The Basics: The Techniques of Continental Cooking

by Filip Verheyden

"A stylish little cookbook . . . a seductive object, beautifully proportioned and designed, but also remarkably comprehensive. After covering basic kitchen skills, The Basics zips through an overview of savory cooking, then switches to baking and desserts. But while most general cookbooks would stop there, The Basics plunges onward into contemporary cuisine."-Jonathan Hayes, The New York Times Magazine"This book is written in a clear style and filled with wise advice."-Le Figaro Magazine"Each page contains one photo, one recipe, and one clever tip. What more could one want?"-Beau & BonThe book the United Kingdom's Bulletin called "a cooking bible" comes to It's the award-winning and best-selling title with the 150 most important techniques used in European kitchens. Unlike US and Canadian cookbooks, The Basics focuses on kitchen skills rather than recipes.Learn standard European methods to cut and prepare vegetables and meats, make cream sauces, and perfect béarnaise and consommé. And as The New York Times Magazine noted, there is also an impressive collection of newly minted continental techniques-including how to "cook fennel sous vide (slow-simmered in a vacuum-sealed pouch) and recipes for of-the-moment constructions like foie-gras foam and savory jellies."Readers are encouraged to experiment, and recipes utilizing the book's techniques are provided for just such experimentation. Unlike any cookbook on the market, The Basics is sure to make waves in North America.Filip Verheyden studied cooking at PIVA in Antwerp and has been a freelance food writer since 1998, contributing to many magazines and newspapers.Tony Le Duc has been a food photographer since 1984, producing images for some twenty books, including The House of Books.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this for a friend who loves to cook. It's a great little book; there are full-color photos accompanying each recipe/technique.

This is really more of a technique cookbook than a recipe cookbook, although there are plenty of recipes. It truly is the "basics" and it provides a good foundation of techniques - like barding, infusing, etc.

The book itself is well-designed, with a woven ribbon placeholder and all the recipes are kept to one page.

One little peeve I have with this book is that I prefer cookbooks that can lay flat.

This is great for creative chefs who will use the cooking techniques and recipes as a starting point for their own culinary creations.

[Jenn Ollivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small, unassuming book with it's simple cover and gold rimmed pages contains a wealth of knowledge and beautiful photos on each page. It takes you through the techniques every skilled chef should know from the basic sauces and stocks to the future of molecular gastronomy. This handy little bible should be in every serious foodie's kitchen.

[Jinnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a really solid book about cooking basics. Beautifully illustrated, extemely easy to read and follow, this book will take you from what it means to fry something to glazing pears and making hard-to-pronounce French sauces. It's been invaluable to me as someone newly interested in cooking.

[Wendy Holliday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title explains it.

Food cooking basics, but not like, "place water in pan, and boil." Slightly more complicated than that, but classy enough to make a semi-good cook like myself the ability to add a touch of fancy to everyday cooking.

[Melville House Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It’s perfect for the foodie who needs to be as competent in front of the actual stove as he is at talking up his culinary prowess.” -- Metro New York

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely pictures, a wry wit, a culinary education in a package small enough to slip into a knife bag. Everyone should have a copy.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most comprehensive, informative, tasteful, compact pictured cookbooks I've come across.

[Megan]

So not an awesome cover... however this book is supposedly a cook book. But I am here to say that it is most definitely a sex book. Seriously.

[Gino Filicetti]

False

[Guinevere · Rating 4 out of 5]

basic, simple, gifty. a picture on each page! a MUST in a cookbook.

[Babai Sasmal · Rating 5 out of 5]

need to read