The Essential Kitchen : Basic Tools, Recipes, and Tips for a Complete Kitchen

by Christine McFadden

Recipes from some the world's most famous chefs--including Ken Hom, Alice Waters, and Charlie Trotter--highlight a complete guide to setting up or renovating a kitchen, furnishing expert guidance on cooking techniques, tools, equipment, and utensils.

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.


Christine McFadden is well known for her inspiring cookbooks, regular magazine features on local food producers, and lively cookery classes. She has a passion for spices and seasonings, and a particular interest in the historical impact such ingredients have had on culture, politics and economics.

Five times short-listed for international cookbook awards, Christine is former Vice-Chair of the Guild of Food Writers and has written sixteen books, including ‘Pepper: the Spice that Changed the World’, ‘Cool Green Leaves and Red Hot Peppers’, ‘The Farm Shop Cookbook’ and ‘Tools for Cooks’.

Christine runs hands-on cookery classes in her 17th-century home in the exceptionally beautiful hamlet of Littlebredy, close to Dorset’s famous Jurassic Coast. She was a finalist in the British Cookery School Awards: Best Use of Local Produce category. She also achieved a hard-won second place in the UK Cookery School Awards: Best Cookery School Tutor category.

Nothing satisfies Christine more than sharing her in-depth knowledge of food, either by teaching or writing about it, or growing it. When not writing or teaching, Christine spends her time gastro-traveling – exploring food markets and attending cookery schools in far-flung parts of the world.

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not, per se, a cook/chef of any great worth. The very idea of having to clean whatever I make usually puts me off the attempt to cook. But I do enjoy making a go of it occasionally, particularly when Autumn rolls around. Amidst the many cookbooks or how-to books on food, I have always found one main book to be missing: A volume that simply explains what tools are needed, when to use them, where to find them, and what recipes can be produced with said tools.

I lack no more.

This handy book has answered my needs. First off, it's manufactured for kitchen use. None of that basic bookbinding here. Foundationally wrapped around wire binding, there are pages that open up, so you don't have to clumsily handle a tablet or traditional spine-bound tomes. This makes moving around easy, as the flour and ingredients powder the counter. The goal of the book is to provide the basics for the kitchen, regardless of experience for the person. Laid out wonderfully with pictures for every item, it is exceptionally easy to follow.



Each chapter is devoted to a particular area, supported by the required tools, recipes, and results. Being able to look at the differences between knives and cutting techniques or learning the differences between aluminum and earthware was worth the long read (not a lengthy volume, but I took my time going through). I suppose the greatest advertisement for its success was when I was unable to get through two pages without passengers on BART asking me to turn the page back or to ask if I was planning to give the book away (um, no).

Most importantly, the interface is so clean, I forgot about the potential cooking mess and went straight for the meringue recipe.



I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to begin putting their own kitchen together or wants to help someone else start their cooking odyssey.

Book Season = Year Round (sieving and straining)