Top Chef the Cookbook

As a dedicated fan of TOP CHEF from the very first season ,who always wonders what I would do with the challenges (despite the fact, I'm only a "wanna be decent cook"), I bought this book because I always wonder what ingredients are actually available to use in the TOP CHEF Kitchen for those challenges. Afterall, how could anyone create some of those "out of the vending machine in 20 minutes" or "canned food" dishes without a few extra ingredients? What, I wondered, if I were doing the challenges would I be able to use? This book delivers on that question and more . While, apparently, the pantry ingredients for each challenge are TOP secret - the list of staples provided regularly and recipes from the various challenges - give a good sense of what the challenges truly consisted. Judge perspectives, unique profiles of the contestants, recaps of the seasons and challenges, and sample applications --- all make this like a behind-the-scenes tour with old friends. Plus, it's laden with beautiful food pictures - and enough cooking tips, ideas and information to keep any amatuer chef happy. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ANY TOP CHEF FAN. I also purchased Think Like a Chef, which is the selection you want to go for if you're more interested in cooking great recipes and learning about Tom's culinary perspective, than the behind-the-scenes look of the show (you won't find online) this one provides.

While the recipes are a major plus, original and at times most certainly not to be found anywhere else...this in itself is in keeping with the spirit of Top Chef, what truly adds the flavor and spice to the untraditional cookbook is the sidebars and stories centered around the series itself. Even better it doesn't lean toward being mean. It is lightly gossipy while still maintaining its dignity. Featuring some of the favorite winning recipes: Elia's Breakfast, lunch, and dinner waffles C.J's Crepes Mia's Crabcake Benedict Hung's Tuna Tartare Lea Anne's Deep Fried Oysters Dale's Seared Elk Loin Tre's Bacon wrapped Shrimp Harold's Duo of Beef Too name a few. It also features some major info/updates on the past contestants which is in my opinion the best part of the book...and short Bio Bites on just about every participant and past judges along with major info on Tom, Gail and Padma. A must have for Top Chef addict and for those looking for some out of the box recipes you certainly can't go wrong.

This is two books in one. On one hand it's a collection of gourmet recipes, with lush color photographs and handy preparation times. I would have appreciated nutritional and calorie information with the dishes, but the instructions are thorough and easy to follow. On the other hand, this is a fan-fest for "Top Chef" addicts (like me). Whole sections are devoted to each of the show's three seasons. Each starts with an Elimination Bracket chart, which shows you all the contestants, which challenges they won, and in which episode they were eliminated. An Episode Guide describes the Quickfire competition and the Elimination Challenge. Next are many pages devoted to the contestants, with photos, bios, quotes from judges, an interview and statistics. Bonus tidbits include bios of each Top Chef judge and photos of the kitchens used in the shows. I especially liked chef Anthony Bourdain's Insult-O-Meter page, with samplings of the cranky judge's comments. About Sara Mair's seared salmon: "Salmon is usually a very forgiving fish. Not this one. Mine was beyond overcooked. We're talking cat-food territory." Underneath the canvas dust jacket is a silver cover with the same "Top Chef The Cookbook" logo.

The book is LOADED with color, photos, behind-the-scenes stuff, and all those recipes you wondered about. Dale's lamb chops from the finale? They're here! The photos of all the participants are really well done. The food looks great too. I will be spending many happy hours with this book. There's lots to read. Congrats to BRAVO, the book reflects all the excitement of the show.

There's two different reasons to buy this book and I'll review it two ways for both types of people! IF YOU'RE A CHEF: I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book because I'm not a gourmet cook by any stretch. However, I love to cook and this book has a huge variety of recipes--just like the show! I was very pleased to see that nearly every page is in full color and lots of the recipes are pictured in detail. Although parts of the book are arranged by season, the table of contents also lists things by meal (breakfast, small plates, fish, dessert, vegetarian, etc.) I found the book easy to navigate with a clearly deliniated table of contents and a great index list of ingredients. That way, if you have a certain item in mind (peppers, for example) you can find things from all different seasons. Some of the recipes do seem complex, but the instructions read as "easy enough" and I think everything is well explained. IF YOU'RE A "TOP CHEF" FAN: You will DEFINITELY love this book, I say that without hesitation. And what a bargain! Usually "full color" like this goes for $35 or more (like the Jamie Oliver books and the Rachael Ray or Giada, three others that I love). For about $20, this book is great! It's AWESOME if you are a fan... it has pictures of cast members, summary pages of the seasons, and recipes from the "Quickfire" challenges as well. GREAT eye candy (admit it, Sam from season three is ALL THAT and Padma is gorgeous). There are also notable quotes from multiple seasons at the bottom of pages and on the sidebars (who could forget Dave's famous, "I'm not your..." quote!). I'm a huge fan of the show and the book is great... it's about time they came out with a cookbook! I can't wait to see what happens on season four!