Top 5 Cookbooks for Wannabe Chefs
December 13, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Atlanta
• 0 Comments
Top 5 Cookbooks for Wannabe Chefs
The libraries of most successful chefs overflow with cookbooks. Hundreds, if not thousands, of books define everything from basic technique to intricacies of Szechuan cuisine and everything in between. Despite their years of schooling and on the job experience, these chefs know that cookbooks are an indispensable part of their continued education.
But as an aspiring home cook or student at an Atlanta culinary arts school, you look at the cooking section of your local bookstore or library and are overwhelmed by the choices. Where to begin? Well, we’ve put together this list of what we think is a good start. These may not be the “best” cookbooks of all time, but they are written for beginning to intermediate cooks and break down instruction and technique into easy to understand elements. Some are old. Some are newer. But either way, there is a lot of ground covered. Enjoy!
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The Joy of Cooking – Irma Rombauer
Originally self-published by Rombauer, this nearly 80-year old guide has something for everyone. We recommend the 75th anniversary edition, which contains over 4,500 recipes. It has been revised nine times over the years and contains updated information, recipes, and photographs to go along with Irma’s simple yet succinct instructions from 1931.
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American Cookery – James Beard
Many consider this to be the masterwork of James Beard, arguably the greatest food writer of all time. Beard brought gourmet French cuisine to American audiences in the 1950s. With American Cookery, he established the tradition of American gourmet cooking. Reading like the diary of an eccentric genius, it is the distillation of a lifetime of culinary journalism.
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Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1 and 2 – Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle
Julia Child was an indelible American icon and this two volume set introduced her and her amazing personality and skills to the world. After studying and teaching French cuisine for many years, Child and her co-authors wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1 in attempt to capture everything they had learned. On its publication in 1961 it was a huge success and inspired Child’s television show The French Chef, which debuted in 1963. It covers and encyclopedic array of French cooking technique and recipes that will definitely improve your kitchen skills.
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Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cooking School Cookbook – Darina Allen
The modern organic and local food movements may be the biggest innovation in cooking in decades, and Darina Allen is one of its greatest practitioners. Her Ballymaloe Cooking School in Ireland is famous the world over as a center for understanding how to cook with local, seasonal, and organic ingredients. Any cook who wants to follow these trends in the culinary arts needs this book to learn from one of the best.
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The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen – Peter Berley
This book is not just a cookbook that espouses the benefits of macrobiotic cooking, it is a celebration of seasonal vegetarian cooking. Berley, the former executive chef at New York’s famous vegan restaurant, Angelica Kitchen, delights in showing the creative possibilities of vegetarian cooking. The easy to follow but detailed recipes introduce would-be chefs to seasonal dishes and in-depth knowledge of vegetarian cuisine.
Certainly there are thousands more books we could recommend for your introduction into the world of culinary arts, but start with these five and you won’t go wrong.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in the Atlanta, Georgia area. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Atlanta for more information.
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