Customer Reviews

Uncooked

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

 

 

This book cries out to be admired -- the pictures are stunning, and the binding and printing first rate. Never has an uncooked carrot -- in this case also a raw carrot -- looked so sophisticated and so delicious.

The book does make a strong case for eating healthy foods. The authors suggest that you use the time not cooking on arranging and styling your food, enhancing colors, shapes and textures. It's no secret that great ingredients will enhance any cook's output, beautiful food tastes better and may actually lead you to eat less.

Some of the dishes are interesting, for example balsamic-glazed mackerel with banana chips and cilantro. Enoki mushrooms and cured duck wrapped, tortilla style, in slivers of black radish.

There are practical, in many cases, overwhelming difficulties with applying the lessons in this book. We live near two excellent food markets, but it's tough to find Green Zebra tomatoes, lotus root, daikon sprouts and marsh samphire, to name just some of the "necessary" ingredients as a regular matter. The suggested wines are pricey and sometimes hard to obtain even in a major market like New York City. To make these dishes you really have to become a master at grating, slicing and chopping.

So, as a coffee table book this might appeal to foodies, and might even inspire the creation of a couple of beautiful dishes or sides. I'd be very surprised if you used it for actually making an entire meal.

Overall I found this the weakest of the books in this series: POTATO, Egg and Vegetables by 40 Great French Chefs,

Robert C. Ross

The design and photography is nice. If it only had more content! A little light in the recipes and even skimpier with any extra text. Definitely over-rated, given the press.