Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I: 50th Anniversary Edition: A Cookbook: Vol 1 Hardcover – Illustrated, 16 Oct. 2001

For persons just starting their journey into le Cuisine française, this is larger than the bible, the quran and the complete works of the Boddhisattva all at once. This should be in all civilized homes. You want to learn how to cook french food? This is it. No other books comes close.

I bought the paperback edition of this book a few months ago, after having watched the film (of course!). And I must say I didn't expect it to be this good: I didn't really believe I could cook anything French. I still don't know if I can (as I haven't been to France), but what I do cook from Child's recipes tastes really good. I love the way the ingredients are listed (in the order they are to be used), I love the information on preparing certain parts of the dish in advance, the giving of reasons why one should or shouldn't do this and that, the exhaustive explanations on each step of the recipe, and I love the witty comments on various things, which make the book an enjoyable reading instead of a mere cookbook. Therefore, Nigella Lawson's books (which for me are the total opposite of this book - no explanations and no satisfactory results) are gathering dust on my shelves, and this one has been in constant use lately. I'm neither English nor American, so I'm not used to Fahrenheit degrees, pints, pounds, ounces and so on, but there are tables for conversion in the book itself, and the internet will provide whatever was left out of the tables (not that I've found anything missing so far).Print quality is not so good, letters are quite small, the text densely packed on the pages, the paper not so white, and the soft cover prone to water or sauce damage. The book is small and thick and doesn't stay open by itself. But on the other hand, it wasn't expensive, so for me all these physical details are not really an object of complaint. The book is written with a great sense of humour, the recipes detailed and easy to use, the dishes I've cooked are tasty, so for me there's nothing more to ask for!

Exellent little book,

I was given this book for Christmas 1969 and I still own it and use it frequently - although more for just checking my memory over some detail. these days. Its pages have browned and cracked over the years but is still usable (just) I might well replace it at some point. A friend who was staying with me recently asked me to copy out 2 recipes for her. As my arthritic hands find typing accurately a real pain I decided to buy her a copy instead - the one I have just bought.It is a real classic and gives clear and easy to follow instructions for many basic processes which are invaluable for the less experienced and which are the foundation for a lifetime of cooking. The only gripe I have with this particular edition is that the text is so tiny in this later edition than mine which I had not seen before. It does not fit too well with contemporary notions of healthy eating given the richness of the recipes but should be useful for so many classic recipes, the foundations of cooking with a desire for attention to detail and the goal of perfection, as well as occasional treats.

Some books achieve classic status with it being almost impossible to tell why. They are books that everyone buys because they feel they ought to have in their collection but never get round to reading.To many British cooks, this might be a bit of a hidden classic. We have all grown up with Elizabeth David and may not have noticed that the US had their very own Julia Child.She may not have the profile over here as Elizabeth David or Jane Grigson but she should. There is a directness and clarity to her recipes that evoke that classic era of food writing as well as making your mouth water.So yes, this is a classic book that you should own and you should read and you should use. Simple as that!

Like other reviewers, I bought this book after watching "Julie and Julia". I listened to other reviewers and paid more to buy the hardback version. I cannot comment on the paperback version or compare the two, but I am very pleased with the content, explanations, descriptions and diagrams in the hardcover book.When the book arrived I picked it up to flick through it (as you do when a new book arrives), but I became engrossed reading the book and ended up sepnding 5 hours reading it! And in that time (and since that time too) I have learnt so much about food and cooking. This book is an excellent book and can teach you a lot about cooking - especially the basics of cooking.The only slightly negative feature of this book is that a lot of the recipes and techniques require you to flick between pages and recipes, which can become slightly confusing while you are trying to follow a recipe. To overcome this you should read the recipe(s) and techniques throughly in advance of cooking the dish. That said though, I have still become confused and ended up cooking it 'my way' despite reading the recipe(s) before cooking them.I really like this book and I am pleased that I have bought it - it has become my little kitchen bible!

It does,as they say, exactly what it says on the cover. People who buy this are highly likely to have seen the film "Julie & Julia" & will know what to expect,(if you haven`t,see the film or read several reviews of it)Pleasant suprises - measurements are all given in pounds & ounces(I prefer metric myself)I had feared it would all be in those awful American cups!Almost inspired to work my way through it,but someone`s already done that.Looking forward to the delivery of vol2.