Customer Reviews

The Complete Keller: The French Laundry Cookbook & Bouchon

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

That is probably the best way to describe these cookbooks. They are a beautiful, sumptious feast for the eye and palate. The techniques that are taught are so valuable you will find yourself using them when not using either of these cookbooks. The pages are beautiful and glossy.The recipes, are beautifully laid out step by step. There has been criticism that Keller's cookbooks are almost too nice to use. I beg to differ. As with everything Thomas Keller does, these too are first class.

Although probably not for the casual home cook these books are perfect for those interested in preparing fresh food correctly and with patience. I myself am a young cook in the food industry and have gleened much knowledge from both The French Laundry and Bouchon. Bouchon, being the more accessible of the pair, probably offers more for the home cook. Yet being able to cross-reference the two is exciting and insightful, and gives one a look at how Keller came to be one of the greatest chef's in the world.

I have mixed feelings about this book - it falls somewhere between the entertaining textbook and philosophical essays on the haute cuisine. I am down-to-earth person and like straightforward answers, so the narration was sometimes boring (no, his anecdotes are not that funny)and the book too wordy.
If you are looking for useful tips on how to improve your dishes, you will find a fair amount. However, many recipes are simply too sophisticated and time consuming to try them at home. And don't expect perfect results with the veal or poultry from the supermarket - it all comes down to farm-fresh, organic or grain-feed ingredients you need to hunt for in obscure places.
WARNING! If you are a healthy eating nerdy, forget the book. The dishes are bathed in butter, lard, salt and so on. I don't mind, and personally i don't believe you can make splendid meal using vegetable and arab gum spray instead of beurre monte. :-)

Having been to both Bouchon and The French Laundry makes these two volumes even more special. We have made a few of the recipes, but recommend perfecting them yourself before entertaining...they can be quite challenging! Great pictures too...a must have for the serious cook that wants to try and imitate Keller, and a great memory if you have been to the restaurants!

If you're looking for your muse, this book is it. Beautiful photography, galvanizing descriptions of not only the food but how it's grown, cared for and prepared. There's no need to limit yourself to the art of food, but if you're a food artist, you came to the right place. But any artist will feel at home with this book. Putting FLC & Bouchon together is an inspired idea, synergy writ large.

As the title says . . . Not only are the receipes excellent, there are a lot of good tidbits on why to do things, as well as universal tips (like sauces, and herbs). Bouchon is one of my favorite places to eat, and I know the menu well. The Bouchon cookbook allowed me to "come close" to making the same meals. One thing is certain, my roasted chicken is now close to perfect, thanks to this cookbook set. I highly recommend it to any foodie.

The books arrived in excellent condition, they are high quality books. The other reviewer mentioned the quality of the paper isn't high, I disagree, I think it's great. I bought this book for my wife. She is from Hong Kong and already cooks amazing chinese food (her father is head chef at an LA Chinese restaurant). She's now venturing into french food and has made several dishes (more so from Bouchon)

My wife is a former paralegal, now a stay at home mom. She's had no formal training from a cooking school. With that in mind, she can realistically make about 30% of the food from French Laundry and about 50% of Bouchon's recipes. The reason why they are so difficult is that it is tough to find fresh food that is mentioned in the book. You don't find rabbit, frog legs or veal at the local Schnucks or commissary (we're military). Some of the techniques require tools that aren't readily available to regular "non-chef" consumers.

Bouchon - Our favorite has been the flatiron steak and the trout from Bouchon. My wife said it was fairly simple to make. Very little prep time. The french fries came out delicious and they too were easy to make.

French Laundry - The salmon tartare came out nice. Again, the directions were easy to follow. The rest of the dishes in this book however are much more involved. The book itself has great pictures had great write-ups on certain techniques.

While the books were expensive (We normally get $5 cookbooks from the bargain bin), they are well worth it. I am one lucky man . ..

I've been taking these books out of my local library for over a year. I finally decided that I needed my own copies, and wanted the slip cased set.
These books are worth every penny. This is the best quiche recipe I've made. No matter what filling I choose it always gets rave reviews. Try the buchons they work fine in mini muffin pans if you don't have the timbale molds. Think of these as food porn the photography is luscious. If you like to cook buy these books...

Anyone who enjoys cooking should have these staples in their recipe collection. I bought them for my brother and he was very happy with them. He is a fire fighter and cooks often at work. Typically these books are close to $100 dollars a piece, so when I saw them for this price I couldn't pass them up.

These books are must haves for the professional chef or cook. I highly recommend them and I don't for a minute regret my purchase