Disclaimer: The following review was based upon my personal observation and not from reading these books nor did I cook anything from them. My goal here was to stop you from buying Jacques’ new book because it blows. And Tony’s new book Les Halles Cookbook is something to read from cover to cover several times and never sell.
Well, with that prelude I suppose you know where I’m going with this. The reason I decided to publish this highly irresponsible entry is because I wanted to stop anyone from buying Jacques’s new book as a gift for their ‘foodie’ friend or relative. If you can cancel the order, do it now. If you’re going to spend 20 to 40 dollars on a book, then make someone read or use it for reference, make it worth their time.

Earlier this year I read Jacques Pepin’s The Apprentice. At that point I probably knew what most of you did about Jacques. He’d been cooking for 50 years and did a few shows with Mrs. Child. OH, and he’s French & lives in Connecticut (and doesn’t wash his chickens). Right? After reading his book I really had a lot more respect for the man. In the late 1950’s he cooked for 3 French Heads of State, one of which being the Charles De Gaulle family. As soon as he hit American soil in the beginning of the 1960s he was offered a head chef position for the Kennedys at The White House. Turned that down to work for THE Howard Johnson and at some point had such a horrible car accident he was labeled a human cadaver. I loved the book. So when his new show, Fast Food My Way hit the air waves I was all ears/pans/knives. Literally. He seemed a little stiff, but the food looked really good and it seemed to be somewhat simple and fast. Hence the name of the show. I had to have the book. The cooking at MeatHenge labs has been stale lately, even for me. I truly wanted to bring a new turn to the kitchen here at home. I should have looked closer at the book when I was at the store.
If you’re any kind of cookbook person, you know that if you sit down with it for 10 minutes you can usually glean enough information about the recipes to know whether this is your book or not. I was surprised to find, by just flipping through, the amount of room given for sea type foods. This is fine if you’re A: Rich, or B: have access to fresh sea food. We have good access here, but to feed a family of 4 with sea food would cost a mint. Then I flipped through slower to see what ingredients would be needed and how many per recipe. It would clearly take anywhere from 2 to 4 (probably an average of 3) different grocery stores to cook most of what is in the book. As you slow down even further you notice someone decided to use a VERY VERY light color of ink for introductory paragraphs. I had to go outside in the daylight and open my eyes like a bug to read it (boingoinOING). At this point I figured I’d look at the pretty pictures. Ben Fink takes nice shots, but most of them have the aperture open so far most of the dish, food, flatware is out of focus. Too much drama there. I’m not saying to shoot everything at f32, but dang. Cotton Candy Photography. I’m sure the recipes taste fine, it’s Jacques Pepin for crissakes. But your money can be better spent elsewhere. It’s his way, but they ain’t fast.
On the other side we have Bourdain’s new book, Les Halles Cookbook. (I have gooeseybumbs just typing it). Tony is on his own once again. He’s not flogging some show on Food TV, not flogging a damned thing. I’ve read a handful of paragraphs from all over the book, it’s good. Damned good. If you were to have him teach you each of Les Halles recipes himself, this would be how it’d go. The photographs are great. Not only do you get pictures of food, but you get pictures of ingredients and friends and line cooks. I even recognize a few of his friends from Cook’s Tour.
Here:
“This book aims to be a field manual to strategy and tactics, which means that in the following pages, I will take you by the hand and walk you through the process in much the same way — and in the same caring, sensitive, diplomatic tone — as I would a new recruit in my restaurant kitchen.
Which means that if, from time to time, I refer to you as a “useless screwhead,” I will expect you to understand.”
This is so cool.
Certainly we all love to cook, eat & break bread with friends & family. But we also romanticize about what it might be like to be a real chef in a real kitchen with real calouses on our hands. Most of us know how much real work it is and how little recognition goes to talented cooks everywhere. In Kitchen Confidential Tony gave us a glimpse, now he’s offering us an opportunity really do it. This will be a great read, it’s a great cookbook and an even better gift. Don’t hesitate, go now.
Xo Xo