The French Chef Cookbook

by Julia Child

From The French Chef, the PBS series that began it all, here are all the recipes that introduced Julia Child to an American public hungry for more sophisticated cooking techniques. In this handsome new hardcover edition, home cooks will rediscover the recipes that made Julia Child America's undisputed expert on fine French cooking. With her signature devotion to culinary education, Julia Child takes her reader from novice to experienced chef through the essential techniques of her cuisine, from how to fry an egg to success with the most luscious and elaborate desserts. Julia Child remains the ultimate authority on French cooking in this country, and with this beautiful and accessible volume, her wisdom is available to all.
The French Chef Cookbook features:
*16 pages of photos illustrating Child's techniques
*Bound-in ribbon marker for easy reference
*Child's valuable notes on equipment and ingredients
*Step-by-step recipes for such classic favorites as Coquilles Saint-Jacques, Boeuf Bourguignon, Hollandaise and Béarnaise sauces, Pots de Crème, and Chocolate Soufflé.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, France, Culinary

424 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Julia Carolyn Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun cookbook to read! It's broken down by episode of Julia's Boston-based "The French Chef" TV show from the 1960s and makes you feel like you are going back in time and sharing Julia's experience and excitement in sharing the French way of cooking (includes a bunch of black-and-white photos from the show).

Each recipe includes a bit of background story, which makes you feel a bit more engaged with the process -- making cooking fun. And the instructions for each recipe are very detailed, so that you can learn the method. There's quite a lot of recipes that I may not try (either too difficult or not quite my food choice), but I look forward to trying out many of them. First up will probably be the first few recipes: chicken, risotto, and green beans. And then onto croissants and chocolate mousse!

[✰laura✰]

Denne gang stod den på “fondant”. Jeg troede at det ville blive nemt at lave, men NEJ!. At finde noget at temperere chokoladen i var et craft i sig selv. Processen med at hælde det ned i formen til sidst var et kæmpe flop, der blev spildt…
Men lad os kigge på det positive🥰
Min fondant blev taget okay godt imod, trods dens hvide bund. Folk grinte, så hvis den ikke bragte god smag, så bragte den hvertfald underholdning til bordet🤩

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice cookbook. In this volume, one reviews the recipes that Julia Child featured on her TV series, "The French Chef." Not all recipes are quick and easy to create; however, the full volume provides many that can be done handily by folks in their kitchens.

Some examples of recipes that are delicious and doable:

1. Coquilles Saint-Jacques. The nice thing about this recipe is that Julia Child provides variations on the main recipe. It takes considerable preparation, but this dish, featuring scallops, is well worth it. If one prepare the variation she mentions of serving in separate dishes, one can get a very nice response from dinner guests.

2. Boeuf Bourguignon. Beef burgundy. Easy to make--but delicious to eat. And this dish can serve many people if one wishes to serve dinner for a multitude of people. The beef, cut into small pieces, becomes tender after slow cooking over time with a wine sauce. Throw in onions, mushrooms, and so on, serve with rice, potatoes, or noodles. Delicious!

3. Quenelles. A wonderful fish dish which, if done well, is exquisite! What is nice about this recipe is that it is pretty straightforward. The fish used in France is normally pike; options beyond that include halibut, flounder, cod, sole, etc. The recipe details nicely the development of the dish and its poaching. Several different serving methods are also provided.

And so on.

All in all, a nice work for different reasons: (1) It nicely summarizes the essence of a wonderful TV program by Julia Child; (2) It provides cooks with a nice set of recipes. Some of the recipes ion this book are not so simple to make at home. However, otherts are quite doable.

All in all, a worthy work to add to one's cookbook collection.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book in 1970, and I have, and still do, used it so much,it is nearly falling apart. A real classic and must have for all Julia fans.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the recipes are a bit complicated for me, I still love to peruse them. Julia really was the ultimate French Chef!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love cookbooks, especially those with good narratives and beautiful photos. Even if I don’t end up cooking lots of the recipes, I love reading them start to finish, although I think this is the first one I’ve recorded on Goodreads. This book originally came out after Julia’s wildly successful Boston public tv show, The French Chef. We’ve been enjoying a fictionalized tv series on Max called “Julia” about that time in her life. Her publisher decided to do a reissue of the original cookbook and it’s well done! If you already have Mastering the Art of French Cooking I & II, there are repeat recipes. That said, the recipes in this book were streamlined for television and a more modern American kitchen, so they are not quite as complicated as those in Mastering. If you collect cookbooks, love Julia, or have never tried a Julia recipe, I think this book would be a great addition to your library!

[Martha Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I haven't made all the recipes - I read the book and found it great. I remember seeing The French Chef on PBS as a kid and being mesmerized by Julia Child's presence and form. As an adult and an amateur chef, it is just as engrossing. This book does a great job of capturing her style and personality. The opening has several very funny moments and I can imagine her reading some of the recipe instructions out loud. This book is particularly great if you can match up the recipes with the episode

[Jen Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

For book club this month, we all picked a Julia Child recipe and made it for each of us to sample. I made cheese puffs out of choux pastry. We also watch Julie and Julia. It was a fantastic evening!! I loved learning more about Julia Child.
The recipe book itself is old and outdated; I had to turn the page back and forth mid recipe because it wasn't all on one page. It also read more like a novel than a cookbook. I mainly read through the index and called it good!

[Kate]

This was a lot of fun, and I loved the design, even though it’s pretty spare. Made a bunch of (the most basic) stuff, including the risotto, carrots, the salad with vinaigrette, and chicken breasts with a mushroom sauce. Bookmarked a few things to try later. Fun to watch the show on YouTube while trying the recipes.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how each recipe is broken down by show and meal. It’s not just a main course without knowing what to pair with it, it’s a full 3 or 5 course meal! Many of the fishes are overwhelming though because they involve several hours or a full day of work. Great for weekend or holiday dishes!

[Tamra Lagrone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia was the original "celebrity" chef with none of the pomp and circumstance. She truly did what she did for the pure joy and satisfaction of cooking.

[Curlysue]

.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't the cookbook with which Child revolutionized how Americans cook--Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Rather, it's a companion book to her PBS show of the same name. As it says in the back cover, it "puts in print, session by session, dish by dish, every recipe Julia Child has demonstrated on the first series of television programs." It's organized by "Show Number" from 14 to 134. (The first 13 shows no longer exist--the tapes had deteriorated but later shows repeated almost all that material.) As Child writes, the book covers everything from "sauces, stews, and meats to appetizers, vegetables, desserts, cakes and pastries, and from the very simple to the fairly complicated." A subject guide and index makes it easy to locate dishes. It makes a superb lesson in how to cook, even if many recipes would make a cardiologist weep. If I have any complaint, it's that I didn't get this in a more sturdy hardcover.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the second of her books that I bought back in the days of wood-burning computers.

This book also covers the dark days of America's home chefs. Before the days of yuppie purveyors of cooking supplies, tools, and accoutrements (e.g. J. Bildner's). She came up with useful substitutes or recipe modifications that enabled the mere mortal to make an acceptable or even superb dish with readily available ingredients. Of course today, only people living under a rock don't have access to world-standard ingredients, but in a pinch...

One excellent example of this was her solution to using American all-purpose (or bread) flour to make croissants. I won't spoil it for you, go out and get a copy!

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the show on PBS. I bought the book with my birthday money and proudly brought it home to show my mother. She looked at me as if I were crazy. "Your father," she said, "would never eat this stuff." And, she pointed out that most of the recipes weren't kosher. I was crushed.

However, we found some recipes that would work...mainly desserts. And I took the book with me when I left home. I have used it frequently over the years. More than anything, as I read the recipes and instructions, I can hear Julia's excitement and passion as it used to boom from the tv screen and enthralled me as a teen.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I haven't made all the recipes - I read the book and found it great. I remember seeing The French Chef on PBS as a kid and being mesmerized by Julia Child's presence and form. As an adult and an amateur chef, it is just as engrossing. This book does a great job of capturing her style and personality. The opening has several very funny moments and I can imagine her reading some of the recipe instructions out loud. This book is particularly great if you can match up the recipes with the episodes.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great cookbook. Lots of visual diagrams (like for deboning a chicken), step by step directions and recipes for the middle-advanced cook. The book is arranged around Julia Child's cooking show (though all the shows are not included) and include shots from the actual show. Lots of the recipes are not very difficult and there are several that are "steak dinner in 30 minutes". Now, it might take a bit longer than 30 minutes for most of us to make the dinner, but they are pretty quick meals.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply amazing. Many of our favorite family recipes are from here, including Chocolate Mousse, Orange Bavarian, and Ratatouille. This one is based on her television series.

In reality, it never gets "read," just used again and again.

(My two copies are actually the original hardback edition.)

[Barbara VA · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love to read cookbooks and I found this one wonderful. it was like having Julia sit at my kitchen counter and just chat. I watched and learned so much from her growing up, she made cooking fun and not a chore. She tells why things do the way they do. I have been hard boiling eggs for 40 years and last night I did them a totally new way, and the difference was amazing! Bon Appetit!

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is organized according to Julia's WGBH television series, "The French Chef." Each chapter represents a show and the recipes used. This book has a little something for everyone. The recipes represent the core essentials of the French cooking repetoire.

[Lori]

Bought my first cookbook of Julias..
and inside the cover were three press photos of my lady!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given to my by my aunt when I began my career as French teacher - I love the book as bedraggled as it now is.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that since the second book was nice this would be also. It was difficult to find recipes since it was organized by episodes. There are better book out today.

[Emily]

cheese souffle with poached egg, on spinach something or other, is first up.


---update===
I haven't made this yet. But I will. I will.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still depend on this dogeared copy for my quiche recipe!

[SheilaRaeO]

Cookbook,Celebrity Chef

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth buying just for the preface alone. Julia herself wrote about being a Boston TV pioneer. Amazing recipes follow.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia Child's is an acclaimed French chef who had a cooking show in America. In this cookbook, she gives many of her recipes.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've done three recipes from The French Chef Cookbook and enjoyed them all but the real gem of this is learning how to do my vegetables "French style"..so simple and satisfying.

[Ron Silvers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia was the original "celebrity" chef with none of the pomp and circumstance. She truly did what she did for the pure joy and satisfaction of cooking.