The Saucier's Apprentice: A Modern Guide to Classic French Sauces for the Home

by Raymond Sokolov

Here is the first book all the great sauces of practical, workable system. Raymond Sokolov, the widely admired former Food Editor of The first to point out that the hitherto mysterious saucier's art, as practiced by the best restaurant chefs, is based on what amounts to an elegant "fast food" technique. And this is what he demonstrates in his unique, useful, and witty
-- How to prepare, at your leisure, the three fundamental classic sauces (the "mother" sauces from which all others Brown, White, and Fish Veloute)...
-- How to freeze them in one-meal-size containers, ready for use at a moment's notice...
-- How to transform any of these basic put-away sauces, quickly and easily, into the exact ones that French chefs are famous for and serve in the finest restaurants...
-- How to prepare the classic dish for which each sauce is traditionally used, with suggestions for enhancing simpler fare (the recipes run the gamut from Duckling a la Bigarade to Poached Eggs Petit-Duc -- that is, with Chateaubriand Sauce).

Mr. Sokolov has conceived, then, a comprehensive collection of recipes -- authoritative, clear, and easy to follow -- as well as an inventive method of cooking for the average kitchen. Peppered with culinary lore and with reassuring accounts of the author's own experiences as a modern-day Saucier's Apprentice, here is a book that will appeal to every good amateur cook who wants to produce sumptuous fare at home for occasions great and small.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Food Writing, Reference

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 12, 1976

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome compendium of classical sauce-making by a former food critic and accomplished cook. This, along with Peterson's "Sauces", is my standard reference for French derived sauce making. If you have set the goal for yourself of becoming a bad-ass saucier (and there is no higher, or more worthy goal) then this book will definitely help you on your journey.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Handy and clever, a 70s book looking at using a modern freezer to give the domestic kitchen a fair go at serious sauces. A definite recommend.

[Paolo Ventura · Rating 2 out of 5]

that a great meal without a sauce is like a beautiful woman without clothes. It
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that a great meal without a sauce is like a beautiful woman without clothes. It can provoke and satisfy the appetite, but it lacks the coating of civilization that would arouse our fullest interest.
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The impulse for this great leap forward came from Italy. Or at least it can be said with confidence that all commentators agree on the arrival of Catherine de Medici at the court of François I on October 20, 1553, as the dawn of French cuisine as we know it. Only 14, but already betrothed to the future Henry II, Catherine brought with her a retinue of Italian cooks then considered the best in Europe.
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Let stock cool uncovered. Covered stock will spoil as it cools.

[Cillaann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though warning, if you are not seriously into cooking this is one of those titles you should not pick up. It is not for the fain of heart.

[Lisa]

recommended by Gary Hild, my chef-instructor at CCKC.

[Rhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A present from Mike. I'm excited to try making some sauces, never mind that I don't have a 35 quart stockpot or know of a good spot to buy calf brains...

[Ken]

Here is the first book all the great sauces of practical, workable system. Raymond Sokolov, the widely admired former Food Editor of The first to point out that the hitherto mysterious saucier's art, as practiced by the best restaurant chefs, is based on what amounts to an elegant "fast food" technique. And this is what he demonstrates in his unique, useful, and witty book:-- How to prepare, at your leisure, the three fundamental classic sauces (the "mother" sauces from which all others evolve: Brown, White, and Fish Veloute)...-- How to freeze them in one-meal-size containers, ready for use at a moment's notice...-- How to transform any of these basic put-away sauces, quickly and easily, into the exact ones that French chefs are famous for and serve in the finest restaurants...-- How to prepare the classic dish for which each sauce is traditionally used, with suggestions for enhancing simpler fare (the recipes run the gamut from Duckling a la Bigarade to Poached Eggs Petit-Duc -- that is, with Chateaubriand Sauce).Mr. Sokolov has conceived, then, a comprehensive collection of recipes -- authoritative, clear, and easy to follow -- as well as an inventive method of cooking for the average kitchen. Peppered with culinary lore and with reassuring accounts of the author's own experiences as a modern-day Saucier's Apprentice, here is a book that will appeal to every good amateur cook who wants to produce sumptuous fare at home for occasions great and small.