Customer Reviews

French Laundry Cookbook

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If you love food and you love books this one is a must have. It is worthy of every penny. This beautiful book includes 150 recipes from the French Laundry. Thomas Kellar goes to great lengths explaining technigues throughout so that you can create these wonderful recipes. There is even a section on how to use the book. Tips are plentiful throughout making preparing things such as Black Sea Bass with Sweet Parsnips, Arrowleaf Sinach, and Saffron-Vanilla Sauce a lot less daunting. Kellar is very particular about presentation and thus provides pointers in this respect as well. The pictures are breathtaking making for a beautiful book that I love to just even flip through and peruse. It makes for a good read as well as for good cooking! Recipes do take time and some ingredients require a bit of what seems like a scavenger hunt but it is all well worth the experience!

Well, I could complain about the elitist No Californian who mocked all us from "Wash" for hailing Keller but that would be boorish and unsportsmanlike.

As a Californian transplant to Washington State I will say this, Northwesterners know their food.
As far as Keller, he knows food and French Laundry isn't a California-typical thing, it's a French Laundry thing.

I received this book as a gift, I have known of Keller's work and of him as a chef for some time.
The recipes and techniques in the book are actually very attainable, it isn't for your basic meat and potatoes quick meal, but if you want to take the time, and shop at higher end markets and get to know your purveyors you will be surprised how easy it is to pull these meals off.

Given you aren't the Executive Chef of a world reknown restaurant, but to the layman that you serve these recipes to, you may as well be.

Cooking is paying attention, loving the craft and having the ingredients on hand. This book makes it one step closer for you.

I've eaten at the French Laundry three times now-most recently the first week of September 2002. This makes it spring, summer, and fall. My next trip to Napa will be to see how he (Chef Thomas Keller) manages with winter vegetables.

Chef Keller offers three menus: a five-course dinner menu; a nine-course tasting of vegetables menu; and his 10-course prix fixe menu (which is currently $135). He follows the typical French format:

Amuse Bousche (His signature salmon tartar with sweet red onion crème fraîche)
1. Cold Hors d'ouevre
2. Vegetable or Foie Gras
3. Fish
4. Seafood (or second fish course)
5. Rabbit or Veal
6. Pork or Lamb
7. Cheese
8. Sorbet
9. Dessert
10. Mignardise (petit fours and candies)

Sometime in your life, you must experience this restaurant. It will be the best four-hour dinner of your life!

Now for the book review. The book is presented in a way that shows a lot of planning went into it. While the recipes have many ingredients and details, the instructions are written in a manner that everyone can follow. If you're an experienced cook, this may slow you down a bit.

There is plenty of background to the recipes that you won't find elsewhere; such as big pot blanching and how to handle your homemade stocks.

I've made about 10-15 recipes out of this book. All work... eventually. They require three or four read-throughs, full preparation of equipment and ingredients (mise en place) before starting, an understanding of what happens to food when heat is applied, and better-than-average knife skills.

Keep in mind there are a few bugs here and there. For example, the chive chips in the white truffle oil-infused custard recipe says to bake it at 275F for 20-25 minutes and to, "remove the chips when they are golden brown." This doesn't work. Golden brown is a term meaning that the product has reached caramelization (the sugars are browning). Browning does not begin until the product has reached a temperature of 338F - 350F, which will not occur in a 275F oven. I've had my chive chips in the oven for over an hour and they are, at best, an off-yellow color. Maybe they meant 375F? I've made adjustments by cooking them at 350F, but they don't turn out as nice as they do in the restaurant.

The point I'm trying to make is you have to practice. Don't try these recipes and expect them to turn out the first time. Your skill set, more than anything else, will determine the recipe's success. Nevertheless; if you're a foodie, this is a must-have book.

Of the 400 or so cookbooks I have, this is the one that I enjoy reading the most; it's the one that has the most prominent place in my kitchen bookshelf for everyone to see.

"The French Laundry Cookbook" by Thomas Keller is a stunning example of useful food porn, a brilliant and beautiful coffee-table sized guide to what Keller refers to as his "personality cuisine" - american cuisine that is based on traditional classic techniques of french cooking.

This book is visionary and inspiring. I had it when I was Pastry Chef for one of the best restaurants in the province, which also emphasized locally-grown seasonal ingredients; and at that time made a lot of the dessert recipes in this book. They all worked superbly, and some - like his deep-fried pastry cream with poached apples - were fabulous (I substituted maple glazed tomatoes and apple sorrel sorbet for the poached apples, creating one of my most popular desserts).

Thomas Keller, like Michel Bras, is a brilliant chef at the top of our profession. Every working cook should have this stunning book in their repertoire.

Simply put, this book is beautiful. It's a rare look inside the secrets of a craftsman at the top of his trade. while there are many, many haute cuisine/california cuisine cookbooks on the market, very few refuse to simplify their recipes for the home. This is a book that recommends straining every stock through a chinois, a book that's more generous in its use of truffles and the foie gras than the average episode of Iron Chef. It makes no comprimises and spells out the fact that something as simple as their tomato "consomme" takes two days to prepare.

And then there's the story of the rabbits.

This book has gotten some flak in the past about the gory details involved in the slaughter and prep of the rabbits. Many people are put off by this. It's not for the weak-jearted. At the same time, it does really help one appreciate that food comes from someplace other than the supermarket, and that any food item that gave up its existence to become dinner should be treated with reverence and respect in the kitchen. Getting hung-up on the perceived barbarism of the slaughter is missing the point - it's all about gaining a sense of perspective about where the food actually comes from. He also does the same sort of narrative for harvesting vegetables, there's just less blood involved.

Aside from that, there's a lot in this book that is probably beyond the capabilities of the average home chef, and probably even several classically trained restaurant chefs. This should not be off-putting, as there's plenty that isn't, and even the most exotic recipes have enough firm grounding in them that they can be modified to fit the average home kitchen provided you're still willing to put in some effort. Not everybody can make chips and dip out of creme fraiche, truffles, and potatoes sliced so thin you can see through them, but with a little experimentation a reasonable facsimile can be made at home, and still wow anyone who eats it. Other items, like the gazpacho, are simple and delicious - provided you put in the time and care recommended by the recipe. The book is all about care with ingredients and preparation, and that's really what elevates the recipes. It's not about a wild combination of new and exciting flavors (although there are plenty of those), it's about taking the time and effort to use ingredients to their fullest extent.

The writing style does border on the sort of ethereal purple prose usually reserved for people writing about violin concerti, but the writing really takes a back seat to the food and Keller's very obvious devotion and respect for the culinary arts. It's the kind of book that makes you love food all the more, and makes you want to experiment, even if you never expect to duplicate a Keller recipe.

I always like to see the Yankees win the World Series and Tiger Woods win a major tournament. This confirmations that there is someone who is certifiably the best at what they do. For the same reason, after reading the pieces about Thomas Keller and the French Laundry written by Tony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman, I am happy to believe that Keller is simply the best chef there is in the United States.

Reading 'The French Laundry Cookbook' by Keller, Ruhlman, and the French Laundry staff and 'family' does nothing to detract from that opinion. Keller's words enhance my opinion of him as the ultimate culinary artist.

Most successful culinary educators from Martha Stewart to Alton Brown to James Peterson deal primarily with technique. Even major successful chefs who write or demonstrate on TV such as Wolfgang Puck, Mario Batali, and Jaques Pepin deal primarily with techniques with a background doctrine of using fresh, high quality ingredients. The occasional references by Mario or Sara Moulton or Emeril to smells and sounds and tastes often get lost in the woods of prep and firing techniques.

Keller is all about smell and taste and what may seem like totally over the edge concentration on respect for materials. One example is when he insists on storing fresh fish on ice in the same position as they swim so the muscles in the flesh are not stressed out of shape. He is all about providing service and pleasure to his patrons by excellence in the kitchen. One professional observer says the French Laundry kitchen is as quiet as a watchmaker's workshop. This simply fits into Keller's need to have an environment where his staff can experience their preparations with as few distractions as possible.

This, for example is one of the things which separates Rocco DeSpirito from Jamie Oliver in their shows on the opening of their respective restaurants. While Rocco was in the front of the house smoozing with customers, Jamie was in the kitchen at the expediter's table keeping tabs on the quality of what was leaving the kitchen. It was a revelation to see the superficially sloppy Oliver exhort his staff to use gentleness in cooking and plating and his focus on tastes and smells. Needless to say, Rocco has redeemed himself when he did a book, which focused on taste. But, with Rocco, it was reduced to a system understandable by the layman. Keller remains the ultimate empiricist.

This book contains the very first aesthetic justification for small portions at high-end restaurants. The theory is that the patron's first taste senses something wonderful. The second bite confirms the initial reaction, but the reaction is less dramatic. The third bite simply confirms that more of the same is on the way. Keller would rather provide a large number of dishes, each of a few bites, and each providing an exquisitely prepared experience. His doctrine with luxury ingredients such as truffles, foie gras, and caviar is to not skimp on the amount placed on each serving. The rationale is that without that second confirming taste of truffle, the patron may not really know what all the excitement is all about. (I have no idea what the French Laundry charges for a dinner seating, but I'm willing to believe it is pretty expensive. From the evidence of this book, I believe it is worth every penny.)

The book contains recipes actually prepared at the French Laundry. They include all of the whimsically titled dishes reported by Ruhlman and Bourdain, including 'Bacon and Eggs', 'Macaroni and Cheese', and 'Coffee and Doughnuts'. In spite of the fact that some of these recipes are some of the longest I have seen in print, Keller says there is no guarantee this is exactly how they prepare them every day. This harks back to his primary doctrine that the soul of cooking is attention to the individual material in front of you and it's qualities, rather than what is written on a piece of paper. That doesn't mean these recipes will not work in a home kitchen. Madame Keller has in fact, tested them in a home kitchen by her own staff. The recipes in fact elaborate on a number of techniques I have seen before and introduce some which are new to me. The most important is the use of the beurre monte emulsion of melted butter in a very little amount of water. The technique and its uses appear very similar to the beurre fondue technique reported by Tom Colicchio. Both are media for holding or conditioning food in the kitchen rather than sauces used during plating. (I guess it's time I finally read Escoffier). Keller's techniques for shellfish are totally new to me as well. His discussion on cooking lobster is a demonstration of extraordinary sensitivity to his raw material. It easily equals the fussiness of Paul Bertolli in his latest book.
The cuisine is almost entirely based on classic French technique, so it will not be totally foreign to someone schooled by Julia Child and Jaques Pepin. While many recipes are daunting, most are doable by a dedicated amateur and even those recipes which may be beyond ones patience will contain useful techniques.

This is an early celebrity chef coffee table book format, and the photography is worthy of the price. The index is very good and the book includes a good list of sources. The editors have also included a complete list of recipes. The publisher did Eric Rippert's book and with this book they did not make the same mistake of using a font too small. The book also contains a lot more than lip service to the restaurant's suppliers, as it includes several two page essays by Ruhlman on some of the French Laundry's more interesting purveyors.

This book is one of the most lucid characterizations I have seen of the chef's art. This is one source for reading about the very best in American culinary thought and skill.

I bought into the hype preceeding the release of this book, and was chomping on the bit to buy it as soon as it became available, but once I started reading the book, I realized it didn't meet my expectations. The recipes in the book are for dishes that I find unappetizing, and the emphasis of the recipes seems to be on the esoteric quality, scarceness, and uniqueness of the ingredients and the process by which they are manipulated, rather than on producing a dish that one would actually want to eat. I am interested in learning about cooking at a higher level of complexity, which is why I bought the book, but I felt that the food was tortured and teased into offerings that bear no relationship to or consideration of the diner's pleasure. Reading through the book, it felt like an homage to the chef, a way for him to toot his horn, rather than to offer a window into the world of fine dining. I found the book pretentious, disappointing, and obtuse. Sorry I bought it and sorry I didn't like it.

Get ready to salivate! The photographs in this book are superb. You will want to leave it out for everyone to see. The recipes are lovely as well and a joy to create. They truly look as good as they taste. Thomas Keller is one of my culinary heroes of all time so I was thrilled when this book was published.

You really, really need this book - it will be a classic in your library forever.

Yes, this book in not for the cook who wants to grab a few recipes and try to reproduce food from arguably one of the best restaruants in this country. Nor should it be. Yes, this book may not be for the average cook at first glance because a lot of the recipes are time consumming and require a solid foundation in classical cooking, but this book is not about recipes. It is all about the personal approach one takes on cooking and the willingness to make the best food you can possibly make in any situation. The choices a cook makes when he or she cooks is all about who they are as a cook. In a world of fast food and cooking shortcuts Thomas Kellar emplores us to make the effort to cook again. I am a professional chef of 27 years and a culinary instructor and I refer young cooks to this book all the time. They may not always have the abilty to do what is in the book, but they have the ability to try. They learn about the possibilities they have. That is all Thomas Kellar asks of us, to cook no matter what level one is at. If this book inspires you to learn one thing from it or to even pick up another book and learn something or to cook with just a little more care it will be well served. This is not some recipe cookbook that will fade away with the trends and the passing of time. It is a book that your cooking soul can return to for nourishment time and time again.

The French Laundry Cookbook is perfect in every way. Thomas Keller is at the peak of the culinary Mt. Olympus, a gastronomic god of the food world. For anyone interested, I mean really interested, in the perfection of food this book is a must-have. Forget all the people who say that the recipes are too difficult or pretentious; those people simply do not understand food. Did they expect French Laundry recipes to be easy, or even attainable to them, mere amateurs? A children's book? No. Sorry kids, soccer-moms, and Emeril-wannabes around the globe - this book is not for you. It is us cooks, and that makes me happy.