The Private Chef

by Richard Florczak

The recipes and techniques in this book lend themselves very well to the home cook or aspiring private chef. They are easy, delicious and visually sensational. For over 20 years Chef Richard Florczak has been the premier private chef working for celebrities. His no-spin approach bodes well for the cook who shops for the groceries, stocks the pantry, preps, cooks, and serves the meal. From Mediterranean to Mexican, the recipes are his collection of favorites. From Sashimi to Double Chocolate Cake every palate will be satisfied. Chapters include Shopping, Richard s Pantry, Starters, Main Courses and Desserts. Serving two different ways; once in an everyday fashion and once in an upscale presentation superbly photographed. The Forward is by Jennifer Garner.

166 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2006

Reviews

[Darren]

Many stand in awe of well known international chefs who strut their culinary stuff in celebrated kitchens around the world, yet an even more exclusive, often less publicly-known group exists in the shadows, catering for an often more-exclusive customer. The private chef, catering often for royalty, movie stars and top business executives will often travel with their patron, giving them familiar dishes that they know and love wherever they find themselves in the world, and be rewarded for their troubles.

Here author Richard Florczak, who has acted as private chef to many stars including Mel Gibson, details his journey into the Hollywood catering elite and provides for the regular person a look at many favourite recipes as well as insight into many key techniques and time-saving tips that can be of great use to the home cook or fellow professional.

This is a richly-illustrated coffee table-style book which was quite pleasurable to browse through, with text not requiring a magnifying glass (a bonus for those with slightly older eyes). Clearly written from a North American perspective, many brand name food items may not be available locally and it could have been nice to have a "generic" approach being taken for a more international audience, but this is just a minor niggle.

The recipes, themselves, do not shout five star cookery by name and ingredients, so one does not have to be afraid of needing to buy large amounts of Beluga caviar and only the very best meat cuts, which is a good down-to-earth thing to see. Yet the author has managed to transform these ingredients into something very special that could easily grace the table of an upscale restaurant, a private dinner party aboard a luxury yacht or even on a tray in front of the television in the family room. Universal, loveable dishes indeed.

Cooking instructions are quite sparse but to the point. A little more flesh on the bones might not have been a bad thing, but not at the expense of flowery language being used as padding as that would have been a distraction. So overall it is better to be concise than verbose!

All in all an interesting book. This might be one of those you need to browse at a bookseller to see if it "gels" with your style, tastes and values, but if you fancy a slightly different sort of inspiration and feel so inclined to buy blind, you probably won't be disappointed.

The Private Chef: Hollywood's Premier Private Chef And the Recipes & Techniques That Got Him There, written by Richard Florczak and published by The Hamilton Group. ISBN 0-9773295-0-X, 162 pages. Typical price: USD30.


// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //