Chef’s Corner-Bits
and Bites, by Chef Michael Hutchings
Wanted, A Few Good
Books
I was once accused of being a
chef that cooks from book knowledge, not from experience. My
short reply was that I don’t cook books, I cook food.
That was in 1981 and I now own some 1,200 cook books.
I find that I go to a cookbook
for recipes that are practical, interesting or inspire the creative
process. Recipes to me are like the score to a musical composition.
Preparing a recipe still takes the skill and craft of to bring
it alive and interpret the written words. I always feel a certain
kinship communicating with a fellow culinarian through their
recorded work. Many cookbooks are the personal memoirs of celebrity
chefs. I have books from Mrs. Beaton’s Cookery and Household
Management to How to Serve Man, a spoof on cannibal cooking.
Among my cookbook library is
treasured 1904 first English edition of Escoffier’s Guide
Culinaire. Auguste Escoffier was the super chef of his day.
He wrote books, sold a food product line, was a media star,
presided over grand kitchens and cooked for celebrities and
royalty. He earned the moniker “Chef of Kings and King
of Chefs”.
The fundamentals section in Escoffier’s
book is ageless and should be read and reread. There are timeless
methods for the preparation of stocks, mother sauces, little
sauces, endless recipes for fillet of sole, filet of beef and
the named recipes based on persons or places. Many of the recipes
are a history lesson on a plate. Peach
Melba was named after an opera singer and Tournedos Rossini
after the famous Italian composer.
The famed chef Andre Soltner
said, "When we were young chefs, we were almost forced
by our chef to read Escoffier. To me, it's the basics. We should
not forget these things. The danger is...that young chefs [will]
follow the trends without knowing the classics. And then when
the trend changes, they are stuck. You need this basic training,
and then you can do anything you wish. "
I can only encourage young chefs
to reread the old masters, learn the classic methods much as
a music student learns basic harmony, before you try to improvise.
It’s all in those books.
My essential list for that trip
to a desert island (with lots of food):
Foods of the World (1968-70), Time-Life Books
American Cookery, James Beard
Encyclopedia of Practical Gastronomy, Ali-Bab
Fish & Shellfish: The Definitive Cook's Companion, James
Peterson
Great Italian Cooking, Luigi Carnacina
Joy of Cooking, Rombauer, Becker and Becker
Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne
Le Guide Culinaire, Auguste Escoffier.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Beck, Bertholle, Child
The Complete Asian Cookbook, Charmaine Solomon
The Professional Chef, Culinary Institute of America
The Professional Pastry Chef, Bo Friberg
Tastefully yours,
Chef Michael Hutchings
Michael’s Catering
www.michaelscateringsb.com
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