Customer Reviews

At the Crillon and at Home: Recipes by Jean-Francois Piege

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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The first half of this book will undoubtedly excite professional cooks. The photography and the food are both dazzling. Many of the recipes cannot be replicated at some, mostly because of ingredient sourcing. However, it is a great way to glean ideas and simply marvel at real talent and technique. The second half is quite a bit more accessible, as they are recipes from Piege's home life. They are still far more difficult than Rachel Ray's schlock, but far tastier as well. For refined yet casual home cooking, these recipes are perfect. So in essence, this book has something for every serious cook, home or professional.

I had the esteemed pleasure of dining at "Le Ambassadeurs" in 2006 and I came away with the most memorable dining experiences of my life to date. I also came away with the picture of me posing with chef Piege as well as a signed menu which I cherish (and a receipt for a $500 lunch for four) This book is absolutely amazing, fully engaging with beautiful photography and unique and refreshing food styling which really showcases Chef Piege's style and obvious talent. The first half of the book is Piege's food as you would find it at Le Ambassadeurs to the T (I had the sweetbreads, asparagus with crawfish and shelless egg, and the vacherin which blew me away when it was first presented to me) The second half is a more approachable style meant to be prepared at home (although what American home, I'm not sure. Obvoulsly "home" in this case is somewhere on Rue Respail in Paris) even here the pictures and styling are fantastic and the creativity Piege displays even for home cooking is spectacular and still smacks of his Michelin star training. Unique techniques like cooking dried penne like a risotto so it absorbs much more flavor while still retaining that all important "al dente" (also saves on energy since you don't have to bring a big pot of water to boil) and a recipe for homemade canned tuna and eggs cocotte cooked in glass "le parfait" dishes. Flavor pairings too, even in the home section flourish with the kind of sensibilty only a chef of Jean-Francois' talent can only conjure up, like carrot juice and mustard sauce for brill fillets and a take on Carbonara using lobster and tomato. Overall an excellent and inspiring book which also has a laundry list of French purveyors (including Robert Blanc's asparagus) Specialty shops in and around France and a list of old and new books the chef recommends as resources for further reading. Considring the reasonable price for such in depth content, even if you havn't had the pleasure of dining at Le Ambassadeurs, a couple minutes immersed in this book will transport you there in no time.

If you enjoy the challenge of cooking from the French Laundry Cookbook, then this book is for you. Stocks are created for specific dishes, unique techniques and beautiful plating are used (no molecular gastronomy). The photography is perfect. Please do yourself a favor and add this to your collection. If you thought French cooking was not up to current cooking trends then you are very very wrong. This chef is over the top with fresh new ideas.

Enjoy!

This is not your standard home cooks book. It has beautiful photography with some vague recipes - something that requires some technical skill and knowledge in order to perform. It offers great plating techniques for the serious chef, superb techniques typically used in modern France, and great classic and new flavors. I love this book, it is a serious addition to the library I have of cookbooks and stays on my "frequented" shelf for inspiration.