Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (Culinary Institute of America) Hardcover – January 1, 2008

I am home cook who really loves appetizers. So this book was really exactly what I was looking for! Very detailed guidelines starting from the basics and all over to decorating and finishing. High quality photos, including step-by -step ones, as well as a great variety of recipes. There are dedicated chapters for each type of cold food, such as salads, sandwiches, terrines/pates/galantines, cheese, cold soups, condiments etc. There is also a really inclusive chapter fro charcuterie, as well as a section for the basics (stocks, sauces etc).As it includes a great number of techniques and cooking tips, i consider this a very good guide for any type of cooking. Moreover, judging from the recipes i 've tried till now i do not see any difficult to ingredients, which is really surprising if you consider that it's actually a professional oriented cookbook.I strongly recommend this to anyone who wants to know what to prepare for a gourmet party and surprise his friends but at the same time deepen his knowledge in cooking !

I got this book for my garde manger class. The book is well written, pretty much clear explanation, easy to follow and has beautiful photos. The recipes are great and delicious. The paper quality is good. However, there are small errors found in this book. For example, one of the recipes calls for beef briskets but in the photos under this recipe, they used round or tenderloin instead of briskets. It's kind of confusing. I guess it's probably easier to use round just for taking a photos. Anyway, I would recommend to get this book if you are in culinary school or interested in garde manger. It's definitely worth it!

Lovely photographs enhance this book. There are so many new techniques to try, and new recipes to create. It shows you how to present beautiful cold plates, with very tasty dishes. I bought this for my daughter who has two culinary degrees from a famous university. SHE loves the book, and often takes it with her when she goes to her work at a famed restaurant, where she is the Garde Manger. Excellent information presented in a very approachable manner whether you are a chef by vocation or avocation.

I wasn't too sure what I was getting with this book until it arrived. Amazing! We "hot" smoke meat a lot and are just getting into "cold smoking" along with sausage making. This book has the best smoking and sausage making sections that I have seen in a cookbook for years! It speaks to be healthy and kitchen safe. It is easy to read and follow. I highly recommend this book for your collection.

The book was needed for class, and so far it has huge amounts of informaiton which is good. However, obtaining the book took forever. It was 20 dollars cheaper on here than at the school bookstore. So I ordered the book, thinking it will take a couple of days to come and that will be that. About 3 and a half weeks later, the book arrived after I complained to the seller where is my book? The best advice would be to just buy it wherever you see it, right then and there. It doesn't matter about saving a couple of bucks. Just get it. Don't order online.

This is more than just a textbook being used in culinary school. If you want to learn how to do things in the kitchen, this is a must read even if you do not plan on working in a commercial kitchen. It explains how things are supposed to be done. I purchased this book because I am an attorney and represent clients in "food poisoning" cases. Great "authoritative text" to use in court.

I am enrolled in a gard manger class and have found this book to be very informative and have learned much from it and glad that I purchased it and now know a lot more about cold foods in the kitchen. I have found recipes in the book that I will try and recommend this book to all who want to know about cold foods.

If you want a comprehensive book with beautiful photographs and text, including the history, methods, recipes, and presentation of cold food, you will not be disappointed with this book. If you are the type that loves reading cookbooks as much as cooking from them, you will love this book.