Larousse Gastronomique Recipe Collection

I am always trying to improve my learning and skill in the culinary art of cooking. These books have more information than I will ever learn, but is said to be a must have for those in this schooling. I hope only to improve.

This is a great book if you don't have the Gastronomique Cookbooks and are looking for only recipes. The shipping was fast, the book was as promised, good condition. It was not for me though because I have Gastronomique, so I passed it on to a friend.

This is an amazing reference collection. The collection has both depth and breadth that can be appreciated by novice and master alike.

If what you want is a thorough French cookbook, this is it. Don't expect to find a recipe for American Meatloaf.

Very resourceful and extensive information. I was surprised at the size of the book(larger that I anticipated).

As another reviewer has noted, "this book is listed as a "hardcover" edition. This collection, in point of fact, consists of 4 paperbound books with a cardboard slipcover." To that, I can add that the cardboard slipcase is incredibly cheaply made. My set arrived with the slipcase torn apart on several edges. It was not damaged, but simply torn by the stress of being moved about with books inside it.That said, it is a very good, if overpriced, resource for serious cooks. It and its companion encyclopedia (which is actually hardback) are great for cooking or just getting ideas.I would give it more stars if the recipes were printed in the traditional English-speaking format, making them easier to evaluate, choose and use. Also, it is upsetting to pay so much for paperbacks, which are unlikely to last very long.In answer to Amazon's question in their guidelines, "What would you have wanted to know before you purchased the product?", I would say, I would have wanted to know that these were paperbacks, not hard bound as stated.With decent editing and durable binding, I would give 4 or 5 stars.

Timeless! A brilliantly crafted book. This is truly a must for any ones kitchen.

First and foremost this book is listed as a "hardcover" edition. This collection, in point of fact, consists of 4 paperbound books with a cardboard slipcover.Secondly, there are no traditional recipes with a list of ingredients followed or accompanied by instructions for preparing the dish. "Recipes" are one paragraph descriptions that list the amount, the ingredient itself, and directions all in the same sentence. Regarding the structure of the individual volumes (Meat, Poultry & Game, Fish & Seafood, Vegetables & Salads, and Desserts) they are divided into chapters covering a major subgroup. For example, in the Meat Volume there is a chapter on Chicken. Within each chapter recipes are listed alphabetically. The authors, in my opinion, have haphazardly mixed recipe titles to include usage of english and foreign names. For example, there is a recipe titled "Chicken Liver Flan Chavette" indiscriminately mixing english, spanish and french terms.The recipes themselves leave a lot to be desired. As an example the above cited "Chicken Liver Flan Chavette" recipe starts out: "Bake a flan case (pie shell) blind. Thickly slice 500 g (18 oz) trimmed chicken livers. Season and saute in hot butter." There are no cross references to where the recipe for a flan case appears (which it doesn't as far as I could find) and the instructions to saute in "hot butter" are useless. It would be more instructive if the authors had considered a statement such as "saute over medium heat until golden brown". Very little thought and testing was used to list these recipes.I would give this book a "0 star" rating if it were available!

:)