Jamesbchef
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Posts posted by Jamesbchef
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This book is a dud. To talk about ratio cooking is fine, it exists. But there is not enough supporting documentation to make this book worth a read. And corrections? Don't sell me your product that works part of the time. I guess when you are working on many different books at once, the ratio of time developing recipes is sacrificed. Same goes for the Alinea book, come on, a section on your web page for corrections??????? Any chef not testing their own recipes for an expensive book is beat, as well as writers, who hang out with very talented chefs, then think they are chefs and write cookbooks. Stick to boat building books.
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Any word on a new book from Rene Redzepi?
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The book is solid and NOTHING AGAINST GRANT OR ANY OF THEIR STAFF. Those guys are all bad asses, but my personal stye is going more towards someone like NOMA's Rene Redzepi or Bras say. I like their connection to nature and surroundings. The book is technically perfect, I appreciate their incredible talent, but just not my style.
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That is right, they just send it. It took a couple of days (maybe 4) for it to show on my credit card. Once it's sent, it doesn't take long
My favorite books this fall have been Under Pressure (can't go wrong with TK) ,Fat Duck, not for food or recipes, but Heston's dialog of coming up with dishes and total freedom to do anything with food. Also the CIA Frozen Desserts book is an EXCELLENT reference (by former French Laundry pastry chef). Alinea, was most anticipated, but still not sure if I like it. Olivier Roellinger has a new book out in French, very good. A day in el bulli is pretty cool, Crillion, also pretty cool. Natura is still maybe the coolest (I'm not even a pastry chef). I have a few more new books but lost track of what they are...
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I've ordered the limited edition package, anyone heard when the release is?
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I did get it from el bulli. I've never had a problem getting books from them. Took about nine days and well worth it. Got into it a little more, to me these are much more "complete" dishes. CD-ROM works well for recipes, photos are great as usual, small bit of Alberts thoughts in the book that are very insightful. Great book all around.
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Just got Natura in the mail, first glance... unreal! Haven't looked at CD-ROM yet, but incredible techniques, presentations, and concepts.
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Anyone having trouble finding this book? Is it out?
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My copy of the Fat Duck cookbook arrived today. My god, it's gigantic. To put it in perspective - I can barely straight-arm lift the damn thing with one hand. And I'm not a small nor a non-active guy.
I've had a quick skim -
1) No table of contents. This is going to be a colossal pain in the ass for someone who actually wants to cook from it - there's no list of recipes I can find. I'm going to make my own, and probably put it up here.
2) Really, it's very big indeed. I had pain in my lower back after bending over reading and holding it at an odd angle for a couple of minutes. It's really damn big.
3) It looks gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. It's also INCREDIBLY long, with each recipe probably taking up as much space as they did - including discussion - in the Perfection books, and there's a lot more of them. £60 is pretty darn reasonable for the quantity of top-class content.
4) The appendices, where Heston discusses food science, are probably worth the price of admission on their own. Well-illustrated and look like they're well-explained at the level of On Food And Cooking.
5) Despite the size, and probably because of the page quality (this is a really, really nice book) it sits open very easily, which will make cooking from it... more possible. Having said that, it'll also take up half my countertop.
6) Did I mention it's absolutely bloody huge? I have no idea where I'm going to put it - it won't fit on my bookshelves and will probably break my cookbook shelf.
7) Initial impressions are that the recipes are pretty doable, if very, very complex. Quite a few don't even seem to need much complex equipment.
I'm looking forward to reading it, although I fear I may need special equipment to do so.
Look dead center of book, there is a fold out of recipes, etc. Massive book and info!
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Gabe, I have the book and it is really cool. Lots of info on day to day running of the el bulli "business". Lots of blurbs and captions, so not a lot to translate. Do you have any info on el bulli 2005 in english? I heard there is a hold up in production. Also, what is the hot topic in the trenches of el bulli? Must be insane to work there with so many talented people. Best of luck, JamesB
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Chef, can you describe what the vibe was in the kitchen of Pierre Gagnaire? How was the mind set, organization, etc.
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Chef, I think your food really speaks to a lot of people. The Guilt menu was right on, in my opinion. Balancing avant guard and classic dishes, it really shows the depth of cooking you can produce. I was checking the pictures out from the Star Chefs conference and was wondering if you would share your "crouquant" recipe. I really dig the look that the crouquant gives as a garnish/textural element. Also, what is your favorite piece of kitchen equipment right now?
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I think Doc is getting the point. How well is "avant garde" cuisine really doing? Are the Moto's, etc. doing tons of volume? Is that even "doing well"? If you look at Ferran, he is keeping the dream alive (el Bulli) by doing other projects to make him money. Does avant guard cuisine have to be supported by more user friendy menus/themes within the operator/chef? Probably. I think Paul was on the right track with the Classic/Modern menu split, maybe the place wasn't right, and of course if I read another thing about how he put Jello on a naked woman(his PR and media presence wasn't good at all) that would even scare me off. As for the NY Times review, of course it was a 3 star restaurant.
Money isn't everything, but if you don't run a viable business, it is hard to be a starving artist forever. I am a huge fan of this movement, balanced with some restraint. So where do we go from here?
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Which magazine was the Stupak profile in? I'd love to see it.
enhF94
Pastry Art and Design, It was the last issue I believe.
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Each service piece has a reason.
I have to disagree. Some pieces did make sense - I thought the heated stone griddle for the lamb dish I described was ingenious and certainly added to it.
On the other hand, one dish was served in a small spoon using the "anti-plate" - basically the rim of a dish with no bottom. Why? Aside from being different than all the places that serve something like that in a Chinese soup spoon. The final dish (a peanut based dish, if I remember off the top of my head) was served on a piece with five wires protruding from it. Granted, I can't see how this particular dish could have been served any other way, but it seemed to me like an excuse to use the tool, rather than a way to enhance the dish.
I tend to agree with your observations. The "anti-plate" elicited the same reaction from me - as well as the long single protuding wire with food stuck on the end (Click) - or the five wires for the final chocolate tasting presentation. For me, these "utensils" ended up being too distracting.
And, while it wasn't a service piece, a puffed lobster chip which was meant to be eaten by hand was surprising and delicious - a gourmet pork rind, if you will. But it was awkward to eat, cracking and crumbling onto the table and into my lap. It was still good enough that I greedily retrieved the fallen pieces and finished the dish.I didn't have the lobster, but the analogous course on my last visit also shattered all over the place - the Idiazabel.
I will agree here as well.Either way, I don't want to make a big issue of it, because my comments about the serving pieces were a minor point in the scheme of things. With or without the gimmicks Alinea is still an important restaurant and what Chef Achatz is doing, especially with the food itself, is exciting.[edited to make sense.]
Chef G and Crew,
As someone in the business, I am really blown away by the amount of work you put into a dish. After seeing the recipe former pastry chef Alex Stupack put in a recent pastry magazine, I began to wonder what a prep or mise en place list must look like in your kitchen. Can you articulate on what kind of system you use? Or give us an example? Can't wait to get up there this fall. Keep blazing the trail.
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Just wondering about flavoring cotton candy. Is there anything other than than the obvious? Seems to be some cool stuff done by Sam Mason, Adria, etc.
Michael Ruhlman's Ratio
in Cookbooks & References
Posted
Someone tell him that he wrote for Thomas Keller, not cooked for him. What a discredit to real chefs who have put in time behind the stove.