One of the most respected chefs in the country, Paul Bertolli earns glowing praise for the food at California’s renowned Oliveto restaurant. ...
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reviews
Apr 27, 2011
Dave
rated it: 
In addition to Ruhlman's Ratio, this is a book that will always have the status "currently reading." Every time I read a section, I learn something new. I recently spent some time in the pasta chapter. I was surprised that a book with this title mentioned nothing about rolling pasta by hand, all that's discussed are machine methods, but it is still a tome of knowledge.
The brief discussion of flour is concentrated with good facts about the various grains from the hardest More...
The brief discussion of flour is concentrated with good facts about the various grains from the hardest More...
Nov 04, 2007
Matt
rated it:
For a very formative period of my career I cooked for an (unnamed here) madman who had been Bertolli's sous-chef. One of the first things he had me do--after instructing me to forget all the crap I thought I knew about food and cooking--was read this book.
I wish I could thank him for that.
"Cooking by Hand" is really a fantastic cookbook. It may be the best-written cookbook (and one of the best written BOOKS) I've ever read. Bertolli's food has so much more soul than More...
I wish I could thank him for that.
"Cooking by Hand" is really a fantastic cookbook. It may be the best-written cookbook (and one of the best written BOOKS) I've ever read. Bertolli's food has so much more soul than More...
Aug 18, 2011
Gabe
rated it:
Probably on of my favorite books on the culinary arts. Beautifully written and great philosophy-of-cooking kind of stuff. Inspirational and educational at the same time.
Feb 23, 2007
erik
rated it: 
Paul Bertolli is awesome, and this book is full of scattered gems, but it's organized in such a schizophrenic manner that it's hard to get anything out of it without effort. You can't really use it as a reference book; you have to read it from cover to cover, and then pray you can retain some of his ideas.
That said, it still gets 4 stars because of its sections on pasta (the gnocchi!) and on curing and sausage making. Those sections alone would be worth the cover price.
Aug 06, 2008
Peter
rated it:
This is a beautiful book by a master of the craft. Bertolli has been an unsung chef in the US because he has been busy cooking and writing evidently. He is really the chef that put Chez Panissse on the map, co-authoring the Menus cookbook with Alice Waters. This book is full of dense and technical information, as well as heartfelt and goofy writing. A great book for people who care about food and what it can mean.
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