Why aren’t the recipes for this book available on ckbk?

We are building our collection of cookbooks all the time. This book is on our wish list, but it is not yet available on ckbk.

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Recommended by

Roopa Gulati

Chef, food writer and broadcaster

I used both volumes of this book as part of the training schedule for trainee chefs while I was working at the Taj Hotel in Delhi. We spent hours simmering demi glace, getting the bouillabaisse and rouille just-so - often starting again when we missed the mark. The pages from this book soon fell out from overuse (and from getting too close to the stockpot) and had to be rebound in utilitarian hardback cover. But all the recipes have stood the test of time, the yellowing pages a recognition of our teamwork, the successes, occasional failures, and fond memories of my five years at the hotel.

Erin Jeanne McDowell

Cook, food writer and food stylist

This is the first cookbook I read like a novel - from cover to cover. In addition to learning so many basic techniques that helped me in every aspect of my cooking life, I loved the way Julia wrote her methods - she didn't mince words, but she knew exactly when to delve deeper. In fact, it was even better than a novel, because every recipe was a whole story - and I wasn't sad when it ended, because I then needed to go back and start cooking.

Dan Lepard

Baker and food writer

Arguably taught generations of cooks how to appreciate the detail and skills found in traditional French cooking, explained in outrageous detail with recipes that ran for many pages. It was the first recipe book I bought in 1991 when I started cooking, and it both fascinated and alarmed me about what preparation of good traditional French food involves. Still charming and inspiring cooks today.

Annabel Langbein

Author and celebrity cook

These days I find this food too rich and too fiddly, but these two volumes were the first cookbooks I owned, gifted to me by my mother when I was just 14. She knew I was a cook well before I did. The lobster thermidor is a well-marked page from my days as a lobster fisher – I think it has 23 ingredients and seven different steps, and about as many calories as you need in a whole week!

Kate Young

Blogger and cookbook author

A predictable choice, I know, but Child’s instructions are precise, detailed and foolproof. The book is so clearly a labour of love; meticulously tested, and such a brilliant manual for learning the basics of French cuisine. I have learnt so much from it over the years.

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