Customer Reviews

More Edible Art: 75 Fresh Ideas for Garnishing

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

 

 

Beginners may have trouble following the drawings in this volume. The drawings were a disappointment when compared to the gorgeous photography in the center of the book. I also think Mr. Larousse was overly ambitious in presenting garnishes which require little or no skill next to those which are more involved or demanding. The sheer number of "old" ideas make the professional chef bored, and the more complex items will only serve to frustrate the beginner. The work itself is flawless, but much is lost in the translation.

I was extremely disappointed with the book for the following reasons:

The instructions were written as one paragraph rather than in steps and there are about two hand drawn diagrams accompanying the instructions for a garnish. Perhaps a professional chef can follow the instructions for complex cuts, but I could not since there weren't enough diagrams. There should have been numbered pictures that goes with the instructions. And there should have been a lot more diagrams. One diagram showing cutting on a mandolin was wrong -- the object being cut was shown in the wrong position so that you could not achieve the result using the diagram for guidance. An improvement would to use photographs instead of hand drawnings.

It also seemed that some garnishes were duplicates. That is it appeared that you read or seen the garnish covered before with little differentiation.

The tools should have been photographed rather than hand drawn since I could not make out enough detail so that I go out and buy a specific tool. It would been better if the author told you the part number and where you could buy the tool. I think there were a handful of referenced websites in the back.

Some offerings I have seen on PBS such as Yan Can Cook which are easier to follow seeing a video than the subject book.

The only good thing about the book were photographs for some of the finished products.

IHMO, I do not think that this book is worth buying.

I am not a professional chef but I like food garnishing as a hobby ,to liven up dinners and impress guests.I have collected every book on food garnishing that I can find and I was very pleased with this one .I recommend this book to the novice as well as the seasoned garnisher it covers many projects with easy to understand instructions and drawings.One of my favorites that I learned from this book is the turnip sunflower.I would like to also thank David Larousse for sharing his talent and hopefully he will continue writing more great books in the future.

I have known Chef David Larousse for many years, and I remember when he completed his first book, Edible Art. This revision is quite gorgeous, and one can see how he has moved his craft along after more than fifteen years. The photography and illustrations are fabulous as well. A must-have for every chef, especially those who use vegetable and fruit carving now and then.