Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Professional Chef

Rate this book
"A serious reference for serious cooks." --Thomas Keller, Chef and owner, The French Laundry Named one of the five favorite culinary books of this decade by Food Arts magazine, The Professional Chef is the classic resource that many of America's top chefs have relied on to help learn their cooking skills. Now this comprehensive "bible for all chefs" (Paul Bocuse) has been thoroughly revised and expanded to reflect the way people cook and eat today.

The book includes essential information on nutrition, food and kitchen safety, and tools and ingredients, as well as more than 640 classic and contemporary recipes plus variations. 131 basic recipe formulas illustrate fundamental techniques and guide cooks clearly through every step, from mise en place to finished dishes.


This edition features nearly 650 all-new four-color photographs of fresh food products, step-by-step techniques, and plated dishes taken by award-winning photographer Ben Fink Explores culinary traditions of the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and includes four-color photographs of commonly used ingredients and maps of all regions Written "with extreme vigor and precision" (Eric Ripert), The Professional Chef is an unrivaled reference and source of inspiration for the serious cook.

1232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Loading interface...
Loading interface...

About the author

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
3,130 (53%)
4 stars
1,662 (28%)
3 stars
738 (12%)
2 stars
202 (3%)
1 star
128 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
10 reviews
August 18, 2007
This thing is massive. I've been trying to read all the way through it for over a year and I haven't gotten there yet. They've already got another edition out, which looks like it's even better. The Professional Chef is the Culinary Institute of America's textbook and, as such, is an excellent basic instructional cookbook/reference book on many "standard" recipes and basic cooking techniques. It is aimed at a professional pracitioner, though, so all the recipes are for ten portions. You will have to scale to use the recipes for fewer people. I haven't had any trouble scaling recipes down for 2 to 4 people.

The CIA also publishes a smaller, cheaper version aimed at the home cook, which some may find less daunting. If you're at all serious about cooking, though, this is an invaluable resource.
Profile Image for Heretic.
113 reviews4 followers
March 5, 2014
The thing about this book is it is an excellent source for factual and scientific information about the business of cooking, the chemistry of cooking, and the business of keeping a kitchen running in a sanitary way. The problem is that its not a cookbook for amateurs. Everything is in metric, most of it in grams. Without a proper kitchen scale or an aggressive interest in converting it, you're going to find this a confusing or discouraging source.
Profile Image for Schwa51.
52 reviews
April 11, 2014
One of my favorite library books since I can't justify buying this book yet. An essential resource and so informative. I learned so much just flipping through this book and picking random sections to read. My pan sauces have certainly improved since I first checked this out!
Profile Image for Redsteve.
1,165 reviews18 followers
June 25, 2021
Glancing at some of the other GR reviews, I was hit with a “Are we reading the same book?” reaction, until I realized that my copy is the 1974 4th edition (470 pages) and that by 2006, the 9th edition is up to 1232 pages – so, in a sense, no, not exactly the same book. I found it better in its discussion of the techniques (and the science behind them) of cookery and food safety more than the actual recipes. Part of my problem with the recipes is that the book was written in the mid-20th Century US, which means lots of deep fried foods (“…fried chicken is at home on any menu: the hospital tray…”), gelatin salads, and the need to explain about this mysterious “cold avocado dip” popular in Mexican cuisine. That being said, the section on deep frying is excellent and extensive, if not heart healthy. Additionally, as this book is written for professional cooks, the price points of various dishes is never far from the authors’ minds. The international section is also very much a product of the era, concentrating on American, French, British German, Dutch, and Italian cuisines, with Chinese and Mexican as exotic additions. Overall a 3 (its probably a “4” technique-wise but I’m unlikely to be making many of its recipes).
January 29, 2019
This text, along with a cookbook written by Vincent Price (with a few contributions by Boris Karloff) were delightful finds at a local antique mall. Professional Chef is a fundamentals text for culinary arts programs, so unless you’re cooking for a really large group, you’ll want to reduce volumes for the recipes you want to execute. The real “gift” content in this book is the wealth of tips, techniques and scientific explanations that underscore why some recipes work and others don’t.
Profile Image for Chad.
63 reviews7 followers
Read
October 24, 2007
If you were truly serious about becoming a great cook and could only have one book in your kitchen, this would be it. It really is geared toward professional chefs, however, so many of its recipes call for impractical ingredients like demi-glace. In a home kitchen this can be a real ball-ache.
Profile Image for Robert Lewis.
Author 3 books15 followers
January 20, 2022
If you're looking to become, as the title suggests, a professional chef, or even if you're trying to become a true master of the home kitchen, this is an invaluable reference to add to your library. But before you buy, you should know what it is and what it isn't.

Let's start with what it isn't. It isn't an organized step-by-step course that will take the reader from beginner to advanced. In fact, it's not organized by skill level at all, but rather by topic. As a reference, that's for the best. If you're trying to learn from the very beginning, though, it might be a bit beyond you. It's also not written for the home cook. As the title says, it's meant for aspiring professional chefs, so the techniques, recipes, and quantities presented are intended for the restaurant setting rather than the home setting. It's easy to convert the quantities and most of the techniques are similar enough that it shouldn't be a problem even for the home cook, but it does add an extra step to your preparation.

And now for what the book is. What it is, is over 1,200 pages of nearly (but not quite) everything you need to know to become an accomplished chef. It's beautifully illustrated throughout, covers the basics of countless techniques, and includes hundreds of recipes on which to hone your culinary skills. It's encyclopedic in its scope and contains almost anything you might need to learn about in the kitchen.

In fact, I wouldn't really recommend reading this book straight through cover-to-cover (though that's exactly what I did). Rather, I'd read the chapters relevant to whatever you're trying to learn as you're trying to learn it. Are you trying to learn about all the different cuts of meat you can get from a cow or pig? Chapter 6 has everything you need to know. Want to master the art of sauces? Turn to Chapter 13. And so forth.

Ideally, you'd keep this book in your library and use it as necessary, either in conjunction with a cooking course, a more step-by-step cookbook, or as a trusty reference to which you can always turn as you expand your culinary abilities.
Profile Image for Corey Butler.
138 reviews10 followers
March 22, 2010
This is the official textbook of the Culinary Institute of America. It overviews the basic techniques used by professional chefs, as well as common equipment and ingredients. The coverage is adequate, but not as good as I expected. Much of the material is superficial, and there are large white spaces on most pages where additional pictures or information could have been presented. The pictures themselves are mostly good, with the exception of the photos of diced vegetables, which are useless because they are not scaled to actual size. There is an entire section on world cuisines, which is good, but it would have been better to integrate this into the recipes themselves. A short note about the cultural and historical influences on some of the dishes would have been helpful. Finally, the organization seemed a little awkward due to the way that related techniques and recipes are presented in different locations in the text.

Overall, this is a satisifactory textbook, and a potentially useful reference manual for the home chef. Keep in mind that the recipes are intended for restaurants, so they make a lot of portions unless converted.
103 reviews
Read
November 17, 2014
I've always wanted to know the proper techniques, how I'm supposed to do things. A quick glance, a quick one, it seems I may have found my answer. Today I used it to make a vegetable stock and simple miropoix, done and done. Better still, very few vegetables left in fridge to go bad. My point, most books give you an exact recipe-though this one has though too, it also provides guidelines so you can go at will; with what you have. Helpful
Profile Image for Sandyl.
13 reviews7 followers
June 6, 2011
A must have in your kitchen, even if you just fiddle around from time to time. After I read here and there (its a huge book) I finally found out how to make really great scrambled eggs...how to make a base beschamel sauce for anything! I learned how to cut up a fryer and now I keep my knives sharpened.
6 reviews
March 28, 2012
A good resource for classic, mostly scaleable recipies for the home cook or use to improve upon your understanding of technique before attempting other recipies. One of my favorite go-to books (particularly for pastry cream). See also the CIA chocolate book for blow your mind accessibility to world class confectionary.
Profile Image for Gail.
14 reviews5 followers
January 20, 2020
Love it. Well organized, taught me a lot. I'm not a professional chef, and the batches are huuuge. 12 dozen cookies, lol. But I loved the baking explanations, and after I converted and reduced the batches, cookies turned out great. Some if the ingredients were hard to find in my downtown grocery store, but any serious cook expects these hastles. 10 out of 8, great job!
Profile Image for Pandu.
13 reviews1 follower
July 2, 2008
this book I really recommended to all people that want to be a professional chef. The basic foundation is very strong.

most of dishes that i made from this book could make people to say "very delicious, more and more! superb"

must have!!
Profile Image for Afiq Asyran.
64 reviews19 followers
November 30, 2011
Fundamental knowledge to cook like a chef, this book I used from time to time for my kitchen's check and balance. From pastry, bread baking, sauteing chicken, vegetables, making a salad, preparing chicken stock and many more.
Profile Image for CD .
663 reviews77 followers
December 5, 2011
So you think you can cook? If you can't with this guides help, you may not be able to read either. This newest version of the classic 'how-to-cook-everything' is one of the first must have books for chef, cook, or food lover of any and all skills.

Profile Image for Adam Vigh.
1 review
August 21, 2012
I can't recommend this book highly enough. Don't let the thickness intimidate you, you'll you have such a good time reading it you hardly notice. Wether you an apprentice chef, seasoned vet or just someone who love to cook you'll get something out of the professional chef.
501 reviews1 follower
November 28, 2012
An absolutely wonderful textbook all about food and its preparation. It has basic recipes for the foundation of just about every dish. No chance I'll read it all any time soon, but as a cook's reference and training manual it can't be beat.
Profile Image for Lisa.
314 reviews22 followers
March 23, 2014
An excellent kitchen bible for anyone serious about cooking. I got this from the library to see if it was worthwhile- it is on the pricey side- but I am quite sure I want my own copy now. (I may see about getting a used copy or an older edition.)
6 reviews2 followers
October 2, 2008
This is basically the Textbook used by the CIA. It is oriented toward the professional and the recipes reflect this.
1,761 reviews54 followers
April 2, 2018
This book is true to the title. I'd recommend it highly for people going into cooking but for a person who just wants to learn how to cook this has a bit too much unnecessary content. The chapter on running a business or the pictures of all the different types of veggies jump out as examples. I know they are trying to be complete, but if a professional chef needs a picture to recognize a turnip...
Profile Image for Laurla2.
2,407 reviews5 followers
Read
January 10, 2021
freakin 1200 pages! this book is huge! i only made it about 500 pages in and ran thru all my library renewals so i'll have to return it and request it again.

a very informative book. a bit dry and technical for my taste, and sometimes completely over my head using all its fancy french terms that i'm not familiar with.

definitely not the most user friendly book for the average NOT professional, but containing a wealth of knowledge nonetheless.
Profile Image for Rodney.
171 reviews
January 20, 2021
I won't even pretend to have read this whole thing, but I tend to stare at it for hours like an 80s kid with a Sears Xmas catalog. Probably my favorite cookbook, also my heaviest (7 lbs 13.8 oz according to my flour scale).
Profile Image for Judi.
1,041 reviews16 followers
Read
June 9, 2019
A textbook for professional chefs, some of the recipes are for quantities that would not be used in every day cooking but a good reference for techniques in the kitchen.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.