I’d like to introduce you to The Professional Chef, 7th Edition, by the Culinary Institute of America. Yes, the actual textbook used by CIA students. Need I say more? This little (actually rather large) gem is the most recent addition to my ever expanding cookbook collection. I’ve been eyeing it for some time now, but just recently gave into temptation and bought it.
I’m sure it’s probably mildly strange to get this excited over a textbook, but knowing that hasn’t dampened my spirits any. This book is truly amazing and I would say a must have for all food enthusiasts. It covers everything! As it should I suppose, it is a textbook. The techniques are demonstrated clearly with step-by-step instructions and it’s loaded with pictures. I would recommend it to anyone. At least to anyone that I think might care about the detailed effects of heat on starches, or that broccoli is part of the cabbage family.
The only potential downside to the book would be the size of the recipes. They can be quite large. So, you do need to be quite comfortable with downsizing measurements. If not, the worst case scenario is you end up with 6.5 lbs of Italian buttercream. Seriously, worse things could happen.
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