Customer Reviews

Professional Cooking, 4th Edition

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I grew up with great home cooking and always took it for granted. When I went off to University I quickly realized that Macaroni & cheese would not do me the way it seemed to for many of my colleagues, so I set out to bolster my impoverished culinary skills. After several years of over-the-phone consultations with mom, experimentation, and generally bland meals, I still lacked the basic knowledge and skill to tackle any but the most detailed recipes, and I had more questions than answers. Then I stumbled upon Wayne Gisslen's "Professional Cooking 4th Ed." The standard text for many culinary schools, Gisslen's well organized text book is a must for the aspiring amateur home chef. Expertly laid out and documented with beautiful photography, it will take your cooking to the next level. Gisslen has structured his book to first provide you with an in-depth knowledge of ingredients and basic cooking techniques, these are then applied in the many exquisite recipes that follow. For example, chapter 10: Understanding Meats has subsections on: Composition, Structure and Basic Quality Factors; Understanding the Basic Cuts; Cooking and Handling Meats. The following chapter then applies these principles in recipes grouped according to cooking method. The recipes range from fairly simple to more involved and all the ones I've tried have been outstanding. ONE WORD OF CAUTION! This is NOT a step-by-step cookbook that the beginner cook can just pick up to whip up a meal on the spur or the moment. All the recipes require knowledge of the basic cooking techniques which are covered in the previous chapter(s). This is an amazingly in-depth text book and requires time spent in careful study. Also, since the recipes are scaled for the professional kitchen one must scale them down for personal use (covered in chapter 5). However, if you are willing to put the time in, you will be amazed at how much you learn. As your basic skill level increases so will your confidence for tackling previously intimidating recipes. This book will be a treasured resource on my shelf for years to come. A must for the professional as well as the amateur enthusiast and well worth the money.

With each edition I can hardly imagine how the next one could possibly be any better and this one is no different. This book is the standard issue book at many cooking schools. That is actually how I came upon my first copy, from a friend who had finished Chef school and purchased a newer edition.
The illustrations are beautiful and very helpful, the directions clear and concise. Make no mistake, this is a complete cooking school course with everything except the tuition and practice. Starting at the beginning is a good idea because it is laid out like a course. So, it teaches a technique and then from that point forward in the book it refers to the technique. However, with a thorough index it is not a problem to find out where the technique was discussed.
There is no better book to learn professional cooking or just learn the techniques to astound your friends. Thorough and well documented, when it comes to learning professional cooking techniques, this is the book to have.

From beginner to professional, Professional Cooking takes anyone who loves to cook on a wonderful journey. From the basic (making breakfast eggs and coffee) to the advanced (rich sauces and international cuisine), Gisslen shows how it should be done. Ever had question about cooking? This book has the answers. If you must have only one volume in your kitchen, Professional Cooking should be that one. It's a winner in all areas.

I am a student at Scottsdale Culinary Institute, an LeCordon Bleu school in Scottsdale, AZ. This book is the first that we are issued and is used as a standard reference throughout our twelve month curriculum. It may be somewhat confusing for the home cook as there are many industry terms used, and all of the recipes are scaled for large production quantities. Nonetheless, it will give you a great idea of how things work in the food service industry and start you off to better home cooking techniques as well.

Although my mother was a fantastic cook, she never allowed us in the kitchen because she was blind and was always afraid of injuring us. Thus we never learned how to cook. I never understood the how's and why's of cooking. As soon as I began reading Gisslen's book I was amazed at all the questions it answered that I have asked over the years. It is a wonderful teaching aid for both the professional and non-professional cooks, explaining things in a way that is easy to understand. The book was worth the money spent. I plan on using this book as a teaching aid with my three daughters and I think it would make a wonderful gift to anyone that has an interest in cooking. I also plan on purchasing Gisslen's book entitiled Professional Baking. G. Tuggle, United States.

This is a great text-book...but it is definitely not for the "home cook". It is too colloquial towards the industry, and many of the terms will not be understood for Joe Q. Public. It is however easily adaptable to home cooking if you understand the jargon!

Great book. I don't plan on being a professional cook, but this book has a lot of cooking techniques that I was interested in learning. Plus a lot of great recipes.

We adopted the Professional cooking book as our food practical handbook in the Coast Guard. This is an excellent book for all professionals to have as their guide. I highly recommend any culinary student to use this text.