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102nd out of 696 books
—
663 voters
The French Laundry Cookbook
Thomas Keller, chef/proprieter of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley--"the most exciting place to eat in the United States," wrote Ruth Reichl in The New York Times--is a wizard, a purist, a man obsessed with getting it right. And this, his first cookbook, is every bit as satisfying as a French Laundry meal itself: a series of small, impeccable, highly refined, intensel...more
320 pages
Published
November 1st 1999
by Artisan Publishers
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Food porn at its best. While I most often love what has historically been "poor people food" (think pot roast, chicken pot pie, dishes cooked slowly and for a long, long time...Southern American and French provincial cuisines), I am also totally in love with food as art. In French Laundry, Keller documents the art that is created at his restaurant every day. Many of the recipes are not simple (a total of 28 pages dedicated to lobster mac and cheese and all the sub-recipes necessary), but if are...more
As my cousin calls it, this beautiful book is "Food Porn"
Yes, this book has many mouthwatering recipes, but it is far from a "cookbook." It is a grand celebration of haute cuisine.
The chef's protests to the contrary, it will take more than passion to accomplish an approximation of the recipes outlined in this book. What you need is here if you dare to try. But you'll also need a large bank account for ingredients and equipment, access to them, and time on your hands. This a chef for whom only the finest will do, and woe betide the home cook, no matter...more
The chef's protests to the contrary, it will take more than passion to accomplish an approximation of the recipes outlined in this book. What you need is here if you dare to try. But you'll also need a large bank account for ingredients and equipment, access to them, and time on your hands. This a chef for whom only the finest will do, and woe betide the home cook, no matter...more
My 3-star review might be a little bit unfair. The French Laundry Cookbook is a 5-star version of what it is. But what it is, is not something I find useful.
This is more than just a cookbook, which is important because most home cooks are never going to make many/any of the recipes contained inside. Two examples: 1) a cheese dish with 16 ingredients and instructions to begin one component 5 days in advance. 2) an entree with 42 ingredients, 6 of which require cross-reference to their own separa...more
This is more than just a cookbook, which is important because most home cooks are never going to make many/any of the recipes contained inside. Two examples: 1) a cheese dish with 16 ingredients and instructions to begin one component 5 days in advance. 2) an entree with 42 ingredients, 6 of which require cross-reference to their own separa...more
A great cook book to appreciate what it takes to prepare a high level of cuisine. Complicated preparations, but Keller never apologizes for this and even states it up front: this is not a cookbook for shortcuts and home cooks in a hurry. Enough detail is in the recipes for anyone to tackle the dishes, but recommended for people who have the basics down. Some AMAZING tips that I haven't read elsewhere. Also the ability to make parts of the recipes even if you're not adventurous enough to go all t...more
Wow - what a journey. I'll confess I focused on the stor(ies) and not so much on the individual recipes. But I could see from the stories and those few that I did read through that Chef Keller is a man obsessed with detail - and in this case it's not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps a bad comparison - but I'd liken him to George Surat (the pointilist painter).
In Chef Kellers world the portions are small, but each bite is a revelation to be savored -- in which case just a few bites are enough and...more
In Chef Kellers world the portions are small, but each bite is a revelation to be savored -- in which case just a few bites are enough and...more
The French Laundry is probably the only place I would work for free. Had to put that in there in case Thomas Keller reads my Goodreads reviews.
A truly inspirational book by a brilliant chef that isn't a douche bag. Few cookbooks fill me with jealousy like this one because I didn't think of the recipes.
If you are serious about food, get this book. If you are kind of new to cooking, or are just "okay" at it, making some stuff in this book will really challenge you and help push you to the next l...more
A truly inspirational book by a brilliant chef that isn't a douche bag. Few cookbooks fill me with jealousy like this one because I didn't think of the recipes.
If you are serious about food, get this book. If you are kind of new to cooking, or are just "okay" at it, making some stuff in this book will really challenge you and help push you to the next l...more
As I'm a chef in training, my boss let me borrow his worn out, marked up, beaten down copy of The French Laundry Cookbook to further my knowledge in the kitchen. It's his favorite book.
The first thing that stood out to me, aside from the beautiful photos, were Thomas Kellers words. This isn't just a cookbook or a sort of biography, this is a way of life. Right of the bat, I can take one of his quotes on cooking and use the advice given for my real life, everyday problems. He wrote, "I can tell...more
The first thing that stood out to me, aside from the beautiful photos, were Thomas Kellers words. This isn't just a cookbook or a sort of biography, this is a way of life. Right of the bat, I can take one of his quotes on cooking and use the advice given for my real life, everyday problems. He wrote, "I can tell...more
A visual, oral orgasm. And, the book that, through a single turn of the page, sparked my love affair with the mandoline slicer.
No cookbook has made labored cooking look so effortless, presentation so luxurious and the history of sourcing materials so intriguing. This books tells the stories of the FL's high quality suppliers, the crafting of recipes and leaves you with the idea that yes - you can bring that $500 dinner in Yontville, down the street from Ad Hoc and Bouchon, home to you.
No cookbook has made labored cooking look so effortless, presentation so luxurious and the history of sourcing materials so intriguing. This books tells the stories of the FL's high quality suppliers, the crafting of recipes and leaves you with the idea that yes - you can bring that $500 dinner in Yontville, down the street from Ad Hoc and Bouchon, home to you.
I've gone over this book a million times.I met Chef Keller at his restaurant,he gave me a tour of his kitchen.There are a lot of things in here that just blow your mind,but inspire you to think of food in a different way,There is also a lot of autobiographical information in here.Keller doesn't have the typical background of most big name chefs,working for all the big names in Paris,New York or San Francisco.He is self taught,which makes his food so different. He talks about how he decided to le...more
I'm no chef fan girl. With one exception: Thomas Keller. Eating at The French Laundry is on my bucket list, and this book was the perfect taste of what I hope my future one day holds. This cookbook is part cookbook part education lesson. Keller, Ruhlman, and others write beautiful descriptions about how certain foods are collected and follow it with gorgeous descriptions of each recipe. The recipes are incredibly detailed so that even as a home cook, you can feel comfortable attempting one or tw...more
I know that if I have a recipe that has a recipe for the ingredients in the first recipe that I am in for a recipe for disaster. Beautiful pictures and fabulous food that I will likley never eat. I do plan on making the apple kuchen recipe at the end - all the ingredients are available at my local supermarket, unlike most of the others in the book.
This cookbook is so beautiful that it deserves your undivided attention for an hour or so. Pour a glass of wine and imagine yourself at this restaurant, an homage to creativity and quality. This book is a must have to add to your collection. The techniques are explained and the recipes are inspirational.
This is the epitome of coffee-table book/food porn. Big beautiful pictures of the wonderful food that comes out of the restaurant in Yountville, CA. I have never attempted to mimic any of the recipes as they generally require ingredients and techniques that are beyond that available in most home kitchens.
Beautiful book. Not a single thing in it that I would ever attempt to make on my own. Best to have saved the money and put it towards an appetizer at the restaurant itself one day. Because really, my kitchen (and yours) is not the French Laundry, so the result is bound to be a disappointment.
Jan 03, 2009
Becky
added it
OK-This is the most sophisticated cookbook I have ever read. If you know me at all, you probably know that I am not timid about trying something new or labor-intensive. However, these recipes had me sweating and I was just sitting in a chair!
I first learned about this book in September. (Actually someone on this site recommended it.) I have waited since then to buy it as a Christmas gift for myself.
So, tomorrow I am going to venture out and try the shrimp with avocado salsa-undoubtedly the sim...more
I first learned about this book in September. (Actually someone on this site recommended it.) I have waited since then to buy it as a Christmas gift for myself.
So, tomorrow I am going to venture out and try the shrimp with avocado salsa-undoubtedly the sim...more
This book was a revelation when it was released, spawning a new wave of cuisine followed & copied by many a name chef! Still a good read into the insight of Thomas Keller, love his respect for live produce, especially after he was first shown how to kill a,rabbit!
Too spectacular to actually cook from, but more accessible than Adria's book. Also contains an icky story about killing rabbits that could have come from Possum Living. French chefs, you gross me out with your desire for veal, offal and bunnies.
beautiful pictures and interesting stories of the providers used by the restaurant and how important every detail is in providing an awesome dining experience. Not a lot of recipes that I thought - "I'll do that myself". However, there were some tips and techniques on smaller things like sauces that I thought were helpful.
Thomas Keller is a genius, and this book well represents his world. Great pictures and recipes open your mind to the thought process and techniques of one of the greatest chefs of our time.
Food porn for sure. Very difficult recipes (but can be done as evidenced by the awesome blog "French Laundry at Home". I have made exactly 2 things from this book, I really need to get on it!
This just goes with out saying. Its probably the quintessential modern french cook book. If you cook or like food and haven't read this then stop right now and go read it.
I liked looking through this but after looking at all the labor that goes into some of the recipes I don't think I will ever use it. The small essays about some of the food purveyors was very interesting.
I like this cookbook, a lot. However, it is not practical for me to make a good majority of these foods. Eating them and loving them is another matter! :)
I don't know that anyone has actually ever made anything from these recipes, but hard core foodies will revel in the details, and get lost in the food porn.
The recipes didn't really floor me. They were a little complex for my tastes. Did like 2 recipes though, the Creamy Lobster Broth & the Cinnamon Sugar Donuts.
Thomas Keller is my celebrity chef crush. He's so excruciatingly exact. I covet this book and am sad I will have to give it back to the library eventually.
One can never be "done" reading cookbooks...our son and DIL bought us this for a Christmas present...beautiful pics...I admit, I haven't tried a recipe yet...
Exquisite cookbook, obsessive in presentation--and like the restaurant, but not capable of being reproduced in the home. Unbelievable photos
Far beyond my very beginner level cooking, and probably far beyond any level of cooking I will attain, but inspirational and important.
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“When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about.”
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4 people liked it
“Cooking is not about convenience and it's not about shortcuts. Our hunger for the twenty-minute gourmet meal, for one-pot ease and prewashed, precut ingredients has severed our lifeline to the satisfactions of cooking. Take your time. Take a long time. Move slowly and deliberately and with great attention.”
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4 people liked it
More quotes…
Have not read it yet :-)
Jul 22, 2012 05:56pm