Customer Reviews
Mavellous book at a great price - By: Steve S, 06 Sep 2008 
What a beautiful book! I have coveted the large format version of this book for some time Grand Livre De Cuisine: Alain Duccasse's Culinary Encyclopedia but I could not justify the price. In this format the book is just as beautiful & now affordable.
It is presented as an encyclopaedia of ingredients with recipes to cook them. Beginning with Acacia blossom, artichokes & asparagus ending with wood pigeon, woodcock & zucchini. There are for example 20 individual Asparagus recipes each complete with full colour pictures, a huge 29 Sea Bass recipes.
The recipes are clearly presented, well laid out, each one with a picture of the finished dish with presentation instructions. The book does assume a high level of culinary skill, there are no descriptions of techniques.
On the down side, mistakesin the translation from French to English are not uncommon. Sometimes it means you need to read the text through again to extract the meaning, other times there are errors translating the units. For example one recipe calls for a 73lb (3.5kg) Sea Bass or 1 3/4 fluid ounces is repeatedly translated as (50 CL) which is half a litre. You have to read the recipe carefully to work out which is correct.
Would I recommend this book? Oh Yes! If you have a foodiein the family this is the ideal gift, especially at this price. For anyone with a good level of culinary skill this book is an essential addition to the cook book library. I would have given five stars but for the errorsin translation.
Alain Ducasse's Culinary Dictionary - By: V. Oscarsson, 01 Jul 2008 
Review of Alain Ducasse's Culinary Dictionary
Hard to know how far culinary gods can go for further recognition when their empires are booming. I was truly disappointed by this tome, which should have been ambitiously wonderful had it been given more consideration & time to perfect.
Perhaps it would like to be an encyclopedia but rather seems to this reader to be intense cookbook trying to cover all fancy gastronomic bases. One can, of course, get ideas but recipes appear not properly tested so you need to have a serious command of the kitchen to find your way with stocks, sauces, details of the dish etc. In this way, the average serious cook may feel intimidated. After seven hundred recipes, I rather doubt too many copies will have that worn-in feeling a great cookbook develops when used & loved.
The translation into English is full of mistakes. Once remaindered for a good price - the book will be worth it for gorgeous photographs. The original or updated Larousse Gastronomique from 1996 is full of cross references, fun, traditional, inspiring & anything you want it to bein comparison except perhaps his presentation of so-called `haute, haute' cuisine. Hard to know how much Ducasse wanted to look like the king along with the five chefs who assistedin this endeavor. How much more does he need to show off.
As a serious foodie, serious amateur chef for thirty-five years & writer, I prefer to rave not demote. In this case, sadly, the book might do better as an impressive doorstop with a top brand name.
An impressive attempt at putting Ducasse's culinary artistry into a book - By: Graham Roberts, 07 Mar 2008 This is a beautifully presented book showcasing hundreds of creations to come out Ducasse's kitchens. It is not for nothing that this man has three triple-starred restaurants; the quality of his work is extraordinary.
It is probably fair to say that most people wouldn't buy this for the recipes (if you are looking to attempt many of the dishes, you'll need deep pockets, excellent local food suppliers & a well-equipped kitchen, not to mention an extraordinary amount of skill). However this doesn't detract from its beauty as a book for the coffee table & to promote discussion.
My only negative point is that this edition is probably too small to do many of the pictures justice - if you are willing to pay the price for the upgrade to the large format edition it is probably worth it.
great book for the price! - By: BayArea Foodie, 09 Nov 2007 
i first saw this book about a year ago. the chef at the restaurant i work at has a copy & after allmost an hour of looking at it decided i needed it, only problem was the price tag which was £160. when i saw this bookin a revised edition for only £40 i didnt know quite what to think. at first i thought it must be paperback but then found out it was hardcover. well....it came today & i can tell you the only difference is the page size. no, i'm not talking about the ammount of pages but only the actual size of the page. its about the size of A4 paper, but i see that as a plus not a minus!
the book is layed out alphabetically & goes by ingredient. its ONLY recipes though. nothing inspirational as far as quotes of philosophies but if you looking for recipes you can adapt to somthing of your own then this is the ticket. it's all very ducassein style. very minimalist & lets the products speak for themselves. the only thing that i think may be a bad point to the home cook is the reaccuring theme of truffles, foie gras ect. it's food thats decadent & not really home cook kinda stuff. if your someonein the professional world though its a keeper & well worth the £26.
