Classic Koffmann

Excellent book, if you're a fan of French cuisine you'll enjoy this book from a legendary chef.

Excellent book. Clear and concise. Happy to follow his recipes with no troubles. Happy I bought it.

Excellent cookbook, great for home cooks as well for professionals.

When I learned that Pierre Koffman was one of the forces behind London's emergence from restaurant wasteland to one of the most incredible food cities in the world, I knew wanted this book. When I opened it, however, I thought that perhaps I had bitten off more than I am equipped to chew. But the photos were so enticing that I figured "Why not?" and immediately dove in. I started with a few of the simpler recipes in the book, just to test the water, and they were. quite simply. delicious.--- Salade de Foies de Volaille (chicken livers, frisée lettuce, croutons and lardons). I made this because my husband adores chicken livers. This recipe is so good that now I adore them too. What a beautifully perfect combination of flavors and textures.--- Koffman's French vinaigrette from the recipe above immediately became my new "house dressing." I never would have suspected that adding such a tiny amount of sherry vinegar could make such a difference.--- Soupe d'Épinards et Roquette (spinach and arugula soup). This one was tricky because I thought it was all wrong up until the end. The flavor is so subtle and delicate that it is almost sublime. It's more broth-like than I expected, and it hints of asparagus. It makes a lovely first course, and would be a delicious lunch with a toasted sandwich - perhaps the croque-monsieur from the book!When I was making the recipes, I felt as though I was learning solid techniques from a master. The directions for the recipes are incredibly detailed and so easy to follow that I feel compelled to try my hand at many of the types of recipes in the book that I would never have dared make before.There are a number of recipes that I don't think I will try for reasons such as I have never seen woodcock for sale at my store, nor am I likely to cook anything that uses 4 cups of goose fat. But I already have a slab of salt cod soaking in preparation for making the Brandade de morue, rösti, jaune d'oeuf (salt cod brandade with rösti and egg yolk), and the Cassoulet is on deck for Christmas Eve although I might try to hunt down some pre-made duck confit rather than try to make it myself. I think I'll wait and build up to that.Liking this book as much as I do is a surprise. Fancy chef's books are enjoyable to read, but I rarely ever cook from them. The recipes have ingredient lists and instructions that can go on for pages. Not so this one. The recipes here have mostly small lists of ingredients, meaning that the flavor comes from a combination of the quality of the ingredients and the technique for cooking them. It also means that I'll be more likely to attempt making them!There are photos of every recipe and they are so beautiful that I want to try them all. The desserts look insanely great. So far, the most difficult part of having this book has been deciding which recipe to make next! I've attached photos of those I've made, both of which I can't wait to make again.

This is a somewhat difficult book for me to review because while I completely admire and respect the work of this legendary chef and can appreciate the depth and the beauty of many of the recipes he is sharing (and generously so), I also find that a lot of the recipes are a bit of a novelty to a beginning cook like myself. While there are some accessible recipes (particularly in the chapter on sides, for me the best chapter in the book), many are very complex and require far greater skill than I am sure I ever will have. Also, the ingredients lists (see below) were enough to make me laugh out loud many times. I am a writer but during thin financial times I have followed my other passion and worked in bakeries (one very famous one) and restaurants many times over the years and so while I have been exposed to some highly-skilled chefs and have learned a lot of technique, a lot of this book is beyond my abilities. Still, this is such a great look into the mind of one of the world's top chefs I felt like a thief in the night just looking over his shoulder.One other issue that I have with this book is that is is too animal-centric. I’m by no means a vegetarian, but I try to keep animals to a bare minimum in my cooking, for many reasons (and this is just a personal thing). But using ducks, rabbit, pigs is the French way. It is especially the French country way and that is were Chef Koffman drew a lot of his early knowledge and gathered some of his tastes and skills. His grandparents owned a small farm and so he got to see country cooking close up from a very early age. The first section of the book, in fact, is a wonderful biography told in the first person (taken from an interview) and that was a very worthwhile read. Chefs, great chefs, have a passion for their work and I love to read about the source of that passion. There is much about his style of working and his work ethic that is worth knowing about—regardless of your profession. You can sum up much of it very simply: follow your passion and work to the breaking point.Many of the recipes in the book are simply far too complex and demanding for most home cooks, particularly the entrees. Just finding the ingredients could send you off on a (bad pun) wild goose chase for days at at time: good luck finding 200g of hare meat or decent red mullet fillets at the local grocery store, lol. How about seared scallops in squid ink sauce. Squid ink sauce? (I tend to just roll them in French dressing and bread crumbs and that would probably make most chefs toss a skillet at me--which has been done several times in my life, lol.)Some recipes are, however, very accessible (and look yummy) like Croque-monsieur, basically a grilled cheese and ham sandwich…I made it, excellent and so so simple. There is a tomato tart with goat cheese that looks delicious and a very simple artichoke with mustard vinaigrette that looks terrific (and I always wondered about the best way to cook an artichoke). A recipe for chicken in red wine sauce is complex, but looks wonderful.One small complaint that I have about the text is that a lot of recipes seem to be cooked in cast iron and I would love to know more about this, Chef’s feelings about cast iron, etc. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really mention the cookware at all…I wish he had. Cast iron is my new passion and I would love to hear him speak about it.The best and most accessible chapter for me are the sides—things like pan-fried crunchy rice cakes (oh, made well they will have you laying in bed late at night thinking about them) and beautiful herb-crusted tomatoes—look delicious, sweet corn fritters, yum. The desert chapter is nice too and I think most home cooks could create many of those recipes.Finally, the chef’s essentials chapter is a very good but it is way too short. I wish that Chef would write a separate book on this—or perhaps he has. It is the essential skills that I lack and that I long to master.Overall, I think this book makes a great read, no question, but as a practical guide, much of it is beyond my skill set. Still, Chef Koffman is the real deal, he’s the genuine article, and you can learn something on every page. To me, any cookbook is worth the price if you learn one thing you never knew before and in this book, I learned a great many. By the way, the photos by David Loftus are beautiful world-class photos and the production and design are excellent and the type fonts are well chosen and very legible. Jacqui Small did a fine job designing the book.

Pierre is a cooking legend/royalty and I think everyone should have his book at home. It’s great cooking made easy by a three Michelin star chef that made most great chefs today. Would highly recommend it and it also makes for a great present.

Once at the top of his profession, cookery has passed Pierre by. Whilst there are a couple of recipes from La Tante Claire, this is rustic, bistro cooking at best. Save for stuffed pig's trotter, all recipes are very basic. Is Pierre's recipe for cassoulet really any better than the 100s you can find on the internet? No. And some of the quantaties make no sense. His recipe for beurre blanc is for 1.25 litres, enough for 30 people. Time has stood still for Pierre Koffmann but moved on for everyone else. Very disappointing.

Es un libro completo vale mucho la pena de los mejores libros de cocina que hay ... Pierre el mejor

French homely cuisine demonstrated with high degree of skill,t i will be revisiting the Dessert most.This book will appeal to a cook how loves "country" cookery and isn't afraid of "old fashioned" ingredient (rabbit, foie gras, ).A chef who appreciates a chef with integrity.Its not for people who like flashy or FAD foods

What a wonderful book. It seems almost ridiculous that pierre koffman has not released a book like this before. If you love cooking then this book from the master himself, one of the godfathers, is a must.