Customer Reviews

The Way To Cook DVD

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think it's great that the popularity of a recent film (Julie & Julia) has once again brought Julia Child into the spotlight. When this series first aired in the mid 80's, I remember watching it to learn the essentials of food preparation and short cuts. The very day I found out it was available, I immediately preordered.

This two DVD set comes with an instructional booklet. On the first, you will find Poultry, Meats and Vegetables. On the second, Soups, Salads and Bread, Fish and Eggs, and First Courses and Desserts. Both DVDs are well chaptered, so if you just want to watch one particular sub-chapter, you don't have to sift through an entire topic in order to do so. As always, Julia is instructive, professional and completely enthusiastic. Buy this now (together with the companion book The Way to Cook) and, if you haven't already, also get the newly released Baking With Julia

Only Julia Child could present a Master Class in cooking French cuisine and yet gear it completely towards novice cooks. Her pleasant style and delivery, coupled with her down to earth manner make even cooking duck and soufflés possible. I purchased it as a companion to one of her cookbooks and am happy that I did. Having Julia herself walk me through some of the cooking techniques has been invaluable. If you are considering this DVD, don't hesitate, Julia is pure genius and this "video cookbook" is worth its weight in gold.

What with Meryl Streep portraying her in a movie and all, Julia's books and series are getting a monster tidal wave of fresh attention. I wonder how many youngsters (Food Network viewers) will purchase or have purchased for them the classic "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and find it completely overwhelming and not necessarily useful for everyday cooking?

I had few cooking skills in the mid 1980s when this book and DVD came out, and I relied on recipes from Fannie Farmer, supermarket recipe cards, and women's magazines. This series elevated my cooking for good. It is French influenced, but simplified in some cases, and there are variations on most recipes which is really useful if you don't have time to run to the supermarket. I have had many variation cookbooks and this is the best. I have not used the dessert section too much (I prefer Pierre Franey for this--fruit salad with Grand Marnier!), but the bread, meat, and veg sections are the best. I recommend ham steaks with peas and mashed potatoes and cornish game hen broiled w/cheese.

I am so pleased this is out on DVD. I gathered up the video tapes one-by-one on ebay and this is definitely more affordable!

If you need to hone your kitchen skills, or are looking for some delicious easy recipes, then this is for you. It is full of concise, easy to follow demonstrations by Julia Child for all kinds of techniques and recipes. The DVD is indexed so you can find what you are looking for without having to watch the whole thing.

The big drawback is that the presentation comes off dry and educational. You lose the entertaining banter and bloopers that "The French Chef" is known for. If this is your first Julia Child DVD, I would instead recommend a 3 DVD collection which includes 12 favorite "The French Chef" episodes and a biography on Julia Child.Julia Child! - The French Chef

I just watched the first DVD on poultry and meat of this set and can understand why Julia Child is such a huge hit. She shows you how to take everyday grocery items and easily turn them into delicious entrees. I also bought the cook book set: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (2 Volume Set). It may turn out that all I need is this DVD, which by the way includes a recipe booklet for every recipe shown on the video. The video is very well organized and can teach even a complete novice how to make some splendid dishes. I'll start with the video and work my way into the two volume cookbook. I grew up with Julia Child but never watched her show with any regularity. I, like many others, watched the movie Julie and Julia and my interest got sparked. I notice the two volume cookbook set has crept up in price since I bought it. I'll bet before the movie I could have gotten it for half the price. That's fine though. With this DVD, I'll just place my laptop on a kitchen counter and follow the easy step by step instructions.

What has been abundantly clear to thousands of people for years is that Julia Child knows how to cook. With this DVD what now also becomes abundantly clear is that she is every bit as excellent as a cooking teacher as she is a cook. To cook well is one thing. To teach well is something entirely different. Julia Child deserves to go down in history as she has and will continue to.

I bought The Way to Cook and The Way To Cook DVD for one of my daughters last Christmas and have just had a chance to watch the DVD myself. While experienced cooks won't find much new in The Way to Cook, the book is a wonderful primer for novice cooks but I was very disappointed in the quality of the video, which I found very pixelated and hard to watch. Give the video a pass . . .

The first time I saw this video, I had checked it out from the library. Watching, I found it a masterwork in simplicity and decided to buy it. Not only does Julia teach the viewer how to cook (even without a recipe in most instances, except for the fancier desserts), but she has the DVD indexed in such a wonderful way that it's very easy to go immediately to the lesson you want. She presents a basic recipe and then variations on the basic. It is not entertainment, but a pleasant, essentially timeless (unless ingredients disappear for environmental reasons) cooking school with only the extended cooking periods removed.

One thing dates it: she encourages the viewer to taste for seasoning in two places, I believe, (1) when she has mixed it with raw meat and (2) when she has prepared a stuffing with raw egg. Since the 1980s, we've seen enough salmonella and e-coli outbreaks to be wary of this practice.

And finally, there was only one recipe offered that I found a little disappointing: the French bread. She doesn't use a biga or poolish to develop the complexity of flavor through pre-fermentation.

This is really a fine little cooking school, and I highly recommend it to both beginners and seasoned cooks who enjoy learning from a chef who loves making "chef school" (cooking, but not restaurant management) accessible to everyone who is interested.

A little companion "brochure" with recipes for the lessons shipped with my DVDs. (I ordered one for myself and two more for gifts) It is divided into the same basic sections with numbered lessons to match those of the DVD.

This would be a great way for a young person to prepare for either independent living or work as a chef -- and to practice on the family as the lessons progress!

If you want to find out how simple a recipe can be and still have haute flavour, buy this video. Cookbook included.

These videos are a wonderful addition to your culinary knowledge. Julia Child's explanations and demonstrations are simple and direct to the point - no fuss! The recipes/techniques are all full proof and you'll susprise yourself how good you can cook with her help!! A must in your kitchen!!

Cooking was a haphazard skill for me until I read Julia Child's "The Way to Cook." There are thousands of books that teach recipes, but very few about techniques. That is where Mrs. Child breaks from most cooking instructors and where she leaves an important mark.

By explaining, quickly and simply, the most useful methods in the preparations of foods, she makes clear, with positive attitude, enthusiasm and reassurance, how the novice cook can prepare meals expertly.

The accompanying video series, now on DVD, does not have all the recipes listed in the book (that would take years to go through), but the techniques are all here, well organized and easy to master. I recommend both these videos and the book itself, for the latter goes into deeper details on how the theme-and-variation approach to recipes helps demystify cooking.

Julia Child made a significant difference in my life. I am forever grateful to America's First Lady of Food for patiently teaching me the way to cook.