Crave: The Feast of the Five Senses (Hardcover)

by Ludovic Lefebvre (Author), Martin Booe (Author) "COOKING IS MY JOB, BUT TO ME IT HAS ALWAYS SEEMED MORE LIKE PLAY THAN WORK..." (more)
Key Phrases: citrus zest confit, teaspoon fleur, fried angel hair pasta, Granny Smith, United States, John Dory (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Lefebvre, an intense young chef who trained in France before coming to the U.S. to cook at L'Orangerie in L.A., is passionate about the sensual cooking experience. His enthusiasm is infectious, and this volume stands as a convincing argument that cooking can be as exhilarating as surfing (which, he explains, is his second love), awakening the senses and making the cook feel more alive. His recipes, which range from basic to complex, are categorized by sense; there are chapters on sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. Of course, Lefebvre explains, "there's a lot of crossover... what's the point of creating the most beautiful dish in the world if it has no flavor?" A simple Cream of Broccoli Soup in the sight chapter is an "exercise in preserving the color of vegetables." The smell chapter celebrates all that's aromatic with such recipes as White Sea Bass with Roasted Figs and Four Spices. Côte de Boeuf with brown sugar, herb salad, and Pommes Soufflés, an entry in the hearing chapter, sizzles fiercely as it's cooked. The intriguing recipes are only part of what's appealing about this book, which could help bring a vivacious spark to the most mundane of cooking routines.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Compelling. . . . Each time I tried a recipe, I craved more." -- —L.A. Times

2nd Place, Special Trade-Cookbook Category, New York Book Show -- No Source

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060012854
• ISBN-13: 978-0060012854
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #400,728 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rising culinary star with a notable first book. Buy it., June 22, 2005

By	B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

`Crave' by the `award winning' executive chef of the Los Angles restaurant Bastide, Ludo Lefebvre elicits anticipation from its oversized format, its high price, and the very hip, tattooed pic of the author on the front cover. I am happy to say that the book delivers on it's expectations with a better than average restaurant cookbook.

Like Eric Rippert's book `Le Bernardin Cookbook', this is the kind of book which cries out for half stars, as I am quite happy to give it four and a half stars, yet there are some reasons the average cookbook purchaser may wish to pass on it. Fortunately, these reasons are few.

First, as with every good high-end restaurant cookbook, the recipes are simply not the kind you may be willing to make on a busy Tuesday or even on an average Sunday. This is because while there are relatively quick recipes in the book, there are just as many longish recipes requiring some arcane ingredients. So, you can't dip into this book the way you can a good book of Italian recipes such as Mario Batali's `Molto Italy' and come up with a good, relatively inexpensive, relatively quick AND interesting recipe.

Second, as I have already stated, the book is oversized and just a bit overpriced for the number of recipes.

Third, I sense that while Monsieur Lefebvre has very serious chops, with all the promise of an up and coming Jacques Pepin in the field of culinary education, he and his handlers may be just a little full of themselves in their presentation of the author. One example is my quoted fact that Ludo is an `award winning' chef, yet they give no information on what award it is he won. He was nominated for a lesser James Beard award, but he did not win. But, as I was told by a very wise man many years ago, if all the books with pretensions were removed from the library, our libraries would have very few books indeed!

On the positive side, this is a culinary work with an excellent point of view and agenda that it executes almost flawlessly. The point of view is almost anti-scientific, insisting that the chef concentrate almost exclusively on their own five senses. This is a theme which runs through practically all cooking literature from Wolfgang Puck to Mario Batali to Jamie Oliver and everyone in between, but not the scientific wonks such as Alton Brown and Shirley Corriher. The extreme position for this point of view is in the author's description of one of his mentors, Alain Passard, who refused to even let his line cooks use thermometers to gage doneness. Passard insisted that sight and sound and touch should be enough. And, not only is it enough, it is probably preferable for a very busy line cook to use their trained senses, as this method is both much faster than poking food with an `instant read' thermometer and less damaging to the food itself.

The book begins with a brief history of the author's culinary education and career in France, which sounds a lot like that of many other French chefs, including Monsieur Pepin. Lefebvre did not cook for the French President, but he was the personal chef to the French minister of defense during his year of obligatory military service. His career also confirms the picture of long years as an apprentice, commis, and line cook before one is even considered to be a sous chef or major specialist such as a saucier.

The book is divided up into five chapters; each headed by one of the five recognized senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. I believe the division of recipes among these five senses is mostly arbitrary, as every dish must involve all five senses. To be sure, some methods such as sauteeing involve direct experience far more than, for example braising, where all the action is going on in an oven, within a Dutch oven or bistro pan. But, the book does not suffer too much from this bit of artificiality.

As a book of recipes from a `haute cuisine' restaurant, I expect unusual recipes and ingredients and I am not surprised on this count, but I am very pleasantly surprised to see how many recipes are variations on common everyday dishes such as tortilla espagnole (Spanish potato frittata) and pain perdu (French toast). I am also pleased with the range of ingredients. Many are unusual, but they appear in only a few recipes and they are the types of things where they are interesting enough so that you will probably not mind tracking them down on the Internet.

Speaking of which, Monsieur Lefebvre gives a really extensive sources list with a feature I have seen nowhere else. For each merchant, the name of a real live person with whom you can establish a contact is given.

Lefebvre's recipes for stock pantry items such as stocks, spice powders, puff pastry, confits and marmalades are not overly fussy. In fact, I think his recipe for brioche for his French toast is a lot simpler than you will find in a book by a bread-baking specialist. I would suggest you consult such a book for brioche.

While I have seen this suggestion in a few other books, Lefebvre is the first author to fully incorporate the suggestion of resting cooked protein then briefly reheating it before service to bring it up to temperature. This makes so much sense that I am surprised I don't see it more often, but I also realize that it is a lot easier for a professional chef with a salamander at their station to do it than for an amateur with nothing but a conventional oven. Lefebvre also has a special technique for applying spices and herbs. He applies then at or near the end of cooking. This makes sense with fresh herbs, but I'm not sure it works for all recipes or for dried herbs.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Passion behind the dish!, May 29, 2005

By	Leah (LA) - See all my reviews

I have had the great pleasure of eating Ludovic's one of a kind creations at both L'Orangarie and Bastide. This book is not only a treasure in that enables me to try to prepare some of his dishes at home, but it is also a great read for any "foodie" who appreciates the love and passion of food. Ludo is a master!!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scrumptious, Enchanting and Stylish, May 12, 2005

By	Rose D'attilio (Carmel-by-the-Sea,CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this book for my love who is a shining star in the realm of culinary delights. So far, we have been nothing less than delighted! Finally a charming book that serenades the erotic senses with effortless and approchable charm. So stylish and delicious! Not a book that you will want to hide away in a cookbook drawer, it is worthy of the coffee table!