Larousse Gastronomique

This is the Bible for any kitchen and anyone serious about cooking. The book itself is a heavyweight and full of interesting and useful info. It's not a cookery book as such full of recipes, but to help create recipes.

I'd always wanted this encyclopaedia. I'm not a chef but love cooking and I am always fascinated by techniques that I know nothing about. This tome is huge and is fantastic for just leaving around so you can just pick it up and read random facts about anything of culinary significance - whether its some miniscule fact about what the Romans called cheese or butchery facts about cuts of meat you've never heard of! This book perfectly complements the aspirational dreamworld that wannabe chefs and kitchen geeks inhabit and, interspersed with episodes of "pan-porn" as my family have christened my drooling over casserole dishes and gleaming Maslin pans in shop windows, this book is a fabulous addition to anyone's kitchen bookshelf. If nothing else it is heavy enough and deep enough to provide you with a small step up to reach obscure ingredients that you rarely use from the topshelf of your cupboard! More importantly, this is a treasure of knowledge and inspiration that could turn a dilettante cook like me into something much more substantial and competent in the kitchen! The only misleading thing about the book was it's endorsement by Gordon Ramsay who said it was "The first recipe book I took seriously...a great resource throughout my career"...I didn't find a single swear word so that was a relief. A beautiful book and now one of my treasured possessions!

This is a great book and contains everything you could possibly want to know about French cooking. The binding is lovely and there’s plenty of pictures included to help you along the way. Remember, although this contains recipes it is NOT a recipe book, but a French cooking encyclopaedia.

Nice

While focusing very much from a French perspective, this book is a vital addition to the bookshelf of anyone who wants to understand ingredients and how to cook in the classic tradition. An absolute goldmine of information, this book would make a superb present for anyone who loves food and cooking. I would have rated it 5 stars but for one reason - it is an encyclopedic reference. Not only does it weigh more than a small cast iron frying pan, but the way the book is organised doesn't encourage exploration. If it was split into separate volumes (e.g. ingredients, techniques, recipes etc.) while retaining the presentation case, it would appeal to a much wider audience. That way, the reader could delve into magic of what happens in a professional kitchen more easily. This is not a book that makes for easy sofa or bedtime reading, to give it justice it needs to be studied while sitting at a table. That said, it will join (and dominate by sheer mass) my treasured book section.

Came on time and in great condition. I bought this as a Xmas present for my partner a few years ago. Neither one of us are great cooks and wanted some tips. This is not a recipe book, it's more like an encyclopaedia of cooking. It's for the times where you buy an unusual cut of meat or game and you want to know how to cook it well. It inspired us to buy an amazing piece of steak, the instructions for cooking involved high heat and created a lot of smoke but it was one of the best cooked steaks I've ever had. It also tells you how to prepare meat/fish/game including unusual things such as how to kill an eel! Great book to have on the bookshelf! Great value for money on Amazon as I've seen this being sold for much more in bookshops.

I already have the 1977 edition of this book, (see my previous reviews), so I knew what to expect, and yet I was still surprised and impressed with this 2009 revision. It is worth repeating that this is a food encyclopedia, not just a recipe book, although it does contain many recipes (the recipe index covers 32 pages). It does not contain a vast number of pictures, but then this is a reference book, and the range of information is vast - there are not many books where you will be able to see how to poach eggs and also how to poach pig's ears. The paper quality is silky smooth and the pictures that are there are really professional. If you're interested in cookery, or just setting up your home and are not sure what you need, I strongly recommend this book. What is really fascinating is to compare what was seen as relevant in the 1977 version and has not made it into this edition. I am sorry to announce that Albatross and Magpie are off the menu by the time of this 2009 print, but a million words of culinary wisdom remain.

This is a dictionary book. I knew it because I had an older version from its early original printing, sadly mine was getting really old and did not look great. So I give a go to the English version. The book comes in an open box, so when you finished with it you can place it on a shelve and it will stand on its own and no need for other books to keep it straight up. This book is actually a dictionary, however full of information. let me tell you more about it. For professional chef, they are the most complete book of all time. For "hobby chef" it is really good. Now the content of the dictionary/book is about anything related to food, kitchen and chefs. You'll find professional technical terms (Jargons), some recipes, famous chefs of history from France mainly. In terms of recipes, you may have what you need to make the recipe but not tidy and detail step ass you find in any other book. You can see pictures I added for more information. I hope this will help many of you.

This is an encyclopedia of cookery, not a cookbook so don’t mistake it for such before you buy. It’s beautifully bound, strong pages and gorgeous images throughout. One of the best gifts you can get for the friend who loves cooking or for yourself.

O livro é excelente, só que é um pouco caro e está escrito em inglês, mas é super profissional.

Must have book for any kitchen enthusiast

HARİKA BİR KAYNAK KİTAP

Compré esta enciclopedia como regalo de navidad y acerté de pleno. Mi amigo se quedó encantado. Recetario muy variado y con instrucciones para todos.