[.uk] Culinary Artistry (ISBN 0442023332)

Amazon.com Review:
If you really find food fascinating--the idea of food, working with food, and the eating of food--then Culinary Artistry should be on your bookshelf. There are two books at work here. One is What Chefs Have to Say About the Foods They Create. The other is Fun with Food Spread Sheets. A cynic might suggest that after putting together Becoming a Chef, the authors had so much leftover interview material that Culinary Artistry was but the natural outcome. The chef's point of view, however, would be to make use of everything passing through the kitchen, to throw nothing away. In other words, if Becoming a Chef is an entrée, then Culinary Artistry is the special of the day. The book is divided into sections that discuss and reach out to chefs to join in that discussion of such ideas as the chef as artist, dealing with sensory perception in food, composing with flavors, putting a dish together, putting together an entire menu, and standing back to admire the growth of a personal cuisine. This is thoughtful material. It is not how-to material. These guided conversations are made practical for the home cook by charts such as which foods are in season and when, the basic flavors of foods (bananas are sweet; anchovies are salty), food matches made in heaven (lamb chops with aioli or ginger or shallots), seasoning matches made in heaven (dill and salmon), flavors of the world (Armenia means parsley and yogurt), common accompaniments to entrées (beef and potatoes), and, most fun of all, the desert-island lists of many of the chefs quoted so extensively throughout the text. Many recipes accompany the text. How this will affect any individual's own culinary art, be that professional or personal, remains unclear. It may be as private an experience as reading. For the uninitiated, this book will prove that there's a lot more going on with food and restaurants and chefs than they may ever have imagined. --Schuyler Ingle

A must have book for those who want to learn more about food.:
This book is great for anyone that wants/needs help with pairing flavors and dishes. A must have for any culinarian.

A Terrific Book - allows for new thinking on food.:
This book opens my mind to new ways of thinking about food and it's presentation. It has excited me about planning for what might be used to enhance the food experience. I have always felt that a wonderful meal should be an exciting experience -- not just something to stop hunger - or to fill one up!!! Thank you for presenting such a book.

wow:
this is the best book i have ever seen. it doesn't matter if you're a chef or never cooked a thing in your life, this boo is essential to your existence. just do yourself a favor and buy this book you wont be disappointed.

Where are the pictures?:
This book is filled with all sorts of information about food prep and techniques and flavor blending. However, where are the pictures? The title makes it sound as though the book will be filled with all sorts of beautiful images, but the cover is all you really get. Food art is more than simply taste, but it is also presentation. This book lacks presentation.

Great book, but now outdated:
This book has been in nearly every restaurant kitchen since it was published for one reason: the chart of flavor companions. But now that the authors have published the Flavor Bible, which is basically a big version of that chart, this book is now largely worthless. Maybe new chefs or other budding foodies might find it interesting reading, but that's about it.