Customer Reviews

Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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 They claim that it is "...a bit out of date..."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.

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.

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.

Auguste Escoffier brought the cooks of his age hope for a better, more respected life and the cooks of our age an amazing collection of wisdom and know-how. This book together with his memoirs published in 1997, Memories of my Life, will provide the essential resource for anyone with the desire in his heart to become a chef. I buy a copy of each for all of my chef apprentices.

It has been said that the true test of any work,whether it be a piece of art, music, or a book is the test of time. This volume has done just that! First written almost 100 years ago these recipes are just as relavent today as they were in Escoffier's time. Please be aware that this book is not for the beginner. The author assumes that the reader has developed the skills and methods that are needed in any kitchen. I have worked professionally as a chef for 25 years and assure you that this work will always be on my bookshelf. When it comes to classic French cuisine this work is indispensible.

This book has pretty much every recipe you will ever need. I tend to use this book only as a reference, though, as the recipes are a bit out of date. The recipes provide only the basic ingredients, so beginners may not find the book very useful. For advanced cooks, the Game and Fowl sections are particularly excellent. Also a good resource for French technique.

This is THE book on Classic French Technique and Cuisine by the Master chef, Auguste Escoffier.

This the English translation of the 4th Edition of the Guide Culinaire by Cracknell and Kaufmann, and it supersedes translations of the Guide to Modern Cookery (1907).

This is the "real" English translation with over 5,012 brief recipes for sauces, garnishes, soups, hors d'oeuvres, eggs, fish, poultry, game, garde manger, vegetables, desserts, ice creams and ices...on and on!

Don't waste your money on the new abridged versions which have less than 5,000 or less than 3,000 recipes, as you'll be missing thousands of recipes and their commentary, for no good reason!

Classic terms are clearly defined and described, and just about any recipe you have heard of in French cooking is here.

This is for intermediate level and up cooks and chefs, as unlike conventional cookbooks, a knowlege of cooking is presumed, lest this be far more than than it's 646 pages in length. There are no pictures, none are really needed. Some recipes do make a gallon of sauce, rather than just enough for a couple or foursome to enjoy, so scale back or freeze a lot!

Why read it?

For me, it's living culinary history, and the recipes can make one drool with their simplicity or lushness...It's the source of thousands of "tried and true" recipes, unsullied by "fusion" fads or foolishness, where a "souffle" defines anything from a pancake to a meringue topping, and even "molten chocolate brownies" are also called "souffles" by food knowledge-challenged "writers" who apparently do not bother to read a recipe, nor have made or tasted a true souffle.

I read the name of a tasty dish at a restaurant, and later see how closely it adheres to the recipes of almost a hundred years ago, and surprisingly there's little variation when cooked by a traditional French trained chef. There are many pointers on how to prepare things, unusual combinations to try, how to tie a roast, ... all sorts of tricks of the trade that are passed from one chef to the next, and not found in Joy of Cooking or most celebrity chef recipes.

If you are serious about learning and appreciating French cuisine, don't need your hand held while evaluating or following a recipe, and appreciate access to thousands of classic recipes collected in one book, then this is THE source and the book for you!

As a former CIA student, I still have my copy that I acquired while there. This is an excellent reference guide and a must have for any serious cook. However, I would not recomend this book to the novice until you have learned culinary terms and basics.

I had been looking for a decently priced copy of this book for some time. My original copy was a 1960's print and I was loathe to buy one online for fear of getting the bastard copy that was limited in repitiore and scope but this book is the real deal. I use it mainly for reference and ideas as I am responsible for feeding over 2000 people daily and a menu for 16 or more items and try to infuse some classic dishes into the fray. Whenever I have a question on a classic preparation of a dish I no longer have to hope that I find something online and can consult the expert on culinary tradition. THIS BOOK IS A MUST BUY FOR ALL SERIOUS COOKS WHO WISH TO BECOME CHEFS! If you are a chef you probably already own this book or like me need to replace your stolen copy so get this one. Enough said. -M

I am very annoyed that people who do not have any idea of what this book is, have the audacity to rate it. If you made the mistake of buying this book thinking it was a cookbook that is your own fault! Please don't rate Escoffiers culinary writings based on your own stupidity.

As other reviewers have pointed out this is a reference guide or encyclopedia of French cooking and not a cookbook. The author assumes that you have more than basic knowledge of French cooking and has no glossy pretty pictures. It is complicated yet simple and an is indispensable guide for anybody that wishes to research classic French cooking.

To give an example of how this book is arranged, if you wanted to prepare a Velouté Alboufera, first you would have to know what a Velouté is and how to prepare a basic Velouté. Then you would follow the directions to prepare a Velouté d' Ecrevisses and finish with a liaison of egg yolks butter and cream. If you don't know that a Velouté is a type of soup, skip this book and please please for those of you that made the mistake of buying it, please don't rate it!