Customer Reviews

Interactive Cooking School Essentials of Cooking

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

 

 

I bought this DVD with the intention of learning how to cook different types of foods. This comes on 3 DVD's and covers a wide range of cooking skills ranging from knife skills and vegetable preparation, to specific cooking techniques.

This is really educational and can be a drop boring at some points if you are looking for the Razzle-Dazzle that comes with a Food Network show. The chefs don't have that 'dynamic' power to draw in an audience. But they are smart and are patient to show the audience every step in cooking.

Definitely a MUST if you want to increase your knowledge about preparing different foods.

For me, this product was definitely worth the money. I agree that this program isn't "flashy" - but that's not really what I was looking for. Most cooking shows and DVDs are recipe based, which is fine... unless you lack the fundamentals of cooking. "Essentials of Cooking" provides just that: the BASICS.

The program is extremely thorough, and taught me so many things that I wished I had learned from my Mom. For example, the DVD portion provides step-by-step instructions and video demonstrations for basic knife skills, stove & oven cooking techniques (how to saute, fry, bake, etc), buying and preparation guides for produce, meat, seafood, and poultry. I've already experienced several "aha" moments during the video demos - and haven't even gotten to the CD-rom resources yet!

Bottom line: If you already know the basics, look elsewhere. But if you want to learn (or re-learn) the fundamentals, get this program.

This video is great for someone with NO foundation in cooking...like me. It gives you techniques more so than recipes. Most cooking dvds are recipe based. This DVD gives you the basics of cooking (which you need before you can take on recipes). If you are a total novice I recommend this dvd.

No depth at all. Really lame. There are many much better options. For example, get a DVD by Jacques Pepin or Julia Child -- these have 10,000 times more content than this item. And its style reminds me of a WWII vintage military training film. Computerwise, it is behind the times by 20 years. A total waste of my money.