All the basics are here, as well as variations, as well as some more intimidating stuff which is made less so by lots and lots of bright pictures and snappy hint boxes. I never thought a cookbook by Cordon Bleu would be perky, but this one IS. Seriously, it's like watching a TV show, but in a book.

Definitely buy this book, especially if you want to become educated about the techniques of the masters, and have it become second nature. LOVE IT.

42 of 43 found the following review helpful:

Comprehensive guide  Jul 19, 2000
By Duaa Anwar "Dressage rider/ Author"
There certainly isn't a lack of illustrations in this book. It serves as a practical guide of cooking techniques and covers all aspects and indgredients of cooking, which includes sauces, vegetables, poultry, meat, seafood, herbs and spices, soups, desserts, bakery, dairy, fruits, and literally anything one can think of. However, do not expect to find many recipes, because as the title suggests, the book will be helpful if it used for cooking techniques. If you are eager to learn some basics, this is the book for you.

30 of 31 found the following review helpful:

Perfect for Beginners  Jul 30, 2000

I love this book. As the others say, it is more for techniques and there are not very many recipes, but for beginners the recipes are perfect: broth, sauces, pancakes (from scratch!), etc. that are so basic that they are the basis for tons of other recipes. The illustrated techniques are great and everytime I do a new recipe I bring out the Cordon Bleu book to figure out what the recipe says!.

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

A must have for the gourmet home chef  Oct 06, 2004
By Tortious Interference "Zorkahn"
This book is NOT about following someone else's recipes, it is about explaining culinary knowledge and techniques which provide the foundation required to excel in the gourmet kitchen. Well-layed out format and photos eliminate the intimidation factor.

18 of 20 found the following review helpful:

Falls short of expectations - a "Coffee Table Cookbook"  Feb 11, 2010
By rwizard "rwizard"
This isn't a terrible book, in fact, in some ways it is a nice book. But I was a very disappointed in the level of the material. Based on the title, I expected an Escoffier, Larousse, or perhaps something on the level of James Peterson's "Sauces". What I got was strictly Time-Life or Reader's Digest. Don't misunderstand, it is a lovely book. And perhaps a few years ago I would have been pleased to have it. But it is long on nice pictures and recipes, and very short on the sort of advanced level teaching I expect of a book that claims to be the "complete techniques" of the prestigious Cordon Bleu. If you are a good home cook who is just getting started in broadening your horizons, you will probably like this book. If you have already begun to broaden them, I think you will find this to be a watered down pretense of what it claims to be, only slightly more than an Americanized coffee table book, intended more as a "gift book" to impress the uninitiated, than as a comprehensive treatise to educate serious cooks in the techniques the title purports to offer. It is really too bad, I would very much like to have a book which actually contains what the title of this book promises, but which its' contents fail to deliver. If the title were more honest, perhaps "Illustrated Cordon Bleu recipes for the American Kitchen" or some such, I would rate the book more highly. Instead, they chose to over promise, and under deliver, hence the low rating.

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