Sacre Cordon Bleu: What the French Know about Cooking

by Michael Booth

Michael Booth has had his fill of celebrity chefs and their recipes. He wants to know how to cook, not just to follow recipes. So, he burns his cookery books and, together with his young family, heads for a new life in Paris - reasoning that, if anyone can be trusted to make food complicated, it's the French.

He embarks on the ultimate foodie fantasy, enrolling at the world's most famous cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu, whose wise and cranky French chefs begin to transform him into a professional, tutoring him in the fascinating, bizarre and occasionally arcane ways of classical French cooking. Meanwhile, he and his family try to adjust to the challenges of life in Paris: dealing with the park Nazis, sweet-talking the Metro police and trying not to look when the neighbours start having sex out of their window.

In this riveting and hilarious book Booth introduces us to his fellow food-obsessed students from around the world; meets Gerard Depardieu (who reveals why you should never eat vegetables from his grandmother's garden); and hears the extraordinary predictions of the future of food from Hervé This, the founding father of molecular gastronomy.

Booth shares with us the secrets of his training at Le Cordon Bleu and of French cooking itself, explaining how to make the perfect sauce; the secret of great stocks; how to win a fight with a lobster; and how to avoid maiming yourself while cleaning your knives. He explores how France rose to culinary pre-eminence and asks if Paris still deserves its reputation as the culinary capital of the world.

Following both traumas and unexpected triumphs at school, Booth embarks on the ultimate chef's challenge, he goes to work at the Michelin-starred Paris restaurant of the most famous chef in France, Joël Robuchon.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel, Food and Drink

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Michael Booth is an English food and travel writer and journalist who writes regularly for a variety of newspapers and magazines including the Independent on Sunday, Condé Nast Traveller, Monocle and Time Out, among many other publications at home and abroad. He has a wife, Lissen, and two children, Asger and Emil.

In June 2010 Michael Booth won the Guild of Food Writers/Kate Whiteman Award for work in food and travel.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are thinking of becoming a professional chef, then read this book! Michael Brook moves his family (his wife and two young children)from the Uk to Paris so that he can attend the Paris Cordon Bleu School to learn how to become a professional chef. Before leaving the UK he decides that he will have some friends around to witness the burning of his cookbooks............all except Escoffier's - La Guide Cuilinar (the Bible of cooking). Brook's book is a culinary journey of his nine months at Paris's Cordon Bleu School, at the end of which, after experiencing the kitchens of several Paris restaurants, one of which is Michelin starred, Michael decides that the life of a professional chef is not for him. This book is informative, entertaining and very honest. (PS I will remain an amateur cook!).

[Shanna Avila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this read thoroughly. The author’s humor is right up my alley. I was reminded of my own journey through Le Cordon Bleu at every tourné.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book, but it completely put me off large restaurants and French cooking. I find the fussiness and fiddliness of some of the dishes a little ridiculous and the fact that it took the author 20 minutes to plate up a main meal for 4 totally ludicrous. Large restaurants are presented as factory production lines where everyone takes part in the process and noone sees a dish through from start to finish. The author poses a very good question, "where is the love in restaurant food?" especially in those large factory-production gourmet restaurants. I would rather have a meal lovingly presented than a meticulously assembled jigsaw!

[Yoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started reading this to understand what it's like to be passionate about cooking and eating at high-end restaurants. I learned that a small detail and a bit of indulgence in cooking and eating can bring about great joy and color to one's life.

[Aquaphibian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Throw it on the bonfire with the rest of the self-centred cookery books.

[Wouter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like attending a hysterical play between reading the more dry stuff and I must admit that Michael's humor and way of putting things regarding his very personal journey made it impossible for me to put this book down. The fact that I can relate as someone who did an internship in a harsh bakery/restaurant environment made the read so much more satisfying. I liked every minute of it and It's safe to say that as a vegetarian I'll probably never attend a classic cookery class (Belgian cuisine is derived from France). The only thing for me left to do now is start reading his other books!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like an amateurish rough draft by a novice writer. It’s absolutely filled with typos, grammatical nightmares (nearly the entire book is in the passive voice and occasionally bounces between past and present tense in illogical places), is loaded with really, really long sentences, and has a supreme over abundance of punctuation (except for when it’s missing periods). It was so distracting that I couldn’t always follow the “plot.”

Finally, very little in the book actually touched on “what the French know about cooking.”

The reason I give it 2 stars instead of 1? The very end of the book makes a few good points and has some great quotes about cooking for those you love v. being a restaurant chef.

[Annabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy is hilarious. Utter enjoyment.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m hungry.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this author, but greatly prefer his accounts of eating food (this is a personal preference, and I do not think this was a bad book, just not as compelling for me).

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly entertaining book on an interesting theme - the author - a keen British amateur chef - goes to the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. Somewhat let down by a rather rambling style - it has a loose chronological structure but drifts. It includes several recipes but they're more complex than I would be likely to try. More dedicated amateur chefs may really like it.

[Adesuwa Elaiho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am attending the same school as the author in a few months. I have read Kathleen Flinn's book and love the similarities in characters. I like how this book speaks more about his time in Paris. So far a great fun read!

[scarlettraces · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5) highly entertaining and personable, although it made me want to never eat french food. (not that i can anyway, there must be few cuisines less semi-vegan friendly).

[Lucrezia]

Refreshing, hilarious and most informative!

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming account of the travails associated with attending a prestigeous French cooking school in Paris, - and in characteristic Booth style much more about the French and their approach to food

[Elfrieda]

Very entertaining