Jill Prescott's Ecole de Cuisine: Professional Cooking for the Home Chef [Hardcover]

Jill Prescott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2001

For the past 12 years, aspiring home chefs from all over the country have flocked to Jill Prescott's Wisconsin-based school to discover the techniques and secrets of a classically trained chef. Countless others tune into her public-television cooking show, eager to add another of Jill's master recipes to their repertoire. Now, Jill brings her school into your home kitchen in her debut book, JILL PRESCOTT'S ECOLE DE CUISINE. Each chapter is a class unto itself, starting with equipment and ingredient basics, then moving through stocks, sauces, meats, seafood, pasta, vegetables, and desserts. In Jill's kitchen, classic French cuisine meets Midwestern straightforwardness, and the resulting recipes are both delicious and doable. Under her watchful eye, your aiolis will emulsify, your sauces will reduce, and your souffles will rise.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Prescott runs a cooking school in Wisconsin, and her public-television cooking show has just begun appearing nationwide. In a good introductory section (which is also opinionated she regards canned broth, for example, as "swill"), she covers ingredients, equipment, and techniques, then follows with the recipes that make up the core of her school's curriculum, from stocks and "master" sauces through desserts. Although the chapters are referred to as lessons, and the recipes are detailed and precisely written, this is more a collection of well-known classic French and Italian recipes than a cooking course. For larger libraries, or as demand dictates.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Jill Prescott's Ecole de Cuisine offers its readers a brief but comprehensive cooking course starting with stocks, sauces, and breads and continuing through soups, meats, and seafoods through desserts. Prescott offers basic introductions to each cooking technique she intends to illustrate. The chef-teacher takes this course national on public television this year, so those seeking grounding in classic cooking technique as developed by the French will appreciate having the book behind the television series. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580082904
• ISBN-13: 978-1580082907
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Professional Cooking > Professional

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jill Prescott's Ecole de Cuisine, April 3, 2002

By 

Rick Anderson (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jill Prescott's Ecole de Cuisine: Professional Cooking for the Home Chef (Hardcover)

I bought the book after watching Jill Prescott's PBS series. The recipes are just as good as the show. Everything is clear and well written. I have great success with all the recipes. I like her straightforward approach to the classics. This is one of my favorite books. She is a superb teacher both on TV and in her book!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jill Prescott's Ecole de Cuisine, January 17, 2002

By 

Rick Anderson (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jill Prescott's Ecole de Cuisine: Professional Cooking for the Home Chef (Hardcover)

I watch Jill Prescott's PBS show in Manhattan. I purchased this book and found it to be one of the best recipes books ever. The chef explains recipes very well. The book has many important basic recipes in one compact book. I have thoroughly enjoyed the book and the show. I even hope to go to her Chicago cooking school. Everything I made turns out perfectly. I have made some impressive meals!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Course in French Cooking!, December 15, 2001

By 

Charlie White (Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jill Prescott's Ecole de Cuisine: Professional Cooking for the Home Chef (Hardcover)

Finally, here's a cookbook that will teach you how to prepare dishes the way the world's greatest French chefs do without boring you to tears. Impress your friends and lovers with cooking secrets that are used in the finest restaurants in the world.

And, there's no hot air with this writer, Jill Prescott, either. She's a personal friend of, protege/student of and heir-apparent to the great Julia Child, and her knowledge and expertise in the ancient art of French cuisine shows through in every page. You'll simply love Jill's self-confident and opinionated candor and wit, which comes across completely in this beautifully written and easy-to-follow book.

Best of all, the recipes actually work. You can also see exactly what the finished products will look like with the luscious and mouth-watering photography throughout the book.

It's obvious that this woman knows what she's talking about and is beholden to no one, especially the corporations that push fake foods like margarine, twinkies and canned chicken broth.

If you haven't seen her PBS series, "Jill Prescott's Ecole de Cuisine," don't miss it. The best parts are when she blasts poorly made commercial products like Jello, calls many low-brow American favorite foods "dog food" and openly mocks some junk food that she "wouldn't even feed to her dog," she says. This on-screen charisma translates directly into this book. She makes me laugh out loud when she writes such statements as "I'm not opinionated -- I'm right!" And you know what? She really is right.

I bought two more of these books for my cooking friends, and will probably pick up a few more! Highly recommended.