Customer Reviews

Charlie Trotter's

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When I first encountered Charlie Trotter's books, I actually laughed - how could even the most dedicated home chef even hope to create these dishes? Some recipes even required ingredients that were in season at different times of the year!

Since then, the book has grown on me, and I've grown with it. His approach to food has opened a new chapter in my efforts to become an excellent chef, and his vision has gripped me with a mania that borders on the religious. Coming up to speed with his culinary style takes a lot of work and a lot of money, but once I found sources for the necessary ingredients, and stocked up my freezer with preparations like fennel oil, pinot noir reduction, and cubes of sauteed black chanterelle mushrooms, I am able to whip up a three-course Trotteresque dinner in just a few hours. Notably, I have never followed one of his recipes literally; it is impossible. Instead, you must draw from his techniques and improvise, using whatever excellent ingredients are available in your area at that time.

In short, this is a landmark book that has completely changed the way I approach food. It is NOT for the casual chef, however. His cuisine should be approached with the kind of practice and discipline one might apply to, say, learning to play the piano. The path is long and hard, but the results are worth it.

If you care - REALLY care - about becoming a truly great chef, then buy this book. If not, it's still worth it just to drool over the pictures.

This book is fantastic. The quality of the pictures and recipes are extremely high.

The culinary masterpieces created in the mind of Charlie Trotter push the outer limits of creativity and innovation. This book focuses on every aspect of a gourmet meal: from visual presentation to taste, texture, and usage of seasonal fruits and vegetables. I am a big fan of this book. While I will not make every recipe in it, it has caused me to experiment more freely in my kitchen and opened my mind to new possibilities, food combinations, and presentation styles. There are several recipes that call for extremely exotic/hard-to-find items...don't bother with them...Improvise and use what you have.

This book is not for the novice chef. A solid understanding of several cooking techniques is required for each dish...but with some practice, you will be rewarded tenfold. If you have the means, I highly recommend his namesake restaurant in Chicago. It is an utterly overwhelming experience.

This book is clearly not for the amateur cook. But, honestly, did anyone think it would be? I have lived in Chicago 10 years and have been to Charlie's several times. The recipes in the book are good representations of what to expect at the restaurant. So, if you can master several of them, your friends can say they have eaten at Trotter's. My advice (having cooked most of the recipes in the book) is to begin a day earlier than normal, and make all the stocks, reductions, juices etc. You will be shocked how much simpler the recipes become.

Have you ever traveled cross-country to Chicago just to dine at Charlie Trotter's? I have, and it was one of the best meals of my life. This book and the others in the series are great at giving you a feel of what the real thing is like. The pictures are outstanding and the combinations just wow you. But if you think for a moment that any cookbook would allow you to duplicate what Charlie does, you are mistaken. Some cookbooks are for those who want to follow a recipe and duplicate it. This is not one of those. This is for people who want to understand the Chef's unique cuisine and appreciate it for the art that it is.

When was the last time you ate at a divine restaurant? When was the last time you ordered something that you couldn't pronounce? Have you ever savored that perfect bottle of French Merlot? If you have a taste for the exquisite, an eye for artistic flair in cooking, and a passion for the culinary arts, this book is your nirvana.

Each recipe is thoughtfully organized into sections:
Serving Size, List of Ingredients, Method, Assembly, and Wine Notes. There is also a full-color picture of each completed dish to accompany the recipe.

The book is organized by ingredient. Tomatoes, Potatoes, Mushrooms, Salmon, Scallops, Tuna, Rabbit, Squab, Lamb, Varietal Meats, Grains, and Desserts. Examples of the recipes are: Truffled Exotic Mushrooms and Root Vegetable Tart with Red Wine Butter Sauce, Timbale of Salmon Tartare with Osetra Caviar, Avocado, and Lemon Oil, and Peach and Creme Brulee Napoleon with Green Tea Creme Anglaise and Peach Juice.

This book is a beautiful example of gourmet cooking at it's height of finesse. This book is not for the beginner or the faint of heart. The tools and ingredients required in this book are extensive, and not always readily attainable. If you are an aspiring gourmet chef, or merely an officiando of the fruit of their labors, you will thorougly enjoy this book.

Beautiful pictures, sure to make you hungry and sure to make you run to the nearest specialty food shop. Truly insane recipes that can only be made on a large budget, by a patient cook, in a city with sufficient culinary resources, and on the second try.

The food is glorious once made, but I honestly doubt that many people will actually make more than one or two of these items. And then, with only even odds of success.

Instead, the book will be gazed at with lustful eyes. Perhaps on your coffee table rather than your kitchen table.

This book gave me the push I needed four years ago, and helped me develop my own style of cooking. Charlie Trotter is culinary hero, and as a working chef I can say that this book inspired my cooking more than any other. It is definately a must have for any chef or serious cook.

this book is an incredible source for techniquues and motivation. Trotter is of cousre a perfectionist and his passion for cooking is seen through this book. Each component is carefully balanced so that a full and maximum flavor is achieved. Also, don't be afraid of the book, you don't have to follow each recipe step by step-let it inspire you.

This book invaded my life and my home for well over two years. Trotter is mad, of course -- try getting that peekytoe crab or salsify at Ralph's -- and he will insist that you use every pot and pan you own. The recipes always work, if you have eight hours or so -- they will taste great and you can actually make them look just like the beautiful photographs. The great thing is Trotter teaches you so much technique and gives you so many building blocks as you struggle through his epic recipes. Hardly a week goes by that I do not use something I learned from this book.

First, the photos are worthy of the term "food porn", and if all you ever do is drool over them, you'll be more than satisfied.

Trotter's innovative cuisine is not for the beginner; either to eat or prepare. If you are a beginner, get one of Trotter's other books "Gourmet Cooking for Dummies".

The recipes in this book will inspire you to change your view of cooking at home. Frankly, no one wakes up and thinks of pickled lambs tongue as a "basic item" in their home. However, once this book is taken to heart, you will find yourself squirreling away that tongue, stocks, infused oils, etc.

It is possible to re-create anything in this book at home, but in going through the process, you realize the substitutions you can make, and in so doing, make the creation your own. To me, that's exactly what makes this book so special.