The Complete Thomas Keller: The French Laundry Cookbook & Bouchon

The books arrived in excellent condition, they are high quality books. The other reviewer mentioned the quality of the paper isn't high, I disagree, I think it's great. I bought this book for my wife. She is from Hong Kong and already cooks amazing chinese food (her father is head chef at an LA Chinese restaurant). She's now venturing into french food and has made several dishes (more so from Bouchon) My wife is a former paralegal, now a stay at home mom. She's had no formal training from a cooking school. With that in mind, she can realistically make about 30% of the food from French Laundry and about 50% of Bouchon's recipes. The reason why they are so difficult is that it is tough to find fresh food that is mentioned in the book. You don't find rabbit, frog legs or veal at the local Schnucks or commissary (we're military). Some of the techniques require tools that aren't readily available to regular "non-chef" consumers. Bouchon - Our favorite has been the flatiron steak and the trout from Bouchon. My wife said it was fairly simple to make. Very little prep time. The french fries came out delicious and they too were easy to make. French Laundry - The salmon tartare came out nice. Again, the directions were easy to follow. The rest of the dishes in this book however are much more involved. The book itself has great pictures had great write-ups on certain techniques. While the books were expensive (We normally get $5 cookbooks from the bargain bin), they are well worth it. I am one lucky man . ..

So much more than just cookbooks. These are documents of an artist's work and of his inspirations. I'm a vegetarian, so honestly much of these recipes I find to be ethically troublesome to read through... however I can't ignore the fact that most of the world does not eat a strict vegetarian diet. For the sake of learning about the traditions and culture behind French cooking, Keller offers a truly remarkable approach and outlook on producing and using ingredients in a respectful, sustainable manner. The French Laundry and Bouchon offer a tremendously thoughtful exploration of our relationship with food, as people, through the lens of Keller's creative adaptation of traditional French cuisine. So many chefs who attempt to make their own adaptation of a given culture's traditional food end up infusing it with so much flare or outside elements that it no longer resembles anything French, or Italian or Mexican, etc. Despite Keller's creativity, however, I feel that he pays a great deal of attention to keeping the traditions of French cooking and culture as a solid foundation. These cookbooks are not for casual at-home cooking but they are great reading and an inspiring resource. As a cookbook Keller's books are probably going to offer the most use to an aspiring chef or the professional chef who has a full kitchen and a skilled staff and appreciative customers at their disposal. If you're simply looking for impressive French recipes to cook at home, try Pinterest... or maybe "The Country Cooking of France" by Anne Willan, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, or "French Classics Made Easy" by Richard Grausman. If you appreciate the impact of the philosophy and creativity of masterful chefs, like Thomas Keller, and if you find it exciting to catch a glimpse into a significant artists' workshop (regardless of whether or not you end up wanting to try cooking these impressive dishes), then you will most likely love this collection.

What do you expect from Thomas Keller? Only the best, right? You got it. The book is beautiful, and pictures give you a really good idea of the final dish, the recipes are well explained and delicious, he teaches tricks and give advices about quality as well as tell a couple of stories about himself. My only con is that is not a book for quick recipes. It is for foodies, if you are thinking about 15 minutes meals you will not find here, and honestly, if you are looking for 15 minutes meal, you are not looking for Thomas Keller.

I am so happy with this set. As a longtime admirer of The French Laundry I was extremely excited to get my hands on a few of the recipes to try at home. Beautiful photography, inspiring stories, and purveyor featurettes set these books apart from the average cookbooks. There is so much passion within these pages, and the recipes are fantastic. If you're looking for food to impress, you can find it in The Complete Thomas Keller.

Beautifully written and photographed book! Chef Keller never disappoints, he is a master at fabulous everyday and sophisticated inventive cuisine with a very creative eye form the kitchen to his cookbooks and restaurant designs. His cooking principles of locally sourced foods makes his creations that much more delicious. Great books to have in your cooking library!

Fanciest cook books I have. This came in a set with the Bouchon cookbook. Thomas Keller is very detail oriented. It's an interesting read and has lots of good recipes. Lots of focus on technique. I went to the Bouchon restaurant and loved it....

Keller is great. I immensly enjoyed my visit to French Laundry, really enjoyed Bouchon and not so much Ad Hoc. However, FL was enough to know how big this chef is. If you can afford it or if you're in a restaurant business - don't miss it. Get the book now or later. But do both - the book and restaurants.

Great cookbooks that arrived well ahead of their scheduled delivery date. Can't wait to try out some of the amazing recipes.

Quick clear up. This set comprises of both standard individual books, The French Laundry and Bouchon with a nice printed hardboard sleeve (pictured). The addition of the hardboard sleeve to slot both books in along with the price is the only difference in buying both books separately. Onto the review. I knew I wanted The French Laundry to challenge myself and take my cooking to another level, but wasn't really drawn to Bouchon particularly (I have a lot of "normal" cookbooks). However when I purchased this from Amazon it was an extra £8 on top of The French Laundry to get Bouchon thrown in (Bouchon RRP £40), so I thought why not and ended up surprised how much I like the Bouchon book. They are books to bring out at different times. TFL is all about haute cuisine but Bouchon is much more homely cooking (although very refined may I add). I think of Heston's in search of perfection with Bouchon. Down to earth dishes but Keller is not making compromises. The French Onion soup in the book is meant to be the best it can be and that requires time, care and attention. They are by no means quick convenience food recipes, you still need to do some work. TFL is not for the faint of heart. Read the reviews on the individual TFL page as it is all covered there. Both books feature a lot of recipes. Only one thing disappointed me slightly and that was some recipes have no picture so you cannot be sure that you have the presentation exactly how Keller does it. I've not marked down for this though as they are big books and more pictures would only make them bigger, maybe a smallish thumbnail shot would be a solution for future books.

Einmalig

Chiunque abbia a cuore la storia della ristorazione e delle cultura culinaria di questo secolo deve aver avuto in mano almeno una volta nella vita questo cofanetto, e sfogliato questi due libri di Thomas Keller: il primo è una interpretazione moderna e personale della pur classica alta cucina francese; il secondo, della sua versione bistrot, gustosa e popolare. Non c'è niente di più invitante del modo, puntuale e sottile, con cui nei due testi vengono descritti procedimenti e ricette, seguendo la strada della più chiara trasmissibilità di un sapere che altri cuochi rendono mistico, geloso e nascosto. Sono di fatto libri educativi, libri che insegnano a chi vuol mettere di suo tenacia e intelligenza, e niente sembra complicato quando anche l'eleganza e lo stile razionale seguono mano e buona esecuzione. Libri di concordanza, di culture e generazioni, che riconciliano col mestiere e con il fornello, anche con quello di casa.

Being a Chef for more that 15 years and this book is helping me to understand the vision from a giant like Chef Keller

Es uno de los mejores libros de cocina que tengo, haber descubierto a este cocinero ha sido una gran revelación. Cuenta mucho de su filosofía y de su historia, pero vale la pena porque inspira mucho conocimiento y técnica que para los de casa es más que sobresaliente.