
> Which book?
> 
> BDL


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## missyjean

Is there a book equivilant to Professional Chef for the lay person? I would love to get that book but the quantity in the recipes are for a kitchen.


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## chadnagy

I am using On Cooking for culinary school, and altho it contains a wealth of information...the recipes are geared for a larger audience. It also contains a CD which lets you print all the recipes from the book. The recipes can be scaled down, of course. I haven't aquired the Professional Chef yet.

Happy Fooding!


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## treehugger057

The pro chef has been so been an invaluable reference for me.


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## deltadoc

boar_d_laze;296516 said:


> Well, can't argue about Pierre Franey. One of my all time favorites.
> 
> Which book? I assume Craig Clairborne must have had a few. THe one I had, which I bought for $1 at the same time I bought Escoffier's Cookbook for $1 back in the late 1960's, early 1970's was entitled something like "The Best Recipes from the NY Times" collected by Craig Clairborne. I just remember making Doris Day's Mousaka and hated it. I don't remember which other recipes I tried from it. ONce I started cooking with Escoffier, I forgot all about Mr. Clairborne's book.
> 
> doc


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## phatch

I've got a copy of Claiborne's Chinese cookbook from about 1973. It's surprisingly modern compared to many other Chinese cookbooks of the era.


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## missyjean

Would it have been as helpful had you not received professional training?


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## deltadoc

I have no real professional training, but Professional Chef has lots of pictures, and lots of detail. I already probably roughly knew 80% of what it had to say already, but it filled in the empty areas and organized everything in my mind's eye better than before.

It is not that hard to figure out how to reduce restaurant size portions to family size or even 2-people size.

doc


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## chefamber

I recently bought The Professional Chef, and love it! But I warn you, the recipes are for huge quanities! 

Can anyone tell me more about Gastronique by Larousse? Saw it, was intrigued but didn't get it. 

Thanks!:talk:


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## missyjean

I definitely like that the recipes are in weights instead of volume measurements.

I have to go back to the bookstore and re-evaluate these 2 books. 

When I looked at them the first time, On Cooking seemed to be more involved as far as training purposes


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## missyjean

I was just reading that Thomas Keller (ad hoc at home) likes that book


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## Guest

I agree with you.


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## chrislehrer

Jacques Pepin's cookbooks are all pretty good, in different ways, and he's very serious about teaching fundamentals. _Complete Techniques_ is exceedingly difficult to use as a cookbook, however, because it's not organized around dishes. _Jacques Pepin Celebrates_ is a very good example of his later work, in which he puts together meals and dishes while teaching the fundamental techniques that go into them.

A very impressive cookbook that might interest you is Alfred Portale's _Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook_. The dishes are fairly high-end stuff, not heavy on spice or overloaded with garlic (your husband will be pleased!), and Portale went to a lot of trouble to make sure these things actually work in a home kitchen, which isn't the case with every chef-written cookbook. He also gives these running commentaries that discuss what he's telling you to do and why, how you can adapt this or that technique to other purposes, how you can manipulate a dish, and so on. It's a wonderful book. Certain recipes in there are bound to become part of your standard repertoire.

Peterson's _Essentials_ is a good book, in many respects a sort of rewrite of Pepin's _Complete Techniques_, with color pictures.

The trick to using any of Julia Child's wonderful cookbooks -- both volumes of _Mastering the Art_, plus _From Julia Child's Kitchen_ and _The Art of Cooking_ (I'm less enamored of her menu cookbooks and such) -- is that you really do need to read through and get the hang of the whole "master recipe" / "variations" thing. If you do this, and try it a bit, you will suddenly find that a number of these recipes stop being something you need to look up any more: you just know how to do it. And then the variations become obvious. And then, pretty soon, you are really cooking, not following recipes.

_Larousse Gastronomique_ is a fascinating read, but it's not really very useful in the context you have in mind. It's an encyclopedia with recipes, at base, primarily useful when you're wondering "gee, how do I use this? how do I make that sauce? what does this term mean?"

I am vehemently opposed to textbooks in almost all contexts, including (especially) teaching, and what I've seen of _The Professional Chef_ doesn't make me alter my opinion.


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## missyjean

Thank you for your help. I was actually looking at Complete Techniques the other day in the store. I compared my banana bread recipe to theirs and it is very similar. That makes me feel I have been doing it right.

Thanks for considering my husband's aversion to garlic.  It makes it a little hard to select recipes for him.  I love garlic but I don't mind giving it up if it makes him more comfortable.  He also can't eat any citrus flavorings. I was very disappointed after I made the corn recipe in Ad Hoc because the lime was over-powering to him.

I have to remember to give him very small doses of flavor and maybe, someday, his tolerance will increase


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## kyheirloomer

_I love garlic but I don't mind giving it up if it makes him more comfortable._

*Then just leave it out*, MissyJean! There are very few dishes that will actually suffer by leaving out an ingredient, or changing the amount, or adding something not specified.

The same dish with and without garlic might taste differently. But that's not the same as one being right and the other wrong.

This is the one lesson you must learn to be a good cook: Recipes are, at best, merely guidelines. They are not written in stone. Don't like a particular ingredient? Leave it out. Think the recipe would be improved with the addition of X? Pour some in.

This applies to all parts of the recipe. Even the main protein can be changed, if it suits your mood and taste. So what if the recipe calls for pork and all you have on hand is chicken. If the other ingredients seem to be a match for chicken, give it a try.

If you slavishly follow recipes it means two things; that you know how to read and know how to measure things. But when you adapt, and modify, and make the recipe your own, then you are a cook.


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## chefross

I have every issue of Professional Chef ever in print, and I find it fascinating how the explanations of recipes and food tech have evolved through the years.


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## sgtgoodie

I have 2 of Wayne Gisslen's books: Professional Cooking and Professional Baking. I also have the CIA's The Professional Chef. I like them all. I still want to see the CIA's book on baking and pastry. I think from a cooking point of view (rather than the usual baking) if I could just get one book it would be The Professional Chef.


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## zane

We use professional chef as the text at school, I highly recommend it.


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## chefzoneau

Hi Guys

I own both of these books On Cooking and The Professional Chef and for somebody starting out in cookery or wanting to learn at home they are both great books.

I have been a professional chef in Australia, Europe and South east asia for 20 years.

There is a book that is common in English, Australian and French Culinary Institutes which is often overlooked by Americans it is called:

*Practical Professional Cookery* is recognised throughout the English-speaking world as the established source of recipes for both students and professionals. Practical Professional Cookery covers the full range of work from the most basic dishes to those requiring advanced techniques. Each recipe is presented in a stepped, easy-to-follow format.

*Number Of Pages: *928
*Format: *Paperback 
*Language: *English 
Dimensions (cm): 23.4 x 15.7 x 5.2 
Weight (kg): 1.328 
*Audience: *Tertiary; University or College

Cheers Chezone


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## sarahg

Hi there.  I've actually studied from both of those books--and currently still own both.  I'm assuming the On Cooking book you are talking about is the one by Sarah Labensky and Alan Hause.  I think the Professional Chef is definitely a great book, but as Phatch indicated, it's a book that comes with less explanation is better for a classroom setting with a Chef-instructor providing the missing pieces or some other form of additional instruction.  But as a student, I loved the book.  On Cooking, on the other hand, is an excellent book for the home cook because it EXPLAINS things really well.  There are loads of great recipes which incorporate all of the material of the particular chapter they're in.  I would say that for non-students, On Cooking wins, hands down.


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## sarahg

Hi.  I also have Larousse Gastronomique.  It's basically an encyclopedia-cookbook that contains over 8,500 recipes and offers incredible, detailed information on all culinary matters, as well as numerous relevant historical references, including lots of wonderful techniques.  This book is seminal and is basically understood the world over to be THE culinary authority.  The book is actually written by Prosper Montagne and was originally published in France by the Librairie Larousse in 1938, from which the compendium gets it's name.  I have the first, 1961 English publication of this book with an introduction by Escoffier himself with PH Gilbert.  It's pretty awesome and every single fine restaurant in the world has a copy of this time tested and invaluable book.  It is most definitely worth getting a copy, to say the absolute least.  All great chefs should and do have this book.  Ok, hope that was helpful


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## bottero

Suzanne said:


> If you can find it in the archives of The Daily Gullet on eGullet, there's a review I wrote of _Professional Chef_ as a tool for a home cook. The short version is: it's not good. In fact, as much as I love _On Cooking_, I don't think that any book written to be a classroom textbook is good for a home cook. Why not? Because textbooks are meant for someone to teach from, not just for a student to learn from. You need to be able to ask questions about what you read. (Yeah, well, ChefTalk is here, but still . . . :lol.
> 
> For home cooks, I much prefer Pépin's _Complete Techniques_ and Peterson's _Essentials of Cooking_. They are written with the home cook in mind and can stand alone. I especially like them for all the pictures.
> 
> And for someone just learning, or even for someone who knows basics but wants to understand things better, I love _The New Cook_. It's one that I give to friends and relatives who say they want to learn to cook. Very well done, and again, with lots of pictures so that you know how things should look.


I've been a long time "visitor" of this great web site but avoided to comment anything, this because of professional reasons (and also having a busy life, cooking, traveling, tv, etc.). But I HAD to comment on this topic. There's always a first, right? Lol

The good thing about the Internet is that we can share info and knowledge more and better than ever. We also get to discover that some "home cook" can have excellent ideas and could even cook better than some so called Professional Chefs. That's why the top chefs of this world are traveling as much as possible to discover new favors and new techniques. Is it done by visiting other great chefs? Not always.. You get to discover great stuff by visiting some small villages trust me. You'd be amazed by what you can discover by going off road. Like the "Floup Floup" a very small restaurant by the side where the kitchen is separated from the tale by just a white wall. If you go to Martinique, go at the far end of the island and eat there!

The bad thing... Is that we get to read some comments that can leave us puzzled. We all know that, right? 

Now let's bring back to main focus the reason of this topic. Bidul here wanted to know about a specific book because he would love to improve his/her cooking skills. That's noble, we all want that, even if you're a pro chef! Now there's the reply from Suzanne. This is what she said "...it's not good. In fact, as much as I love _On Cooking_, I don't think that any book written to be a classroom textbook is good for a home cook. Why not? Because textbooks are meant for someone to teach from, not just for a student to learn from. You need to be able to ask questions about what you read. (Yeah, well, ChefTalk is here, but still . . . :lol."

Hummmm what Bidul wanted? To learn... What is Professional Chef about? Teaching. Now this thing about being able to ask questions and get an answer. Which book in this world can do that? NONE. A book is a book and not a teacher. There are lots of great books out there and it all depends on what you're looking for, or comfortable with depending on your skills level. But the Professional Chef is an excellent book to teach people and help them to improve their skills. It also have been named one of the top five culinary books of this decade by Food Arts Magazine. So does it deserve the "not good"? I don't think so.

Btw, since this original post, The Professional Cook as been released in digital version. Not bad, not bad at all....

Bottom, line is.. There are lots of great culinary books and you can also learn a lot from very good websites like this one. And yes, the Professional Cook is a great start or great to improve your skills if you're already a serious cook.

One last thing. Geoffrey Drummond has a YouTube series called "Avec Eric". Watch them, it's interesting and make sure to browse for other videos on YouTube. Some videos are amazing, some others will make you feel the greatest cook of all time compare to what you're watching LOL.

Most importantly, enjoy cooking, enjoy learning and have fun eating. Cooking is a lifetime learning process and I whish that I'd had five or ten lifes to learn more and more and to keep sharing with others.

Now I'm out to go at McDonald's... Lol joke! I can't even remember the last time I went there


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## eric brown

Both On Cooking and On Baking are used at my school. They are approachable and clearly laid out. You're going to learn a lot from the books, but I find that everything really sinks in during class lab. Learn by doing.


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## ajb temple

For European readers if you are a serious amateur cook but don't necessarily want to wade through a professional book, I would recommend three books as well as the aforementioned Harold McGee on food and cooking as this debunks a lot of myths and half truths.

I have a library of around 300 cookery books (as I am a bit obsessed ;-) and these three are very useful for someone learning to cook well:

*Cookery School by Richard Corrigan* (2* michelin chef) is extremely practical and as well as recipes illustrates with photos pretty much every technique you would use in a pro kitchen, but using domestic facilities. This is an excellent book and very explanatory, without being overly "cheffy".

*Heston Blumenthal at Home*. (3* michelin). Heston's books can be a tad pompous but this one runs through some excellent practical recipes along with all the science and techniques. It will deliver restaurant quality scaled back to a home cook level of practicality. If you want to discover how he achieves his menus at the Fat Duck then the book of that name goes into immense detail. However, time consuming special techniques and equipment are beyond many.

My third recommendation is *Yotam Ottolenghi "Plenty"*. This is a vegetarian cook book but the chef is not vegetarian and you should ignore the vegetarian aspect as it will greatly widen your repertoire of side dishes / vegetable and make your work stand out from the crowd. Excellent and creative recipes.

In all three books the recipes work well and are properly explained. The best illustrations are in the Richard Corrigan book. (Though ignore what he says about cooking steak and stick to Heston's method!).

I have The Professional Chef too and although it is comprehensive, it is very expensive for what it is. It is good in many way, but at something of a student / trainee level. In some areas, knife sharpening for instance, specialist in this area would disagree with a fair bit of what is written. It is not a substitute for actually working in a good pro kitchen but does give an insight.


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