The Best Cook Book I Ever Have:

The Professional Chef

Editorial Reviews

This eighth edition of the standard textbook for professional chefs in the U.S. expands previous editions' coverage of both the science and the art of cooking. The nation's most prestigious training school for food careerists concentrates the essence of its course work within a comprehensive volume that competent students must master. Every aspect of the restaurant business is addressed, from nutrition and portion sizing to fiscal and human resource management. Sections on equipment, from major appliances to handheld tools, show the bond between chef and technology. Chapters on world cooking identify the most typical cooking processes and give examples of commonly appearing ingredients in each style. Recipes record classic preparations that form the foundation for myriad elaborations and personalization to move cooking from mere technique to high art. Although beyond the need of most home cooks, this massive tome is a necessary reference-collection purchase for any library whose community includes food-service-training programs. Mark Knoblauch Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Product Description "A serious reference for serious cooks." -Thomas Keller, Chef and owner, The French Laundry

Named one of the five favorite culinary books of this decade by Food Arts magazine, The Professional Chef® is the classic resource that many of America's top chefs have relied on to help learn their cooking skills. Now this comprehensive "bible for all chefs" (Paul Bocuse) has been thoroughly revised and expanded to reflect the way people cook and eat today.

The book includes essential information on nutrition, food and kitchen safety, and tools and ingredients, as well as more than 640 classic and contemporary recipes plus variations. One hundred and thirty-one basic recipe formulas illustrate fundamental techniques and guide cooks clearly through every step, from mise en place to finished dishes.

This edition features nearly 650 all-new four-color photographs of fresh food products, step-by-step techniques, and plated dishes taken by award-winning photographer Ben Fink. It explores culinary traditions of the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and includes four-color photographs of commonly used ingredients and maps of all regions. Written "with extreme vigor and precision" (Eric Ripert, Chef and co-owner, Le Bernardin), The Professional Chef® is an unrivaled reference and source of inspiration for the serious cook.

The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY, and St. Helena, CA) was founded in 1946. Known as the Harvard of cooking schools and credited with having "changed the way Americans eat" by The James Beard Foundation, the CIA has trained nearly 50,000 foodservice professionals.