- Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (2 Feb 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141021934
- ISBN-13: 978-0141021935
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 195,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"No book will tell you more about the effort involved in producing the best food in the world. Anyone who reads it will talk about little else for days after" The Independent 'Chelminski cuts through the glitz and glamour of French cuisine to examine the pressure cooker atmosphere ... Makes Hell's Kitchen look like a picnic' Herald 'Chelminski is a brilliant guide to fame and fortune in the restaurant trade. In the kitchen and in the dining room, his knowledge can't be faulted' Daily Mail
Product Description
The suicide of Bernard Loiseau in February 2003, sent shock waves through France: the country's most famous chef had shot himself on the eve of publication of "Michelin", the bible of good eating. Ascendancy to coveted three-star status in "Michelin", and keeping it year after year, takes its toll on the best chefs and rumours had already begun to circulate that Loiseau might fall from grace. Delving deep into the life of Loiseau and the world of haute cuisine, Rudolph Chelminksi asks whether the same dedication to perfection that took Loiseau to the top, also caused him to seek the only release imaginable from the terrible pressure to stay there.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought The Perfectionist unseen on the recommendation of a friend, slightly in two minds on account of the fact that it's one of those books where you know at the outset what the ending will be. Reading the first few pages I also began to think it was a bit fawning for my taste: over-gushing on the subject of French cooking at a time when very many people would say France is no longer the gastronomic centre of the galaxy.
Then along came page nine, and Mr Chelminski's precise dissection of the French chefs' various attempts to fry the perfect egg. How completely wrong I'd been: the book is in fact a masterwork.
The Perfectionist is a, fantastically researched, truly insider's account of French haute cuisine. In looking at the life and career of Bernard L'Oiseau, Chelminsky, as fine a crafstman in his own calling as the chefs are in theirs, bones out the last seventy years of French restaurant dining in fantastic detail, before serving it up in, perfectly spiced, sauced, and plated, bite sized morsels for his readers. Undoubtedly the best book on cuisine I have ever read.
Then along came page nine, and Mr Chelminski's precise dissection of the French chefs' various attempts to fry the perfect egg. How completely wrong I'd been: the book is in fact a masterwork.
The Perfectionist is a, fantastically researched, truly insider's account of French haute cuisine. In looking at the life and career of Bernard L'Oiseau, Chelminsky, as fine a crafstman in his own calling as the chefs are in theirs, bones out the last seventy years of French restaurant dining in fantastic detail, before serving it up in, perfectly spiced, sauced, and plated, bite sized morsels for his readers. Undoubtedly the best book on cuisine I have ever read.
Format:Hardcover
This a very interesting book for any chef or lover of fine dining to look at the history of Michelin and Haute Cuisine in France. The story is both moving and sad especially as you are aware of what the ending will be. This gifted and sensitive man shaped french food in the nineties and his impact on those around him was inspiring. I felt as if I knew him just from reading the book and more often that not biographies fail on that level.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a must read for any self respecting Chef. For those versed in Haute cuisine this will take you on a pleasant and sometimes amusing nostalgia trip .
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