book data
111 ratings, 3.38 average rating, 46 reviews
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published
August 28th 2007
by Bantam
binding
Hardcover, 208 pages
isbn
0553804979
(isbn13: 9780553804973)
description
As a self-taught chef and creator of The Amateur Gourmet website, Adam Roberts knows the challenges you face in bringing fresh, creative homemade meal...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 154)
Read in January, 2008
This book was a light read... I thought that it would have more information for an intermediate- to well-versed home cook, but it really seemed more geared to people who don't know how to cook at all (maybe it would be ideal for people who were just moving out on their own for the first time).
There wasn't much in it for me. The chapters focused on topics like how to shop at the farmer's market, trying to expand your palate to eat foods that you don't like, cooking for a date, and eating food...more
There wasn't much in it for me. The chapters focused on topics like how to shop at the farmer's market, trying to expand your palate to eat foods that you don't like, cooking for a date, and eating food...more
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Read in January, 2008
I really hated this book. I hated it so much I finished it to figure out why. The premise is to teach people raised on chain restaurants and frozen dinners how to be gourmets, through a series of chapters of stories about shopping/chopping/table hopping with friends (non-gourmets) or experts (gourmets). The book was preceded by a successful blog, but is not the Julia / Julie project! I was interested in this because I too hope to persuade people that they can do better when it comes to eat...more
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Read in November, 2008
To me, the title of this book is a bit misleading. It sounds like an instructional manual, but I didn't pick up any specific skills from it. It's not a cookbook, either; there are a few recipes in it, but they all came from other cookbooks. This book is really an account of how Roberts connected with cooking and his attempts to get his family and friends to share his passion. He shares anecdotes about dining alone in Paris, tasting food from other cultures, and cooking for his restaurant-obsesse...more
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I really don't know why I loved this book so much, but I did. I tend to find his blog unexciting, and don't really read it anymore, but the book was really good. I think that I loved the fact that it was structured around his family and friends - each chapter was a food story about someone. Adam Roberts is a good guy who -really- loves his friends, and it's hard not to like the book as a result. And the final-ish chapter, on eating alone at a Michelin starred restaurant in Paris, was fucking gre...more
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Read in September, 2008
This book made me remember why I used to read AG's blog every day... and why I probably should do so again.
If there is one flaw, it's surely in the marketing of the book. From the cover, with its apparently "too cute to be mercifully ignored" subtitle of "Shop, Chop, and Table-Hop Like a Pro," it sounds like this is a handy guide to A-to-Z lessons in specific pro cooking and dining techniques.
Sure, the book offers this in spirit, but the real value in t...more
If there is one flaw, it's surely in the marketing of the book. From the cover, with its apparently "too cute to be mercifully ignored" subtitle of "Shop, Chop, and Table-Hop Like a Pro," it sounds like this is a handy guide to A-to-Z lessons in specific pro cooking and dining techniques.
Sure, the book offers this in spirit, but the real value in t...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
the very novice home cook
I know, only three stars. I really expected to love this more. First of all, I felt like Adam Roberts did a lot of hand-holding, storytelling, and editorializing...thus this book is really short on information, on the nuts-and-bolts of home cooking and dining out. Second of all, his self-deprecating, self-doubting persona gets really old, really fast. Oh, stop it! You have your own book, your own wildly successful blog, and now your own webcast on Food Network! There just com...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
cooks and foodies
Amateur Gourmet is the debut from Adam Roberts, the writer of a food blog on www.amateurgourmet.com. Adam is a graduate of Emory Law School who ended up studying writing at NYU and chose to begin a career in food writing based on the success of his blog. This book is written for the beginner, but can be enjoyed by an experienced foodie/cook as well. It covers basic lessons on how to get the most out of your cooking and dining experiences, from shopping at a market to dining out to cooking for...more
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Read in July, 2008
This book doesn't do remotely what it claims to do. Instead of teaching you how to show, chop, and table hop, it just begins the first steps of doing so. It feels woefully incomplete--each chapter is framed around an "expert" or a "student" who he's going to teach/be taught by, but each of these chapters involves what seems like an hour or two of work at the most, such as, say, the chapter set up as a lunch with Ruth Reichl. That's it. You learn about as much from that chapte...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
those afraid of their knives, people who think they might want to try and maybe eat somethinig new
I look at Adam Roberts website of the same name often. It is similarly written in a very conversational tone and makes for a very quick read. Also my edition seemed like it came in a rather large font. I cook, but not the way my husband (the trained chef) cooks, so from time to time some of his foibles are familiar as shared foibles. One is the big area of knife skills of which I have none. His vignette about going to a knife store with his friend I felt was excellent. I do wish my family (parti...more
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I really enjoyed this book. The author takes you on his journey from being a non cook to a foodie. An interesting look at food and cooking.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Non-Foodies
I thought I considered myself an Amateur Gourmet, but after reading this I may be more of an intermediate. This book is simple and a bit simple-minded. The author is constantly belly gazing and his self-absorption makes me glad I never had to eat a meal with him. His recipes are classics, but pulled for the lowest common dominator.
This is a good book for those relatives in Idaho that you have whose idea of a fancy night out is going to the local Perkins.
If you are looking for real foo...more
This is a good book for those relatives in Idaho that you have whose idea of a fancy night out is going to the local Perkins.
If you are looking for real foo...more
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I read this in one night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a few recipes, some advice, some funny stories, and a little bit of waxing poetic about food and what it means. It's interesting to read this book after Peter Walsh's Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? as they both have the same basic message but go in different directions with it. Adam takes the thought that food should help you build a life and says "So go for it! Indulge! Enjoy! Share food with friends and inf...more
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Read in September, 2008
A young law student ponders his future and food claiming that discovering his inner foodie helped save him.
After admitting he is ill-suited to a career in law, Adam Roberts has an epiphany about life.
The result is this book and his food blog of the same name. He shares his journey and encourages others to embrace their hunger for life as well as food.
Along the way he consults some big names in food writing but overall his musings seem, well I'm sorry to say, rather amateur.
After admitting he is ill-suited to a career in law, Adam Roberts has an epiphany about life.
The result is this book and his food blog of the same name. He shares his journey and encourages others to embrace their hunger for life as well as food.
Along the way he consults some big names in food writing but overall his musings seem, well I'm sorry to say, rather amateur.
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this book is fun to read, but it didnt really teach me anything about cooking i didnt already know. except where to get my knives sharpened professionally - which i know i am too lazy to do when i can do them here adequately myself. actually, im too lazy to do it myself too. its more about overcoming food attitudes - food aversions, solitary dining, menu anxiety etc., than cooking, but its a fun, quick book if you like to read about food.
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recommends it for:
EVERYONE!
One of my greatest friends, Adam, wrote this book of essays about his adventures in amateur gourmet-ing... his attempt to become a purveyor of fine food and dining.
The book's publishing is a result of his award-winning blog, amateurgourmet.com, that you should all go and visit!
The Amateur Gourmet comes out TODAY (Aug 28) and was chosen by Borders as one of their best new voices. Check it out!
The book's publishing is a result of his award-winning blog, amateurgourmet.com, that you should all go and visit!
The Amateur Gourmet comes out TODAY (Aug 28) and was chosen by Borders as one of their best new voices. Check it out!
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I've never read a book based on a blog that I've really liked. This is better than most, a quick read about kitchen misadventures and the satisfaction of cooking something for yourself and doing it well. The author, based in New York, never seems to spend much time considering people without access to year-round giant farmer's markets or other such fancy stuff.
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Laura by:
Orangetterecommends it for: cooks and those who want to be cooks
Yes, just three stars, but three very enjoyable stars. It was a quick pleasure read, with a few side-splitting anecdotes and some delicious-sounding recipes that nicely fill out the author's how-to for budding foodies. Can't wait to check out his food blog of the same name, The Amateur Gourmet.
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Read in July, 2008
As a fan of the Amateur Gourmet blog I was looking forward to this book. While Adam is a witty guide, I was not the audience for it. It's not for anyone who has already fostered a love of food and cooking, it's for people who grew up on microwave meals and want to jump into the world of food but don't know how.
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Read in June, 2008
I read The Amateur Gourmet online, and when I saw this book at the used bookstore, I had to pick it up. I enjoyed it very much; I learned about market-shopping mentality and knife-sharpening. I really enjoyed Adam's meal out with Ruth Reichl.
Made me want to cook more varied dishes, and to eat out more!
Made me want to cook more varied dishes, and to eat out more!
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
amateur gourmets
I got this book for Christmas from my amazon wish list. I really enjoy the amateur gourmet blog and feel similarly about the book. I almost finished the book in one sitting. The writing is witty and engaging. I only wish there were more stories of the writers own foibles in the kitchen. A fun little read.
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