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Interesting Books for an Apprentice

post #1 of 11
7/13/09 at 2:58pm
Thread Starter 
I work mostly split shifts in a touristy town far from my home and I generally have a 2 hour break in between shifts. I enjoy killing the time reading about kitchens and cooking. I usually go to the library and check them out so amazing books full of recipes make me sad when I have to return them. What books did you find interesting and recommend to an Apprentice? I've read Kitchen Confidential, Heat, The Art of Simple Food, Slow Food (the case for taste) and The Devil in the Kitchen. These were all entertaining or interesting or thought provoking in some way. I am looking for more titles that will be equally interesting. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks in advance.
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post #2 of 11
7/14/09 at 9:37am
Personally I always loved this book. It's actually kind of hard (or was) to come by.
9780810909694: Great Chefs of France: The Masters of Haute Cuisine and Their Secrets - AbeBooks - Blake, Anthony;Crewe, Quentin: 0810909693
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post #3 of 11
7/14/09 at 12:29pm
Take a look at Harlod McGee's On Food and Cooking, gives you a scientific approach to food.
You may also want to looking into a few books about human digestion and how the body works.
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post #4 of 11
7/15/09 at 8:16am
A few of my favorites...

From Michael Ruhlman:

"The Making of a Chef"
"The Soul of a Chef"
"The Reach of a Chef"

"The Perfectionist" - Rudolph Chelminski

"Letters to a Young Chef" - Daniel Boulud

"The Apprentice" - Jacques Pepin

"Cooking for Kings" - Ian Kelly
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post #5 of 11
7/17/09 at 5:53pm
The Joy of Cooking is like the bible. But that's recipe and information orientated, but in my opinion everyone should own a copy. It has just about everything in it, let me tell you ...
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post #6 of 11
7/18/09 at 2:50pm
I used this book all the way through college to test myself

Questions and answers for Practical cookery by Ceserani , Kinton and Foskett

Me n chef sons quiz each other with it and i refer to it often

Its a great Q&A mine is the 8th edition so that speaks volumes

Ceserani and Kinton were my text books at college
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post #7 of 11
7/19/09 at 11:53am
I know you mentioned you've read it but I've gotta say it anyway...

Kitchen Confidential is by far the book I hold dearest to me. I live my whole kitchen life and style myself by that book. Love It. I find Bourdains views of the kitchen meld very well with mine. I've just read Marco Pierre White's autobiography and it just didn't affect me the same way. But I guess that is just because of his approach. I think If i were in either of their kitchens I would respond much more positively towards Bourdain's style. Sorry little off topic.

The other great cook book though is Marco Pierre White's cook book "White Heat"

Bourdain's cook book "Les Halles"

and a great pastry book by Michel Roux called "Pastry"
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post #8 of 11
7/20/09 at 8:13pm
Kitchen confidentals was most inspiring for me. It just made everything more clear. Devil in the kitchen was great! I followed that read up with roasting in ****'s kitchen, Ramseys auto bio. I also enjoyed The seasoning of a chef by Doug Psalsits(?) it talked a lot about his travling, staging and working in kitchens like Ducasse and Boley.
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post #9 of 11
7/27/09 at 5:25pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I just took out "The Apprentice" and will work my way through your suggestions.
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post #10 of 11
7/29/09 at 12:06am
I just answered in another forum about a question whether it was right to emulate a chef or not. I thought of a book I read many, many years ago by a German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, called "Letters to a Young Poet", an inspirational set of ten letters he wrote to student who was attending the same high school he graduated from. He, Rilke, discussed how he studied and was an apprentice of the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin. Now here is what is interesting, Rilke didn't sculpt stone, figuratively he sculpted the German language. He goes on to explain the nature of the artist. That being an artist is not about art, stone, words or paint, it's about the manner a person lives and the art being an extension of that. How we live is an art form and the art we produce is a reflection of that. I was disappointed in Boulud's "Letter's to a Young Chef" because Rilke had focused on the importance of humility. Humility is everything. Still I think that even a master like Boulud can emulate someone else using another medium, food in this case, as Rilke emulated Rodin.

~ Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions ~Rainer Maria Rilke

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post #11 of 11
7/29/09 at 5:26pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you...that's actually pretty profound
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