Years ago, being a cook was not a profession, it was a job generally learned in the kitchen itself. Hospitality schools were scarce and only a few could go to Switzerland or France to study to become a great chef. Madrid was also a reference center for cuisine since the National Higher Hospitality School was inaugurated in 1959. Many of the great chefs began their training there, such as the Peruvian Gastón Acurio, Alberto Chicote, Mario Sandoval, Juan Mari Arzak and Pedro Subijana, among many others.
In recent years, wanting to be a cook or chef has been dignified to such an extent that schools for professionals and also for amateurs have proliferated. Taking a cooking class or wanting to be a chef is a trend, a fever, a necessity. Some want to see their dream of haute cuisine fulfilled; others imagine themselves being one of the participants of the popular program MasterChef; and many, without further ado, simply want to eat healthy, delicious and ‘with substance’. But each and every one of them has the need to expand their studies with the lessons transmitted through the best gastronomy books on the market. Here are six of the references that should be on the shelves of future chefs:
Two essentials, Harold McGee’s Cooking and Food and The Encyclopedia of Flavors, by Niki Segnit, both from Editorial Debate. The first is that gastronomic ‘oracle’ that answers all the questions you may have about the origins, techniques or evolution of food. The second book is a necessary diversion, a commitment to risk combining ingredients in a dish. According to the author: “I started writing this book first by making a list of flavors (…) Then, I classified them by categories (…) Later came the combinations, the recipes (…), using abundant references of the science of flavors, history, culture, the wisdom of chefs and personal prejudices.”
The book is also in this line The art and science of Foodpairing, edited and translated by Neo-Cook, in whose introduction they already warn us: “Certain combinations of ingredients may seem strange at first, but only because we lack references.” Under this premise the science of food pairing, that is, the search for the ‘perfect’ harmony between flavor and essential aroma. The book is very useful for those who want to take risks in preparing their dishes or want to study how different ingredients can give a spectacular result in the mouth. “The history of food pairing begins with a dish created by chef Sang-Hoon Degeimbre: a raw oyster served on kiwi cubes, with croutons and a coconut-lime cream. Kiwi and oysters have a marine aromatic note in common. This is possible? From the need and search for answers this ‘science’ was born. The book is a gem, profound and well illustrated, with more than ten thousand flavor combinations that, according to the title, “will transform the way you eat.” Without a doubt, a necessary manual for professionals and students looking to achieve ‘umami’ in their preparations.
From the search for flavors to the need to perfect the technique. For this, two books: Cooking with Joan Roca. Basic techniques for cooking at home (Editorial Planeta) and Paul Bocuse Institute The school of culinary excellence, edited by Larousse. The first is indispensable, not only because it is a wonderfully edited book, but because it is very useful. A manual where the three Michelin star chef outlines the basic needs that every ‘future chef’ must take into account to work in a kitchen. It is very well structured: first, the products; second, the utensils; third, the pre-preparations, cuts, sauces and first infusions and macerations. And, fourth, at the end of all this masterclass begins an illustrated step-by-step recipe book that covers everything from tempuras, pickles or the first steps to sous vide cooking. Joan Roca’s book has now been published for ten editions and, without a doubt, continues to be one of the best for those who need a book to support their studies or, simply, their passion for gastronomy requires them to understand, practice and enjoy cooking.
The second book, by Paul Bocuse, known as the ‘father of new cuisine’, is a voluminous manual, perfectly edited, with step-by-step photographs, where the reader is immersed in a sublime lesson in traditional cooking. What will we find? More than 250 techniques explained step by step and illustrated with 1800 photographs.
Finally, for those in advanced courses or for those who are dedicated to haute cuisine research, they should have the Modernist Cuisine: The art and science in the kitchen, by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young and Maxime Bilet (Taschen). Nothing like it has been published about avant-garde cuisine, with great quality paper and a commitment to photography, often dissected or ‘deconstructed’, showing us the innards of a recipe. Written by scientists, creators and chefs, we find five takes on cutting-edge techniques, pure science of gastronomy. The publisher released a single volume, Modernist Cuisine at home (Taschen), for those who, without being professionals, want to learn about cooking and science. The book is a summary, concise and totally dependent on the other five volumes (they refer you to this book constantly), but it is a good option for those who are taking their first steps.
#essential #gastronomy #books #chef