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200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook into a Great Cook
200 Skills Every Cook Must Have is an illustrated guide to the most important tips and techniques that are the key to cooking with confidence and consistency. The book explains and illustrates every important technique, from impressive knife skills to perfect pastry, and gives cooks a new level of comfort with tricky dishes like lobster and soufflé. A simple step-by-step format with full-color photography and clear, easy-to-follow instructions takes kitchen work to the next level. The book is organized like a cooking masterclass that readers can follow in order or flip to a particular skill that needs perfecting. Ten chapters describe essential tools and equipment, and explain tried-and-tested procedures for consistently preparing a wide range of items
For the culinary novice or the experienced amateur, 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have shows how to stew, steam and sauté to success every time. It is the secret ingredient that turns a good cook into a great one.
For the culinary novice or the experienced amateur, 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have shows how to stew, steam and sauté to success every time. It is the secret ingredient that turns a good cook into a great one.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 3, 2013
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84 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 16, 2014
I'm not much of a resolution person, but I did find some fun stuff to work on this year in the kitchen thanks to this book.
This isn't a book of recipes per se, but rather 200 instructions on how to do basic stuff in the kitchen. Some of the items listed are super simple, like dicing an onion or salting an eggplant (the task itself is simple, but I didn't know to do this before cooking/baking with it). But, for the novice cook, some of these tasks may even be a little bit foreign.
I think it's a great how-to manual for somebody who's interested in cooking and baking but hasn't acquired a lot of experience in the kitchen just yet.
I consider myself slightly more skilled in the kitchen than the novice cook, but after reading this, I think my skills are a little more concentrated in certain areas. I know how to do the majority of the tasks laid out in the baking section of the book, but I've also never operated a grill and don't know the first thing about working with different cuts of meat, especially fish and seafood.
So, I've decided to try out one skill from each section of the book this year. Hopefully by the end of 2014 I will have acquired some new skills (and I will be able to assess the book a bit better).
Below are the skills I'm trying to acquire:
1. Making mayonnaise (by machine)
2. Char grilling vegetables
3. Blanching and skinning nuts (almonds)
4. Roasting pork with stuffing
5. Jointing a chicken into 4 pieces
6. Baking en papillote (fish)
7. Steaming mussels and clams
8. Souffle (chocolate specifically)
9. Pavlova
10. Basic risotto
11. Vegetable broth
12. Soaking saffron
I should be back for an update at the end of 2014.
This isn't a book of recipes per se, but rather 200 instructions on how to do basic stuff in the kitchen. Some of the items listed are super simple, like dicing an onion or salting an eggplant (the task itself is simple, but I didn't know to do this before cooking/baking with it). But, for the novice cook, some of these tasks may even be a little bit foreign.
I think it's a great how-to manual for somebody who's interested in cooking and baking but hasn't acquired a lot of experience in the kitchen just yet.
I consider myself slightly more skilled in the kitchen than the novice cook, but after reading this, I think my skills are a little more concentrated in certain areas. I know how to do the majority of the tasks laid out in the baking section of the book, but I've also never operated a grill and don't know the first thing about working with different cuts of meat, especially fish and seafood.
So, I've decided to try out one skill from each section of the book this year. Hopefully by the end of 2014 I will have acquired some new skills (and I will be able to assess the book a bit better).
Below are the skills I'm trying to acquire:
1. Making mayonnaise (by machine)
2. Char grilling vegetables
3. Blanching and skinning nuts (almonds)
4. Roasting pork with stuffing
5. Jointing a chicken into 4 pieces
6. Baking en papillote (fish)
7. Steaming mussels and clams
8. Souffle (chocolate specifically)
9. Pavlova
10. Basic risotto
11. Vegetable broth
12. Soaking saffron
I should be back for an update at the end of 2014.
July 10, 2014
Easy to follow skills for new and experienced cooks. Although I did skip the meat sections, I picked up a lot of tips for peeling veggies and fruit, preparing sauces, nuts, pastries, and preparing spices.
June 17, 2014
As a beginner cook, I found this title very insightful and helpful. I won't use everything, (Lord never let me need to scale a fish!) but it is still good to know.
June 2, 2014
Along with the title the subtitle The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook makes the intent of this cookbook by Clara Paul and Eric Treuille very clear. Published by Firefly Books, the book stresses the importance of basic skills and how to build upon them to become a whiz in the kitchen. That is done through text and pictures across twelve chapters that each address a needed skill.
After a multipage introduction and multi-page lists of essential kitchen equipment, the book gets going with “Sauce Skills.” After a brief intro that explains, among other things, how you will now learn to make perfect gravy and hollandaise, it begins with “Tomato Sauce” on pages 18-19. Instead of using such sauce from a jar or can, this tells you how to make your own by way of a list of ingredients and directions. Along with tomato sauce, vinaigrette, and gravy, one can learn how to make “White Sauce” (page 28), “Sugar Syrup” (page 32) and “Chocolate Sauce” (page 33) among others.
While there is not any nutritional information on the recipes, most have pictures of the finished items as well as a color coded “expert tips” section with additional good advice. This same format is followed throughout the hardback cookbook. Each recipe is skill numbered to reflect the title. Therefore, the aforementioned “Chocolate Sauce” of page 33 is skill number 18.
“Vegetable Skills” comes next so that you can learn to do more than bring a pot of water to boil and throw something in. Along with teaching you how to slice as well as dice an onion, peeling tomato and shallots, there is information on how to handle herbs correctly. Also included here is how to go about “Blanching” (page 52), “Caramelizing Onions” (page 58), and “Bouquet Garnii” (page 62) among others.
After dealing with vegies it is time to move on to “Fruit And Nut Skills.” Starting on page 64, the authors take you through “Coring Fruit” (page 67), “Preparing Pomegranate” (page 71), “Toasting And Skinning Nuts” (page 82) and “Dry-Or Pan-Toasting Nuts” (page 83), among others.
After an introduction that also explains the different cuts of beef, tip number 70 on “Cutting Beef” (pages 88-89) leads off “Meat Skills.” Learn how to go about “Cooking Streak” (page 90), “Preparing A Rack Of Lamb” (page 101) and “Roasting Pork With Stuffing” (page 104) among others. While often a chart of beef cuts is included on a chapter on meats, a nice touch in this book are the two charts reflecting cuts of lamb and pork.
You can do a lot with chicken and they are the subject of next chapter section titled “Poultry Skills.” Along with different ways to prepare various types of chicken, there is also information on “Scoring A Duck Breast” (page 120) and “Searing a Duck Breast” (page 121).
We go from the land to the sea next with “Seafood Skills.” After a two page deal on “Identifying And Choosing Fish (tip number 100 on pages 124-125), various ways of preparing a fish of different types from cleaning to cooking are covered. Also included here is tip number 116 “Identifying And Choosing Shellfish” (pages 140-141), how to peel as well as devein your shrimp (pages 142-143), “Cooking Crab (pages 144-145) among other items. If you ever wanted to know how to go about “Preparing Squid” the information is here at the end of the section on pages 154-155.
The highly versatile and common in a lot of dishes, the egg comes next with “Egg Skills.” Along with how to crack one properly and how to separate yolk from the white, one can learn to make a “Soufflé” on pages 166-167 among other skills. This chapter section is one of the shortest in the book.
“Pastry and Baking Skills” come next with an introduction on page 168. Then we are led through “Making Basic Pie Crust” (pages 170-171), how to go about “Beating Butter and Sugar” (page 178) the right way and making “Phyllo Pastry” (page 194), among other topics.
We move a bit backwards with the next chapter “Pasta, Grain, Legume and Bread Skills.” Along with teaching you how to go about “Making Fresh Pasta” (pages 200-201) and “Cooking Pasta” (page 203) correctly there is information here on making your own “Ravioli” (pages 204-205), a “Basic Risotto” (pages 212-213), “Making Bread Crumbs” (page 219) and making “Melba Toast” (page 222) among other ideas are here.
“Broth Skills” come next and start on page 224. The recipes here include making a “Brown Broth” (pages 228-229), a “Vegetable Broth” (page 230) along with other information such as “Skimming Broths” (page 232) and “Clarifying Broth” on page 234-235.
The very short chapter “Spice Skills” is the twelfth and final section. Toasting and grinding spices are explained as is how to go about “Soaking Saffron” (page 290) and tip 200 “Using a Vanilla Bean” (page 291).
A four page glossary of ingredients comes next followed by a three page dictionary of terms. That leads readers into the usual one page of resources and two pages of conversion charts. That is followed by a five page index.
Despite the obvious lack of nutritional information of any type throughout the book, The 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook is a good cookbook. The pictures are colorful and illustrative of what is being taught and the text is simple and straight forward. The color coded tabs for each section are a nice touch and can make finding the section one is looking for quicker. Another nice touch is the color coded “expert tips” section in each chapter that highlight information that will help the user turn out quality food. A solidly good book that shows users how to build on the skills they have or learn new ones The 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook is a good hardback reference material for your kitchen endeavors.
The 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook
Clara Paul and Eric Treuille
http://www.booksforcooks.com
Firefly Books
http://www.fireflybooks.com
2013
ISBN# 978-1-77085-210-5
Hardback
260 Pages
$29.95
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
After a multipage introduction and multi-page lists of essential kitchen equipment, the book gets going with “Sauce Skills.” After a brief intro that explains, among other things, how you will now learn to make perfect gravy and hollandaise, it begins with “Tomato Sauce” on pages 18-19. Instead of using such sauce from a jar or can, this tells you how to make your own by way of a list of ingredients and directions. Along with tomato sauce, vinaigrette, and gravy, one can learn how to make “White Sauce” (page 28), “Sugar Syrup” (page 32) and “Chocolate Sauce” (page 33) among others.
While there is not any nutritional information on the recipes, most have pictures of the finished items as well as a color coded “expert tips” section with additional good advice. This same format is followed throughout the hardback cookbook. Each recipe is skill numbered to reflect the title. Therefore, the aforementioned “Chocolate Sauce” of page 33 is skill number 18.
“Vegetable Skills” comes next so that you can learn to do more than bring a pot of water to boil and throw something in. Along with teaching you how to slice as well as dice an onion, peeling tomato and shallots, there is information on how to handle herbs correctly. Also included here is how to go about “Blanching” (page 52), “Caramelizing Onions” (page 58), and “Bouquet Garnii” (page 62) among others.
After dealing with vegies it is time to move on to “Fruit And Nut Skills.” Starting on page 64, the authors take you through “Coring Fruit” (page 67), “Preparing Pomegranate” (page 71), “Toasting And Skinning Nuts” (page 82) and “Dry-Or Pan-Toasting Nuts” (page 83), among others.
After an introduction that also explains the different cuts of beef, tip number 70 on “Cutting Beef” (pages 88-89) leads off “Meat Skills.” Learn how to go about “Cooking Streak” (page 90), “Preparing A Rack Of Lamb” (page 101) and “Roasting Pork With Stuffing” (page 104) among others. While often a chart of beef cuts is included on a chapter on meats, a nice touch in this book are the two charts reflecting cuts of lamb and pork.
You can do a lot with chicken and they are the subject of next chapter section titled “Poultry Skills.” Along with different ways to prepare various types of chicken, there is also information on “Scoring A Duck Breast” (page 120) and “Searing a Duck Breast” (page 121).
We go from the land to the sea next with “Seafood Skills.” After a two page deal on “Identifying And Choosing Fish (tip number 100 on pages 124-125), various ways of preparing a fish of different types from cleaning to cooking are covered. Also included here is tip number 116 “Identifying And Choosing Shellfish” (pages 140-141), how to peel as well as devein your shrimp (pages 142-143), “Cooking Crab (pages 144-145) among other items. If you ever wanted to know how to go about “Preparing Squid” the information is here at the end of the section on pages 154-155.
The highly versatile and common in a lot of dishes, the egg comes next with “Egg Skills.” Along with how to crack one properly and how to separate yolk from the white, one can learn to make a “Soufflé” on pages 166-167 among other skills. This chapter section is one of the shortest in the book.
“Pastry and Baking Skills” come next with an introduction on page 168. Then we are led through “Making Basic Pie Crust” (pages 170-171), how to go about “Beating Butter and Sugar” (page 178) the right way and making “Phyllo Pastry” (page 194), among other topics.
We move a bit backwards with the next chapter “Pasta, Grain, Legume and Bread Skills.” Along with teaching you how to go about “Making Fresh Pasta” (pages 200-201) and “Cooking Pasta” (page 203) correctly there is information here on making your own “Ravioli” (pages 204-205), a “Basic Risotto” (pages 212-213), “Making Bread Crumbs” (page 219) and making “Melba Toast” (page 222) among other ideas are here.
“Broth Skills” come next and start on page 224. The recipes here include making a “Brown Broth” (pages 228-229), a “Vegetable Broth” (page 230) along with other information such as “Skimming Broths” (page 232) and “Clarifying Broth” on page 234-235.
The very short chapter “Spice Skills” is the twelfth and final section. Toasting and grinding spices are explained as is how to go about “Soaking Saffron” (page 290) and tip 200 “Using a Vanilla Bean” (page 291).
A four page glossary of ingredients comes next followed by a three page dictionary of terms. That leads readers into the usual one page of resources and two pages of conversion charts. That is followed by a five page index.
Despite the obvious lack of nutritional information of any type throughout the book, The 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook is a good cookbook. The pictures are colorful and illustrative of what is being taught and the text is simple and straight forward. The color coded tabs for each section are a nice touch and can make finding the section one is looking for quicker. Another nice touch is the color coded “expert tips” section in each chapter that highlight information that will help the user turn out quality food. A solidly good book that shows users how to build on the skills they have or learn new ones The 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook is a good hardback reference material for your kitchen endeavors.
The 200 Skills Every Cook Must Have: The Step-by-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook Into a Great Cook
Clara Paul and Eric Treuille
http://www.booksforcooks.com
Firefly Books
http://www.fireflybooks.com
2013
ISBN# 978-1-77085-210-5
Hardback
260 Pages
$29.95
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
February 8, 2014
A great how to on a wide variety of cooking skills.
August 5, 2016
This book would be a great resources for extreme novices. However, if you've been cooking for a while most of the skills listed are second nature already.
Read
February 11, 2015Easily accessible book covering general cooking skills. I very much like the presentation. Each skill is covered on its own page, with photographs of the method.
November 14, 2015
This is a good book for a person who is just learning hoe to cook or if you need to brush up on your skills.
April 4, 2016
Excellent information. Well presented.
April 11, 2016
Nicely done book.
December 30, 2017
Great skills.for everyone to know.
December 15, 2023
This was an informative book. Some things I already knew, but it's a great book to have as a reference, and I'm sure it's something I'll refer back to. This book covers everything you could want to know about all types of cooking skills and techniques. There are a few recipes here, but this is mostly a book of skills, tips and hints in the kitchen. This book is great for anyone looking to improve their skills.
October 10, 2018
This is a great book for presenting cooking techniques for cooks in a very simple way. Some stuff is so simple you wouldn't think it would need to be in a book (but I guess there are some who might not know, or for kids which is great) but this can help to up the game of pretty much any home cook.
September 6, 2018
An incredibly useful instructional cookbook.
March 22, 2025
Still learning how to cook
July 23, 2014
Very general tips, not much new, photography basic and did not enhance the text.
February 5, 2016
basic cookbook, nothing special
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews