For nearly 35 years Le Gavroche has been one of the finest restaurants in London, serving exquisitely balanced food in the classic French tradition. Founded by Michel and Albert Roux, and now run by chef Michel Roux Jr., its pre-eminence is celebrated in Le Gavroche Cookbook, a superb collection of 200 dishes from the restaurant's recipe books. The book is organized seasonally, with an emphasis on the freshest and finest ingredients (if you're going to try to cook this type of food, you have to buy the best--there's no point otherwise). Gulls' Eggs with Caviar, Roast Black Leg Chicken with Fresh Pasta, Foie Gras and Truffles, from the Spring section; Stuffed Sea Bass with Fennel, from Summer; Lobster Soufflé with Quail's Egg and Brandy and Rich Braised Stuffed Hare, from Winter: this is luxurious and expensive cooking. Challenging, too. Michel Roux Jr. doesn't give much in the way of guidance for the inexperienced but ambitious cook: the instructions are plain to the point of austerity but assume a considerable degree of skill and familiarity with the procedures of classic French cuisine. The results, though complex, are beautifully balanced. Of its kind, this food is perfect, representing an ideal of sophistication to which cooks can aspire. The book is elegantly (and robustly) produced and amply illustrated, adding to the pleasure of using it. --Robin Davidson, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

When brothers Michel and Albert Roux launched London's Le Gavroche in 1967, it was just another outpost of French cuisine on the English side of the Channel. By 1981 the restaurant had moved from Chelsea to Mayfair, garnered three Michelin stars, and become London' finest and most expensive dining establishment. Other chefs and restaurants followed, and now London's food is quite as good as Paris'. Michel Jr. has set down his father's and uncle's recipes. Le Gavroche Cookbook documents some of the restaurant's greatest achievements, including the legendary Souffle Suissesse, ethereal islands of cheese and egg floating in rich cream. Recipes call for a full range of kitchen skills, but many, such as the coq' la biere (chicken in beer), are eminently accessible, and measurements conveniently follow American custom. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A serious book for serious cooks, Sep 20 2001

By	Neil Charles (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Le Gavroche Cookbook (Hardcover)

Established in 1967 by brothers Michel and Albert Roux, Le Gavroche once and for all knocked soundly on the head the internationally-held notion that there was no good food to be had in Britain. Of course, there are some who still believe that, but these are also the kind of people who believe that the earth is flat.
Since their publication of New Classic Cuisine in the late 1970s, the Roux Brothers have been household names in Europe. When I was just beginning to seriously expand my culinary horizons in the early 80s, this book was the Bible. To a large extent, it still is. Fads come and go, but for me, there will never be a replacement for New Classic Cuisine.
This excellent new book by Albert Roux’s son, Michel, who has been running Le Gavroche kitchen since the early 1990s, is a worthy addition to the Roux Brothers' culinary canon. No one has ever accused the Roux Brothers of being shy or self-effacing: they know their place in the here and now, and are doubtless confident of their place in history. Michel Jr. is equally certain of his greatness: witness the celebrity autographs which crowd the end papers of this handsome volume, and the cartoon rendition of the chef’s bearded visage fired onto every presentation plate that is put before a diner. Vanity or good humor? It’s probably not worth arguing over, because the food is really all that matters. With cuisine as exciting as this, one can forgive all kinds of egotism.
This excellent book is divided into seasons. Many of the ingredients are hard to find, especially in the United States, and would require a special effort to locate. That’s the nature of this kind of cookery, though. If you want to eat the best food, you need to order the finest ingredients. Many of the recipes are complicated, and require considerable experience, so this is definitely not a book for beginners.
Stylistically, the cuisine represented here is an innovative blend of classic Gavroche infused with a healthy dollop of Pacific Rim, fusion-style cooking. Modernist dishes like pan-fried foie gras with spiced breadcrumbs or smoked eel and carrot salad sit comfortably alongside such classics as souffle suissesse or roast rack of pork with a charcuterie sauce. If you aren’t planning a visit to the UK for a while, but have an interest in sampling the best of that land’s cooking, you could do a lot worse than shell out $... for this book. Of course, the ingredients and the cookware required to do these recipes justice will probably cost about the same as a plane ticket and lunch for two at this outstanding restaurant.

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