Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery [Hardcover]

H. L. Cracknell (Translator), R. J. Kaufmann (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1983

Presented for the first time to the English-speaking public, here is the entire translation of Auguste Escoffier's masterpiece Le Guide Culinaire. Its basic principles are as valid today as when it was first published in 1903. It offers those who practice the art of cookery—whether they be professional chefs or managers, housewives, gourmets or students of haute cuisine—invaluable guidelines culled from more than fifty years' experience.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Here, for the first time, is presented to the English-speaking public the entire translation of Auguste Escoffier’s masterpiece Le Guide Culinaire. Its basic principles are as valid today as when it was first published in 1903. It has successfully withstood the test of decades and remains a nonpareil among cookery books. Escoffier was personally involved with each new French edition of his work right up until 1921, when the fourth edition appeared. He altered and improved it over the years in line with his ideas of modification and adaptation. It is the fourth edition which has now been translated into English for the first time by H. L. Cracknell and R. J. Kaufmann. This translation supersedes A Guide to Modern Cookery, the English version first published in 1907; it contained a fair percentage of Escoffier’s recipes but was not, unlike The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, the comprehensive collection which contains some 2000 additional recipes. Great care has been taken to use the original metric measurements and to give accurate conversions to Imperial and American measurements in brackets. Le Guide Culinaire is described by Escoffier himself as ‘a useful tool rather than just a recipe book’. It does not go into minute details of preparation, but offers to those who practise the art of cookery — whether they be professional chefs or managers, housewives, gourmets or students of haute cuisine — invaluable guidelines culled from more than fifty years’ experience. The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery is therefore a repository of all that is best in Classical French and International cookery and should be kept close at hand and referred to constantly. A Memoir of Escoffier by his grandson, Pierre P. Escoffier, appears at the beginning of the book. An exhaustive index is also provided.

About the Author

H. L. CRACKNELL and R. J. KAUFMANN spent their early years working in the kitchens of several large hotels in London and Europe. The translators met when they were both working at London’s Savoy Hotel in the late 1940s: a kitchen where the shadow of its first chef, Escoffier, still cast its influence. They subsequently became lecturers in cookery in a number of technical colleges where they endeavoured to maintain the importance of those fundamentals which Escoffier saw as necessary to the profitability and success of any catering enterprise. The translators have been on the staff of leading centres of catering education in the United Kingdom. H. L. Cracknell is a member of the Association Culinaire Française, founded by A. Escoffier and E. Fétu in 1903. and they are also holders of the Maîtrise Escoffier and Cordon Culinaire, both awarded by the Conseil Culinaire Français. The translators have acted as consultant editors to The Illustrated Escoffier, also published by Heinemann, as a selection of several hundred of the more popular recipes from this book, many of which are illustrated with superb colour photographs and contain more detailed information for their preparation.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 646 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 15, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471290165
• ISBN-13: 978-0471290162
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #626,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 110 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A neccessity for ANY chef. September 30, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Many of the reviews I've read about this book are inexperienced and ignorant. They claim that it is "...a bit out of date..." and "...cryptic...", when in fact it sets the standard for French Cuisine, and much of American Cuisine. As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, I can say that this book has been infinitely helpful as both a text book and a source for research and reference. It is only as difficult to read for someone who has never cooked, as music is difficult for someone who has never played an instrument. I own three different translations of Escoffier's Cookbook and this copy is by far the best.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners March 9, 2003

By Elena Hernandez

Format:Hardcover

I teach Culinary Arts and this is a must have for every serious cook and future Chef. You must have some knowledge of professional culinary techniques to be able to understand and use this book. As one reviewer wrote, this is not a cookbook, it is a reference book, and my students use it when they have to do research work.

135 of 152 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Professional Encyclopedia of Haute Cuisine June 16, 2006

By jerry i h

Format:Hardcover

For this new translation, the dust jacket proudly proclaims 'Here, for the first time, is presented to the English-speaking public the entire translation of...' The copy on these dust jackets is usually just ad copy written by the sales department, and I would not take what it says too seriously. When I was much younger, I had the Crown version of this book as I happily puttered around in my kitchen. I no longer have it, and am unable to verify claims as to the superiority of this new translation over the older version (according to the editorial page, this translation dates to 1979 and is based on the 1921 French edition).

Escoffier was today's equivalent of a master chef in the finest hotels in England and France during the days of Edwardian elegance. That is the best quality ingredients, time, and resources used in unlimited amounts, costs be damned. He is also credited with formalizing classic, haute cuisine. The dedicated cook (home or professional) can always learn from such a talented chef as Escoffier, but Escoffier's roots must be taken into account when attempting his recipes. This is cooking for restaurant kitchens, not home ones.

Just for fun, I costed out a recipe for pheasant and truffles. I estimated the labor and ingredient cost for a service of 4 at $200. Assuming an industry average for food cost of 35%, this entree would go for $150 per person, not including soup, salad, appetizer, wine, dessert, beverage, or gratuity.

For the amateur home chef or foodservice professional, this book is an important one to have on your shelf. Many of the recipes are no longer current, but up until a couple of decades ago it was a standard professional reference book everyone was expected to have and be familiar with. Even today, it is an invaluable source of culinary information and is still very relevant (forcemeat and garnished consomme, to name just two important but often neglected restaurant items). Cooking your way through this book would be a culinary education all by itself (not that I am advocating such a silly thing, of course). It is enlightening to compare how things are done today and Escoffier's instructions; some things have changed, others have not. For example, in the soup chapter there are classic haute cuisine recipes that have since passed on to bistro cooking: Potage Garbure a l'Oignon and Soupe a la Grand-Mere. If you need a (restaurant) haute cuisine recipe or a garnishing plate presentation for a dish, you will probably find it here.

For the average home cook, however, the situation is more difficult. Many of the recipes are beyond the horizon of a home cook, and even beyond all restaurants except major, four star, international hotel chains (e.g. in the sauce chapter, any sauce based on Espagnol or demi-glace). Other recipes are actually easy to do and should be used with abandon in the home kitchen (e.g. in the sauce chapter: sauce Bourguignonne, cream sauce, butter sauce, sauce Mornay, sauce Soubise). Problem is, being able to identify which is which. The recipes assume a good amount of skill and experience; this book is a simple encyclopedia of recipes, and there is no explanatory material. It is not an educational tool. The recipes are a 100 years old, and they do not take into account today's ingredients, tools, cooks, or home kitchens; one usually has to adapt the instructions at least a little, sometimes a lot. Many recipes call for other components, but in some cases it is not easy to figure out what that other recipe is. The rice and potato chapter has many recipes that even a home cook can do (Escoffier's recipes for these are superior to most that you will find in current, best-selling cookbooks); his versions of bookmaker's sandwich, mulled wine, lemonade, and iced coffee are simple for anyone to do, yet they are absolutely correct and the best versions of these recipes you will find anywhere. On the other hand, you should avoid all recipes that include: cock's comb, marrow, truffles (here, Escoffier uses the $1000+ per pound white, winter truffles, not the black summer ones we can get here in the US for a mere $300-400 per pound), salt ox tongue, demi-glace, veal gravy, meat glace, or any sauces that derive thereupon. Escoffier often uses salt pork, but it is invariably just a covering for cooking, and is always discarded at the end and never served.

The culinary subjects it covers are comprehensive. It has chapters on sauces (280), garnishes (192), soup (440), hors-d'oeuvre (377), eggs (257), fish (628), meat (841), poultry (506), game (251), composite entrees (naught), cold preparations and salads (109), roasts (71), vegetables and farinaceous products (355), sweets, puddings, and desserts (414), ices (197), savouries (46), compotes, jams, and drinks (50). Total recipe count (which is easy to tabulate because all recipes are numbered): 5012. It has a glossary, actual menus served by Escoffier, and an unusual index that includes both recipe # and page # but can be confusing to use.

Main complaint: the table of contents lists sub-chapters, but only the name thereof and not the page number to flip to, so you are more or less obligated to leaf through an entire chapter to get at a specific sub-section.