Georges Perrier Le Bec-Fin Recipes

A lot of these star chef with brilliant restaurant cookbooks fall flat when you actually try to cook, at home, from them. This one is a success though. Clear recipes with good cooking instructions and ideas dominate the book. The organization is clear. The photography is both helpful and enticing.

This is one of the best cookbooks I own. I have often dined at Le Bec Fin and there is simply no comparison in Philadelphia. As far as the cookbook, I routinely prepare the Poached Turkey recipe (always to raving reviews), the Scalloped Potato recipe and the Lobster Bisque recipe for holiday dinners. The Lobster bisque is absolutely fantastic and the best I have ever tasted and it came from my very own kitchen. Tres bien!! Over the years, I have made many of the recipes and, even though they can be somewhat complicated sometimes, the results are just superior. This is truly a special cookbook. I own at least 75 other cookbooks and this is one of my favorites that I go back to year-after-year.

It has been my pleasure to dine at Le Bec-Fin. And the book is no less a pleasure, even if you don't want to cook. The recipes are easy to follow and the "asides" are very helpful. M. Perrier knows his audience.

The author uses fine words to come out with excellent explanation. That makes it easy for readers to understand and follow the cooking steps. The book also contains gorgeous pictures of wonderful recipes. This stimulates readers to follow them and it is hard to put it down. We could say that this book is absolutely excellent. And it can stimulate our inspiration in French cooking!!!

I bought this book solely for the photographs, which I hoped would inspire me in plating food. However, I discovered that, beautiful as the food is, the recipes are the best part of this book. They are all elegant, delicious, contemporary but classically-based French dishes that are moderately complex but not beyond the ability of a skilled home cook. In addition, Chef Perrier's preface, in which he describes his background and cooking philosophy, is nearly as good as Andre Soltner's (in "The Lutece Cookbook"). If you enjoy cooking French food, I enthusiastically recommend this book. By the way...his mussel juice is a great alternative to fish stock; give it a try.