"On the Line" by Eric Ripert

[Chris Hennes]

My copy of Eric Ripert's new book, "On the Line," just arrived; I love it already. It is an almost haphazard collection of the nitty-gritty details that obsessive restaurant-goers crave. It runs the gamut, from "What's in the Walk-In?" ("Chayote," "Salted butter," "Giant tub of house-made mayonnaise," etc.) to a description of the precise series of calls and steps to plating a particular item in the restaurant. It lists the mise en place for the various stations, gives a few paragraphs about each, and talks about the key elements of filling that slot. The back half is recipes, but I would not call this a cookbook, or at least, not just a cookbook. Naturally the recipes are highly detailed and wonderfully precise.

If, like me, you are thirsty for a behind-the-scenes look at Le Bernardin (one of the best restaurants in the world), buy this book. Or make it a last-minute addition to your holiday wish list. But believe me, you want this one.

Anyone else pick up a copy yet? Thoughts?

[rgruby]

My copy of Eric Ripert's new book, "On the Line," just arrived; I love it already.  ...

make it a last-minute addition to your holiday wish list.

Anyone else pick up a copy yet? Thoughts?

←

Last minute addition to my list!

I'd love to hear other opinions too. But I finally got a chance to thumb through a copy, and although Id sort of vowed to not get another fancy-pants restaurant's cookbook, this one is unique enough (not just recipes) that I've put it on my list.

Cheers,

Geoff

[Dana]

I didn't want to risk someone not getting me this, so I didn't put it on my list, I bought it for myself. Am enjoying it a lot. I really feel like I'm there.

[chezcherie]

bought two copies, which just arrived. one for my line cook kid, and one for moi. from the first peek, i think we will both love it.

[Jon Savage]

Picked up a copy this afternoon. forty pages into it and really enjoying it so far.

[Jon Savage]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Especially interesting for me were the copious numbers included- everything from the amount of fish butchered each day (800-1000 lbs daily) to the cost per quart (about $90!) of veal stock. The recipes look good.

The brigade system and career progression are well laid out and explained.

[skipper10]

My copy of Eric Ripert's new book, "On the Line," just arrived; I love it already. It is an almost haphazard collection of the nitty-gritty details that obsessive restaurant-goers crave. It runs the gamut, from "What's in the Walk-In?" ("Chayote," "Salted butter," "Giant tub of house-made mayonnaise," etc.) to a description of the precise series of calls and steps to plating a particular item in the restaurant. It lists the mise en place for the various stations, gives a few paragraphs about each, and talks about the key elements of filling that slot. The back half is recipes, but I would not call this a cookbook, or at least, not just a cookbook. Naturally the recipes are highly detailed and wonderfully precise.

If, like me, you are thirsty for a behind-the-scenes look at Le Bernardin (one of the best restaurants in the world), buy this book. Or make it a last-minute addition to your holiday wish list. But believe me, you want this one.

Anyone else pick up a copy yet? Thoughts?

←

I totally agree, the book is very interesting despite being a bit unusual, and, contrary to some reviewers, many of the recipes are doable (for very special occasions in my case) in home kitchens. I have not tried to make anything yet, but among other things I have learned about the existence of "white soy sauce" sold in Asian stores, Organic soy sauce sold for $90 a bottle, chicken stock made with two ingredients only: chicken backs and water, and so on.

There was a mention of "On The Line" in yesterday's chat with Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema. (second post from the top) Sietsema raves about Le Bernadin, has not seen the book.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8121702360.html

I kind of agree with the poster that the book's structure is a bit "strange." It is copyrighted, and supposedly written, at least in part, by Eric Ripert, yet throughout the book he is referred to in third person and his name appears under certain paragraphs, as if he is being quoted in a press release... I would have preferred to hear his voice throughout the book.

I guess the coauthor Christine Muhlke is no Bill Buford. Reading the book I had a feeling as if the book was edited by two non-foodie editors who did not communicate with each other. I loved the focus and thoroughness with which information was presented in some parts of the book and was puzzled by the lack of precision in others. For example, my heart was warmed up by the discussion of shallots:"...super-important, because a piece of shallot cut one way or another makes a huge difference when you bite into it... " ..... "Then it's about taste....if you sweat it halfway or fully or not properly, it is very different flavor..." this followed by brief discussion of how to compensate if cooked shallots are too sweet or "too oniony"... etc.

I love the precision of the "Fumet" recipe: Soak fish bones.... for one hour, changing water twice...drain...dry bones... roast in 400 oven for 2 minutes...blot away any blood, add shallots and wine, simmer for 10 minutes, let stand for 1 minute. Strain and so on. (I am omitting the details of the recipe for obvious reasons.)

However, the directions for the brown butter sauce may have come from another book; 8 oz of butter, 1 cup of chicken stock reduced to one-half cup, cooked in two "medium pots." I did not see any reference to what they consider a "medium" pot. If I put half a cup of stock into my "medium" pot it will vanish in 20 seconds.

Another puzzle: Their fish butcher sounds totally amazing. He is very fast, when he is on leave, he is replaced by two people. He uses:

Boning knife,

Filleting knife,

Thin 10 inch knife for skinning small fish

Thicker 10 inch knife for larger fish

Knife sharpener (he sharpens after EACH fish.)

Sharpener or steel? I suspect it is steel, but how do I know that he does not have some super duper gizmo that sharpens knives in a few seconds and that I desperately need one too instead of following Chad's instructions?

There are a few more examples like these. I know I am nitpicking, but the book is so full of "perfection" talk, that these small things stand out like sore thumbs. I also wish they would have discussed how they handle problems. I got excited when I read that (like TOP CHEF 5) they had "Refrigerators filled with tens of thousands of dollars worth of food conk out overnight," but was disappointed that this sentence was ALL that was said about the incident. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book tremendously, Eric Ripert has not lost his throne on my Olympus.

[paulraphael]

I love this book. Got it free from the Amazon Vine program (which means I have to write a review ... which will be a pleasure). It's a food geek's dream. My favorite thing about it is that Eric Rippert seems completely candid about everything. It doesn't read in the least like propaganda for the restaurant. He's forthcoming about the chaos at the saute station, the total dependence on re-used plastic crab containers, and all the typical front of house issues that come up all the time ("1:00pm: VIP walks out because another VIP is at his favorite table").

A great read. And great affirmation that I don't want to be a line cook at a 4 star restaurant. I haven't even looked at the recipes, but plan to soon.

[emilyr]

I just walked by our free book bin at work, which is usually filled with boring books on economics or how to raise your kid type literature (I work at a news/talk radio station) and saw this peeking out! I'm so excited to read it. It really seems like a very real description of a great restaurant. I'm kinda tired of "Kitchen:Confidential"-type descriptions of the hell of working in a kitchen, but I don't want it glossed over, either. I like that this looks precise and candid.

[TarteTatin]

If Chris Hennes likes it, I must buy it!

[kitchensqueen]

I keep flirting with it at the bookstore and not taking it home... I think it's an intriguing read, but I'm skeptical about the viability of the recipes in the home kitchen. Has anyone tried them?

[OliverB]

it's on my maybe to buy list since it's not a straight cook book. I'd be very interested in reading the parts about the restaurant, but I'd read them once and never look at them again, might be better to get it from a library some day.

I guess it's in the same "maybe" boat as A Day at El Bulli that was published recently. Would be interesting, but too big and expensive for just reading and paging through. And chances are slim that I'd ever make something El Bulli style, too many expensive tools necessary for most things. That I'll eat there is even less likely, I'm not made of money and it's far from any place I'd travel to in the next decade(s).

I might get on the line some day, until then I'll look at it in the store on occasion :-)

I'd be curious to hear from anybody that attempted some of the recipes though. Are they reasonably doable?

[gfweb]

I love this book. Got it free from the Amazon Vine program (which means I have to write a review ... which will be a pleasure). It's a food geek's dream. My favorite thing about it is that Eric Rippert seems completely candid about everything. It doesn't read in the least like propaganda for the restaurant. He's forthcoming about the chaos at the saute station, the total dependence on re-used plastic crab containers, and all the typical front of house issues that come up all the time ("1:00pm: VIP walks out because another VIP is at his favorite table").

A great read. And great affirmation that I don't want to be a line cook at a 4 star restaurant. I haven't even looked at the recipes, but plan to soon.

←

What's this Amazon Vine deal?

[TimmDavis]

I keep flirting with it at the bookstore and not taking it home... I think it's an intriguing read, but I'm skeptical about the viability of the recipes in the home kitchen. Has anyone tried them?

←

It's not really a cookbook, you could pull some of the recipes off. But I just don't look at it as a 'cookbook' per se.

[David Ross]

I'm on my third read of "On the Line" and I've only had it since February. I've gotten a lot of odd looks and comments from my fellow commuters at 520am in the morning. When they glance over and see that I've got a book open to a page about butchering fish, they wonder exactly what type of job I'm commuting to.

It's a fascinating read into the world of Le Bernadin. I've found it quite refreshing to learn that the staff appreciates the value of traditional customer service and a devotion to detail at the highest levels.

The only downfall to the book-it's a bit too heavy to lug in an already over-packed carry-on that has to pass the muster of the TSA twice a day.