Reddit reviews The Professional Chef

Could not agree with you more!!

If you are just starting out I personally recommend purchasing the textbook used by many culinary institutes.

When I first became interested in preparing my own food, a friend lent me his copy. It contained a large amount of unnecessary information that was geared more towards running a professional kitchen (who would have guessed from its title?) but it also contained a vast amount of information regarding food preparation and most importantly, technique.

Damn, I feel like I just spammed your comment with an advertisement...Oh well, happy cooking!

Buy this book: Herbs & Spices, The Cooks Reference.

It has huge pictures of all the herbs and spices you're likely to find in the spice section, a description of their flavors, and foods they can be paired with.

(While you're at it, pick up a used copy of The Professional Chef.
(and a calculator, because all of those recipes will be like "serves 20"))

Read through those, then go to a Penzey's store (if there's one nearby) and snort all their samples. Go hungry. Buy something that your nose says "this would taste good with [whatever]", and then pick up some [whatever] on your way home.

And don't forget that often, salt and/or sugar enhance spice flavors.

If you want to build your knowledge as you go, why not buy one of the textbooks used by a culinary school and work your way through it? This is the Culinary Institute of America's textbook:

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-America/dp/0471382574/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481746531&sr=8-3&keywords=professional+chef

Also, don't worry about buying the newest one: the basics haven't changed much in the last...well...couple of hundred years.

Brompton folding bike

Culinary Institute Textbook

*netbook



And giving the non-vego's: Candied Bacon Fudge

'The Professional Chef' is a great textbook for not only plating, but all basics of cooking. I would highly recommend for any novice like myself.

New hardcovers are a little pricey, but you can get a great deal on used copies.

In my experience, encyclopaedic cookbooks like The Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything are generally quite mediocre - "jack of all trades, master of none." Frankly, Joy is hopelessly outdated in the age of the internet.


Of the ones on your list, I think The French Laundry and Ad Hoc books aren't very practical, as /u/cheery_cherry says.


Julia Child's book is probably your best bet. It was written with the American home cook circa 1961 in mind - not too many obscure ingredients or equipment, well-explained techniques, straightforward. It also helps that many of her recipes really stand the test of time (boef bourguignon in particular!)


One other suggestion is The Professional Chef, which serves as the Culinary Institute of America's textbook. It provides reliable recipes with detailed instructions and plenty of photos. Unlike Joy, it strives to teach you the fundamentals, in order to become a better chef over-all.


Edit: Forgot to add that any cookbook by America's Test Kitchen will be excellent, reliable, and well-written!

If you can find a copy of "The Professional Chef", snatch it up! It's the textbook used by the Culinary Institute of America. It has a ton of recipes, but also explains the different methods of cooking in detail. It's broken down into chapters like dairy, seafood, meat, grains and legumes, etc. I found an older edition at a garage sale for $1. It's a great resource to have. The only thing is that recipes are sometimes made for large-scale batches, so you'd have to do a little math to break it down into a reasonable amount. Nobody needs 40 poached eggs in their home at a time.

I have this one and this one. I like the first better, it's the one I used in my culinary school. The second is the one I got at the garage sale.

Holga 120N Medium Format Fixed Focus Camera with Lens

The Professional Chef [Hardcover]

KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer

The Many Varieties of Beer Poster

Dr. Steve Brule T-Shirt

If I got any of these things I would be happy as fuck.

EDIT: Forgot about the Volvo prancing Moose magnet I'd put on my 740.