Ritz Paris: Haute Cuisine [Hardcover]

Michel Roth (Author), Jean-Francois Mesplede (Author), Grant Symon (Photographer), Carmela Abramowitz-Moreau (Translator), Paul Bocuse (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: October 25, 2011

This celebration of the grand culinary tradition at the Ritz Paris features inspirational stories of three great men and is completed with sixty recipes.   At the age of thirteen, the young sommelier Cesar Ritz was summarily dismissed by his employer who told him he lacked the flair and talent to succeed in the hospitality business. Of course, Ritz went on to become one of history’s greatest hoteliers, creating the Ritz in Paris and its world-renowned restaurant L’Espadon with the help of renowned chef Auguste Escoffier. Both Escoffier and Ritz loved simplicity, but perfection reigned in their finest of dining rooms.
Today, having climbed the ranks at L’Espadon, Michel Roth is now at the helm of this Michelin two-starred restaurant. His menus pay tribute to the heritage of Escoffier, using his classical standard as the backdrop for outstanding contemporary cuisine. The spectacular, award-winning egg-shaped macaroni and truffles dish inspired by Escoffier appears among the sixty featured recipes. Superb photographs accompany each recipe, inviting the reader behind the scenes of this legendary culinary monument. 
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The history of the storied dining room under the two founders and its current status under celebrated chef Michel Roth, is the subject of this tasteful tome. The book is also filled with gorgeous photography and sumptuous recipes from the Michelin-star establishment, such as chicken ballotines filled with foie gras and sweet-and-sour Mirabelle plums. Don't miss desserts like a Ritz-style vanilla mille-feuille." ~Luxe Crush Atlanta

About the Author

Michel Roth is one of the world’s most decorated chefs. He has been awarded the Prix Taittinger, the Prix Escoffier, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, the Bocuse d’Or, and two Michelin stars for the Ritz’s L’Espadon restaurant. Jean-Francois Mesplede is former director of the Michelin Guide to France. Paul Bocuse has held three Michelin stars since 1965. Grant Symon’s photographs have appeared in Uncooked (nominated for James Beard and IACP awards), Egg (winner of an IACP Design Award), and Vegetables by Forty Great French Chefs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Flammarion; FLAMMARION edition (October 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2080200798
• ISBN-13: 978-2080200792
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 1.3 x 12.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful but not for the home cook November 27, 2011

By Justbooking TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As an avid collector of cookbooks, I was looking forward to receiving "Ritz Paris: Haute Cuisine." Widely advertised as one of the most beautiful cookbooks ever created, it doesn't disappoint. From the padded hardcover, to beautifully photographed and styled dishes covering appetizers, main courses, and desserts, it is an awe inspiring coffee table book to browse and admire. A perfect gift for any foodie or Francophile on your gift list.

The adventurous who forge ahead and buy this book sight unseen will sample an assortment of recipes, published for the first time, that have made Michel Roth the "most decorated chef of his generation", earning him two Michelin stars for his cuisine at L'Espadon, the legendary restaurant of the Ritz Paris, along with numerous awards including the Bocuse d'Or, the Pierre Taittinger International Culinary Prize and the coveted title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France.

However, from the point of view of the average home cook, the recipes are often too elaborate and time consuming to prepare. Some ingredients are difficult to find, even if they're often found in restaurant menus - quail, rabbit, nettles and truffles, for example. Granted, this is "haute cuisine" - you really cannot expect anything less.

This is probably the reason the book is not searchable online like most cookbooks. For a preview, you'll find an online video of the contents posted on YouTube (under "Ritz Paris Haute Cuisine Recettes de Michel Roth"). Not ideal, but worth looking at before you buy as the book will arrive perfectly presented in plastic shrink-wrap. Meaning, you'll either love it or hate it, but once opened, you won't be able to return it if the content is too high end or complex.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Another Pretty But Utterly Useless High-End Cookbook May 20, 2012

By Dee Manding

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Another reviewer put it very well when he said "one can pretty much give up on the idea of even attempting to replicate one of these recipes."

Whoops, but wait a minute.... then what's the purpose of this book? And why would you buy it?

Why have recipes, which imply someone's going to follow them and cook something, if all the book is ever going to do is sit on your coffee table to try to impress your friends that, well, perhaps, that you know there is a hotel in Paris called the Ritz and their restaurant is famous, and that by you having this book, you have some Class by Association, or something.

If I want a coffee table book, I'd rather have something like nice pictures of Italy, or gardens, or paintings or something. It seems kind of stupid to have a book of recipes sitting there instead. What do you expect your guests to do, whip out the set of professional chef's knives they brought with them and immediately proceed to take over your kitchen and concoct something from this book? Are they going to study and analyze the list of ingredients? How absurd.

Another food book to make money for the authors, and for no other discernable purpose. You'll go through it once, and never refer to it again.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ah, if only books were edible this would be my final meal. January 6, 2012

By wolfgang731

Format:Hardcover

This exceptionally beautifully cookbook is more adornment than cooking tool and there's nothing wrong with that. Unless one is a classically trained chef in the grand French tradition, one can pretty much give up on the idea of even attempting to replicate one of these recipes. Too say they are complex and chuck full of exotic ingredients, requiring a technique comparable to that of a surgeon or master sculpture is like saying La Grande Epicerie de Paris and Fauchon are merely neighborhood markets. They are all miniature and comestible masterpieces. I really don't believe that the author, editor or publisher envisioned this publication as being anything other than a glorious coffee table book that pays due homage to haute cuisine and its impeccable aesthetic. That, folks, is what we have here. The presentation is flawless, with immaculate pictures, layout and text. This is for the all around food lover, gourmand, aspiring chefs and Francophiles that believe that the art of fine dining was perfected by the French. An exquisite book that will amaze even those to whom food is just about anything that fills the belly and little else. Michel Roth is an artist in every sense of the word and I think few, if any, will attempt to dispute that statement.