http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com collaborative book reviews about all things food and wine Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:32:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5716_new-american-table-marcus-samuelsson-2009-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5716_new-american-table-marcus-samuelsson-2009-us#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:58:09 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5716 Marcus Samuelsson’s New American Table is perfect for the aspiring foodie with its vast array of cuisines. Although you’ll find nothing ground-breaking or especially innovative, adventurous cooks will enjoy the challenge of cooking across the globe and, ultimately, a modern definition of American Cuisine will appear right on their own dinner table.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5716_new-american-table-marcus-samuelsson-2009-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5335_artisan-breads-at-home-peter-reinhart-2009-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5335_artisan-breads-at-home-peter-reinhart-2009-us#comments Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:27:58 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5335 Peter Reinhart has produced another knockout bread book… but do we need it? Whereas the advanced baker may find this material redundant, those who are still rising to the occasion will find the consolidation of up-to-the-minute techniques in Artisan Breads Every Day easy to digest and incorporate. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5335_artisan-breads-at-home-peter-reinhart-2009-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5169_three-star-chef-gordon-ramsay-2007-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5169_three-star-chef-gordon-ramsay-2007-uk#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:16:34 +0000 Daniel Chan http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5169 Once upon a time, the marking point of a chef’s success was the awarding of a Michelin star or equivalent. The professional recognition and a dining room full of satisfied diners was all that was needed to make your mark on the culinary landscape. But chefs and restaurants have now evolved to a stage where global brand recognition has become a part of the game. Cookbooks featuring the flagship restaurant are a part of that marketing strategy. Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road is the flagship of Ramsay’s empire, and “Three Star Chef” is his homage to it. As you’d expect, it is a beautiful book that will draw attention whether you keep it in the kitchen or on the coffee table. The photography is of a high quality and the dishes presented are remarkable in terms of the skills behind them and their presentation. Given the time, skill, and ingredients, this is food that would impress at a dinner party. Ramsay’s words display his customary bluntness when discussing restaurant life in the first half of the book, but change to a more encouraging tone in the recipe section. Does this book, like the restaurant, stand alongside corresponding works by the likes of Thomas Keller, Heston Blumenthal, and Michel Bras? While the Ramsay book matches these others in terms of recipe content and production values, it falls short in that you never truly get a sense of what drives him, his food, and his restaurant. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5169_three-star-chef-gordon-ramsay-2007-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5558_the-silver-spoon-for-children-amanda-grant-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5558_the-silver-spoon-for-children-amanda-grant-2009-uk#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:06:10 +0000 Daniel Chan http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5558 Over the past few years publishers Phaidon have been establishing a presence in the cookbook market. “The Silver Spoon For Children” is their first move into the area of cooking with children. Often, books in this area of cooking, like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “The River Cottage Family Cookbook”, are written for adults as a guide to teaching children how to cook. This book’s approach involves having a child read it, and then prepare the recipes with the aid of an adult. By simplifying the recipes to their essence, and using large pictures and bright colours to grab attention, this book is one that has a great chance of engaging young minds. The book takes its recipes from “The Silver Spoon”, and is aimed at children aged at least nine years old. The recipes have been tested by children, so parents can be reasonably confident that the recipes will work. As someone who has not been impressed by Phaidon’s cookbooks, this one has been surprisingly good.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5558_the-silver-spoon-for-children-amanda-grant-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5527_the-modern-cafe-francisco-migoya-2010-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5527_the-modern-cafe-francisco-migoya-2010-us#comments Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:45:08 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5527 The Modern Café is an excellent guide and inspiration for culinary professionals and those aspiring to have a great café. Beautiful photographs and informative side boxes generously fill the pages. The knowledge is invaluable, the recipes are fresh and exciting, and the business acumen could move you from failed restaurant to the star of your community. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5527_the-modern-cafe-francisco-migoya-2010-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5200_adventures-with-chocolate-paul-a-young-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5200_adventures-with-chocolate-paul-a-young-2009-uk#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:01:40 +0000 Helen Parkins http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5200 An exciting new book by a renowned and pioneering master chocolatier for anyone serious about their chocolate, filled with innovative and unusual recipes that will challenge, intrigue, and delight the tastebuds in equal measure. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5200_adventures-with-chocolate-paul-a-young-2009-uk/feed 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5083_how-to-eat-nigella-lawson-1999-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5083_how-to-eat-nigella-lawson-1999-uk#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:07:15 +0000 Daniel Chan http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5083 In the world of the celebrity chef, where books are churned out every year along with the television show and the newly endorsed kitchen products, it can be easy to forget that at some point there was a reason why these people became famous in the first place. Nigella Lawson is a case in point – the same flirtatious looks to the television camera, the coquettishness of her manner, and the double entendre laden words. The constant mining of a new angle – quick food, summer food, baking, this fashion, that trend – a battle to keep the personality fresh and the profits flowing. Lawson started her career in food as a columnist, and the quality of her work led to her writing a book. “How To Eat” was first published in 1998 and it became a bestseller. The two keys to its success were the high quality of Lawson’s writing and the common sense she offers about cooking. The first sign of a practical mind is the way she arranged this book. Chapters devoted to cooking for one or two, weekend lunches, and feeding babies and small children, shows someone who understands modern life. The recipes she provides use ingredients that are easy to find and use reasonably straightforward techniques. Ten years down the track and “How To Eat” is as joyful a read as ever. I suspect that in fifty years' time, people will still be reading it.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5083_how-to-eat-nigella-lawson-1999-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4997_warm-bread-and-honey-cake-gaitri-pagrach-chandra-2010-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4997_warm-bread-and-honey-cake-gaitri-pagrach-chandra-2010-us#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:05:49 +0000 Mark Manguerra http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4997 Food historian Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra takes us on a gastronomic journey to more than twenty countries with the recipes she's collected from her friends and artisan bakers around the world during her colorful life. For many of the recipes, she provides the history and shares the experience of tasting the authentic article. With plenty of beautiful photographs, the book will transport you out of the rut of your usual French and American breads and pastries and take you to less familiar locales.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4997_warm-bread-and-honey-cake-gaitri-pagrach-chandra-2010-us/feed 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4533_valvona-and-crolla-mary-contini-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4533_valvona-and-crolla-mary-contini-2009-uk#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:37:15 +0000 Helen Parkins http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4533 Based on the food served at Edinburgh's best-known Italian deli-cafe, Valvona and Crolla, this new recipe book makes for an evocative and mouth-watering read. Organised around the four seasons, there are recipes, personal stories and mini-travelogues, hints and tips, and detailed ingredient information specific to each time of year. Inspiration abounds throughout, supported by recipes which are as reliable as they are tempting. All in all, 'Valvona and Crolla: A Year at an Italian Table' is a veritable feast for foodlovers.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4533_valvona-and-crolla-mary-contini-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:30:05 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4031 Heston Blumenthal is known as a gastro-wizard. Not only does he helm the Fat Duck, once considered the top restaurant in the world, but he also has popular notoriety through his In Search of Perfection television series on the BBC. In Search of Total Perfection is the culmination of the TV series put in print (combining his two previous books from the series into one volume), and offers not only the recipes and exploratory work leading to the recipes, but also the behind-the-scenes tales from the studio. And whereas a movie can drop a book’s plot, story lines and even characters to help the story fit into a two-hour reel, this book flips a page and gathers all of the information presented in the series and expands on the shows with useful and fun details. The reader is left as plump and saturated as Blumenthal’s roast chicken. And that’s where we’ll peck away at this book – roast chicken.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk/feed 0