Product Description

Pierre Gagnaire is a considered one of the finest chefs in the world. He was at the forefront of the fusion movement, blasting through established conventions of classic French cooking by introducing jarring juxtapositions of flavours, tastes, textures and ingredients. He is the owner of the eponymous Pierre Gagnaire in Paris and Head Chef of Sketch in London, two restaurants that in 2005 were ranked in the top 20 in the world by the industry magazine "Restaurant". And in 2006, the magazine ranked Gagnaire as the third best chef in the world.This memoir/cookbook is a delightful tour of his life and recipes as a cook since 1966, from his first very simple recipe, a potatoes gratin, to the last, a flower-shaped haddock. Beautifully illustrated, the book is a testament to Gagnaire's ever-expanding palate as an expert chef who considers himself a beginner, and that his most amazing recipe is yet to come.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11783 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 200 pages

About the Author
Pierre Gagnaire was born into a family of restauranteurs and opened his first restaurant in 1980. He is the Author of STC's Pierre Gagnaire: Reflections on Culinary Artistry. Jean-Francois Abert writes for the Dauphine Libere and has collaborated on numerous cookbooks. Photographer Peter Lippmann has worked in Paris for 25 years. He contributes regularly to Vogue, the New York Times magazine, Marie Claire and Le Figaro.

Customer Reviews

Great recipes but poor illustrations
This book is produced by Pierre Gagnaire who has held the title of the 3rd best restaurant in the world for the past few years (El Buli and the Fat Duck being 1st and 2nd respectively.

It is a good quality book with about 50 michelin 3 star recipes. As usual with these books some recipes are very do able by the skilled home chef and others really need a brigade of chefs. That does not bother me as with all these books you are pushing the envolope as to what is possible at home which I like.

Although the recipes are on a par with the French Laundry (Thomas Keller 4th best restaurant)and Recipes of a 3 star chef (Gordon Ramsey) the book is not as sumptuous as these works in terms of layout and photos. Both of these books particularly the French Laundry have a wow factor which is a little lacking in this book. This a comparative statement however because if you had not seen these other two you might be impressed.

Although some of the recipes have photos with them 80% do not and although the dishes have assembly instructions I prefer a photo to aim for so for me this lets it down compared to the aforementioned works.

That said I like the fact that he has given 3 star recipes for this book from the last 40yrs of his practice and has included the menus on which these dishes appeared to set them in context.

At the end of the day I buy a cookbook for recipes and cookbooks from 3 star chefs for 3 star recipes. On this level therefore the book unquestionably delivers and will take pride of place with Recipes from a 3 Star Chef, the The French Laundry Cookbook, Essence: Recipes from Le Champignon Sauvage and soon the The Big Fat Duck Cookbook(Heston Blumenthal)

Classic Must have
Having read most 3 star chefs books and tried to understand where they are coming from i found myself reading this book and what can i say its truly eye opening.
it gives an insight into this world class chef and his cusine and anyone who loves food and i mean LOVES food this should be on there to read list.

Beautiful book - impossible recipes
I was terribly dissapointed with my recent attempt to cook guinea fowl breasts described in this book. I am a professional cook and continually try new recipes that can be used to extend my repertoire. When cooking from a book I normally follow any recipe to the letter but I am afraid that the result of this dish was inedible. A splendid addition on the coffee table but which should never be relied upon in the kitchen. Too expensive. I gave the book away.