LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHEF

Name: LETTERS TO A YOUNG CHEF
Author: Daniel Boulud
ISBN: 0-465-00735-X

by Daniel Boulud ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2003

Something more fascinating than advice and admonitions: the chance to live briefly inside the head of a great chef who keeps...

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Stern but realistic advice to those with their hopes pinned on the art of cooking, along with some strangely obvious culinary comments for such an audience.

Boulud’s short, formal-toned work is ostensibly aimed at those who have already logged some substantial hours in the kitchen: “You, on the other hand, having spent three years in cooking school, know a lot more about our craft than I did when I threw myself into this career.” But why, then, does he write, “It all starts with heating the ingredients”? Doesn’t his audience know, when it comes to roasting and sautéing, that this is the case, or that “braising means to cook on a braisier”? Such comments suggest that Boulud, celebrated chef at New York’s four-star Daniel, among others, is reaching for a wider audience, but it also reveals a modest lack of focus, for most home cooks don’t need to know his more arcane details—for instance, that venison “does not have space in its fibers to absorb and hold moisture.” Still, there’s information here that anyone with a glimmer of interest in top-level kitchen life will find intriguing, including even the dedication: “When you are not working, you are thinking about work.” Boulud tells us everything from where the profits come from (dessert and wine) and what the team character of a great kitchen is like (woe to the sous-chef who forgets that “there is only room for one ego in a kitchen when the crush of service is on”), to the need for paying your dues at each station in the kitchen and the absolute necessity of attention to detail, from the quality of the ingredients to the welcoming smile of the maitre d’.

Something more fascinating than advice and admonitions: the chance to live briefly inside the head of a great chef who keeps more balls in the air than any juggler ever attempted.

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2003

ISBN: 0-465-00735-X

Page Count: 176

Publisher: Basic Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2003

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

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THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.