Bocuse in Your Kitchen: Simple French Recipes for the Home Chef

by Paul Bocuse

Author and world-renowned chef Paul Bocuse has chosen only simple, classic French recipes that are easy to follow and prepare. According to the chef, "Simple fare is, in my opinion, the best-the kind that I love to prepare at home for my family and my friends," and Bocuse in Your Kitchen teaches even the most inexperienced of cooks how to share his flair for good food. The book is divided into 15 chapters by type of dish; from soups to meats, vegetables, and desserts, each of the 220 recipes is explained step-by-step. Bocuse's carefully chosen dishes-from beef bourguignon, blanquette de veau, and potato-leek soup; olive tapenade and old-style mustard sauce; to rhubarb jam, pears in wine sauce, and tarte Tatin-highlight the flavor of each ingredient, resulting in food that maintains its freshness and integrity. Bocuse in Your Kitchen includes 60 illustrative photos that serve to inspire, as well as a glossary of culinary terms and techniques.Beautifully designed and illustrated, Bocuse in Your Kitchen makes French cuisine simple and easy for the home chef.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 1982

About the author

Paul Bocuse was a French chef based in Lyon who was known for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine.

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm trying to cut back on buying cookbooks; my kitchen is getting filled up with these! But when I was wandering through a bookstore and happened upon this title, I could not resist. Paul Bocuse, after all, has a towering reputation as a chef. And here is his cookbook for the home chef. He says that (Page 7): "The cooking presented in this book has the advantage of being within everyone's reach, bringing together a selection of recipes that are easy to make, relatively quick to prepare, and easy on the budget."

As with many cookbooks, this begins with some basics, but it's the recipes that determine the value of such a book. And I really like that aspect of this work. I have made many of these dishes myself, with a variety of recipes. Bocuse's recipes are, in fact, makeable. If I can cook these dishes up, anyone can! While there are some differences between his recipes and the ones that I have used, those are rather minor. I am looking forward to telling those who sup at my table that I am using Paul Bocuse's recipe!

The first section is soups. I have tried several approaches to Leek and Potato Soup. Bocuse presents a recipe that is similar to what I have used, but by using "crème fraiche" rather than milk, his looks much richer than what I have tried. I use the Berghoff recipe for Red Cabbage, but Bocuse has another recipe that is fundamentally different--but sounds delicious.

What about egg dishes? Eggs with Vinegar? Sounds odd when I look at the title of this dish. But as I read the recipe, it looks pretty simple and makes me curious as to how it will taste. Eggs Poached in Beaujolais? I enjoy a good Beaujolais, and would never have thought of that as a key component of an egg dish.

Meat dishes. . . . I used to make Beef Bourguignon for parties. You can make huge amounts of this to satisfy a crowd, and it is easy to make a tasty batch. His version is close to what I made, giving me a false sense of expertise. . . .

As you might guess, I really enjoyed looking at this cookbook. Especially cool is that I have made some of these dishes and I can compare what I have done with Bocuse's recipes. And, boy, do I look forward to some experimentation on my family (and maybe even friends), using the master chef's cookbook as my guide.

[Susan Ciliberti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative introduction with the basics of French cooking. Most of the recipes have fewer than 10 ingredients so not too difficult.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Designed for the cook/entertainer in mind. Easy to follow recipes with approachable flavors and textures.