Notes on Cooking: A Short Guide to an Essential Craft

(Hardback)

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Description

As an essential primer of immediately useful and utterly relevant guidance, this guide can help anyone become a better cook -- without a single recipe. The book's 217 notes deliver indispensable culinary truths, the highest standards of conduct, and timeless gems of cooking wisdom that have been taught and passed down by top chefs for generations. The notes provide explanatory commentary, helpful examples, and insights from Alice Waters, Daniel Boulud, Georges Auguste Escoffier, Leonardo da Vinci, and many others. They also include life lessons -- about how to bring delight, how to recognise quality, and how to see beauty in simplicity. For the beginner wanting to improve, the seasoned expert looking to review the highest culinary standards, or the food lover seeking a fascinating glimpse into the pursuit of Epicurean excellence, Notes on Cooking provides a unique and invaluable apprenticeship.

Reviews

"I love the design of the book...fun and surprising to read; you never know what's around the next corner...a splendid, intelligent little volume, perfect for the bedside of those who like to cook in their minds as well as in their kitchens." - Michael Ruhlman, Author, Blogger "Concise, focused, and sensible... full of useful advice." - Jacques Pepin, Chef, Cookbook Author, and PBS-TV Cooking Series Host "Indispensable advice, experience, and know-how. A superb addition to the library of any passionate cook." - Daniel Boulud, Chef, Restaurant Daniel "Notes on Cooking is exactly what it says it is: a short guide to an essential craft. There's enough wisdom here to inspire any home cook or seasoned professional." - Dan Barber, Executive Chef, Co-owner, Blue Hill "Every cookbook should have this short book as a preface. The message and guidance of this book is invaluable to all who dare to enter the delicious world of food preparation." - Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Host, Lidia's Italy "I wish Notes on Cooking had been written about 35 years ago, when I started cooking professionally. It is an excellent source of level- headed, practical, and essential advice; indispensable and wonderfully succinct." - Michael Romano, Chef, Union Square Hospitality Group "I love the short statements that lead to long reflections. They bring me back to basics that pare away the 'nonsense' in the kitchen... Listen to the common sense of Notes on Cooking and you will find yourself a happier cook." - Dorothy Hamilton,Founder & CEO, The French Culinary Institute "It's amazing how much cooking wisdom, sense, and technique is crammed into this little book. It's like Mom, James Beard and Julia Child, Harold McGee and Escoffier all together in the expurgated version." - Gael Greene,insatiable-critic.com

Author Bio

Lauren Braun Costello is the owner and executive chef of Gotham Caterers in New York City. She is a private chef, instructor, and a food stylist for national television broadcasts, including the Early Show on CBS, ABC's the View, and CNN's dLife. Russell Reich is a writer and creative director. They both live in New York City.