The New Professional Chef

As a professional chef myself and a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, I keep 2 copies of this incredibly wonderful cookbook. It is an absolute necessity in anybodies kitchen from the novice to the Professional.After spending 2 years at chefs school in the early 70's and opening a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, I got into a rut and lost not only my imagination but also forgot from lack of use many of my culinary skills. This book is more than just a cookbook, it is an encyclopedia of knowledge. While most of the recipes are scaled for large quantities, they are easy to scale down due to the use of weight as a measure rather than volume.If you were to buy only one cookbook to last a lifetime this would be the one. While it is pricey, you must realize the amount of time that has gone into the preparation of such a tome. I highly recommend this book for you. If you are intersted in the buffet table the book called the garde manger, also a CIA book, is an excellent training manual.

My mother wanted me to learn how to cook. I had no interest, and often gave her the slip. Why learn, when she was an excellent cook? Once, on the pretence of "helping" her bake a pound cake, she tricked me into doing the whole thing by myself! It is a different story now, because if I don't cook, I don't eat. Take out has its limits in more ways than one. The New Professional Chef is perfect for someone like me. The title did not scare me one jot, because I needed professional help. The truth is, that this book is REALLY for everyone. Perfect for ANYONE really, who if forced to have just one general reference/cookbook, which would be kept close at hand in the kitchen, could find EVERYTHING one needed to know about: Nutrition and Healthy Cooking, Equipment Identification(knife identification, hand tools, pots & pans), Raw Ingredients (excellent illustrations on various cuts of meat, poultry and game birds, fish & shellfish, a wonderful section on grains), and my favorite section, Mise en Place, which shows you the necessary skills & techniques that you will need in the preparation of ANY meal. Various cooking methods are also presented, and a great many recipes are available to chose from. This is the perfect gift for anyone from a college graduate who is setting up their first apartment, to newlyweds. I rely on it often, and it is a trusted reference book that I would not do without! My mother would be ecstatic if she could see me now.

The New Professional Chef is a wonderful, albeit unwieldy, collection of recipes and cooking techniques for the aspiring professional or amateur chef.My wife and I had the good fortune of dining at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in picturesque St. Helena, California right in the middle of Napa Valley. The Wine Spectator Greystone restaurant on the campus is a wonderful place to dine and I heartily recommend it. The atmosphere is inviting and it's great to watch the chefs preparing mouth-watering dishes in the open kitchen. It was a treat for me, as a cooking enthusiast, to visit this presitigous cooking school.After visiting the CIA, I found this book and knew I had to have it as a reference foundation for my cooking skills. It has step-by-step techniques and recipes presented in a concise and easy to follow manner. I would recommend this book to anyone serious about learning the skills that professional chefs use every day.Please note that a kitchen scale is highly desirable when using the recipes. Most recipes use weight measurements instead of volume. Additionally, you will find that the recipes will need scaling down to feed average families, since they are designed for the professional restaurant chef.Great for the serious cooking enthusiast!

After 29 years in the Hospitality Food Service Industry I have finally found one book that encompasses most of what one needs to know as a Chef, Professional or Amateur. Concise, precise and easy to comprhend this book is a God-send. I have been living and working in Asia/Thailand for the last seven years and for the last year I have had this book as my constant companion in conveying to the local chefs who work for me the ins and outs of Western Cuisines. Despite the fact that English is their second language they all reach for this book first for reference and ideas. I think it may even "disappear" one day.It's practicality and no nonsense approach is a universal one and can not be denied. I wish I had written it.

I have purchased this book 5 times and I have never regretted once giving it as a gift. I'm buying it for the 6th time now and this time it's mine. I've been a chef/cook for 10 years and I can't exaggerate how helpful the recipes in the New Professional Chef have been.