The best French cuisine books

French cuisine It is made of great masters, of immortal techniques, of a notoriety and an international prestige that anyone else struggles to equal. To some extent, It was the French who teaching the world to cookand not only with the Nouvelle Cuisinebut with a culture of food, its preparation and the high gastronomy that made history.

The French masters are many, as well as the foundations for making the recipes, which are now replicated and customized by the great chefs, but which inevitably have their roots in France, in the kitchen of Paul Bocuse, by Auguste Escoffier, by Alain Ducassebut also of François Massialotthe court cook to which the crème bellée recipe is attributed, for example.

From these names that have made the history of contemporary cuisine you have to start to study French cuisine: from them, and from their recipe books. Here are some, the best, for those who want to deepen the gastronomic culture of France.

The art of French cuisine

The American Julia Child (whose life was also told in the 2009 film by Nora Ephron Julie & Julia, played by Meryl Streep) is the one who made the Americans know the French cuisine, with a very popular television program in the sixties and with this book, which has become an unmissable title for all fans.

Great cuisine guide

Auguste Escoffier is considered one of the great fathers of French cuisine: in this book – which has the preface of one of the great fathers of Italian cuisine, Gualtiero Marchesi – Escoffier shows all its avant -garde, proposing a century ago recipes that are still very current today, and dictating the rules for the functionality of a good cuisine: simplicity of the ingredients, organization, creativity, replicability and many other concepts that still Among the great chefs.

At the market with Paul Bocuse

Another big name that cannot be mentioned when it comes to French cuisine is that of Paul Bocuse: in this book the legendary French chef explains how everything starts from spending, an expense of proximity, made to the market, which then translates into over 150 exquisitely French recipes to be replicated at home.

The great book of natural cuisine

Still an absolute master of contemporary French cuisine: Alain Ducasse wrote this book by telling how gastronomy must keep up with the times, cooking in a more natural way in respect of nature and earth, and recovering ingredients and raw materials somehow forgotten. Recipes based on fish, cereals and vegetables, which do not only speak of good cuisine but above all about sustainable gastronomy and the enhancement of products and those who take care of it.

Fruits. The art of pastry

One of the aspects that makes French cuisine so loved and famous in the world is certainly the great tradition of pastry: in this book the young Cédric Grolet phenomenon – appointed best pastry chefs from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants – collects its recipes, often wonderfully beautiful, with desserts that seem to be fruit and ingredients that combine surprisingly, such as in the pizza chocolate & black truffle.

The essence of French cuisine

Michel Roux was the cook who brought the British public closer to French cuisine, not only through his restaurant (founded with his brother Albert) The Gavrochewhich was the first three -star Michelin restaurant in Great Britain. In this book he collects one hundred French cuisine recipes, making a journey through his land, his landscapes and above all his raw materials.

French Country Cooking

The French writer, influencer and cook Mimi Thorisson tells in this book the cuisine of the French countryside, the one that must be accompanied with a wine of those lands, pretending to have a landscape of the Médoc in front of it, where the author has made this book. One hundred recipes to be replicated with relative simplicity and many more photographs that tell the atmospheres of French country life.

Institute Paul Bocuse. The school of culinary excellence

The institute dedicated to the great French chef Paul Bocuse tells all his knowledge in this small encyclopedia (only more than 700 pages), which deals with cooking techniques, ingredients, history, combinations and many other perfect information for those who want to deepen their knowledge of this profession. In the final section of the book there are also 250 recipes, proposed by the chefs of the Institute.

New Larousse Gastronomique

This cuisine of cooking, continuously overhauled and updated under the supervision of great chefs, was signed in its original 1938 version by Chef Prosper Montagné. In addition to many recipes it contains advice, techniques, suggestions and the biography of 85 large chefs.

The art of modern cuisine

The French chef Henri-Paul Pellaprat was the founder of the Corton Bleu Cundon School in Paris. All his knowledge of great classical cuisine is enclosed in this book (published for the first time in 1935) which contains more than three thousand recipes, as well as a glossary of cooking terms, to a chapter on the ways of cooking and one on the principles and bases of the kitchen: fundamental steps to make a culture on the topic, before starting to get to the stove.

The complete robuchon

Chef Joël Robuchon – known to most for his mashed potatoes, considered the best in the world – was a protagonist of the French cuisine Post Nouvelle Cuisine. In this book more than eight hundred among his most famous recipes are collected, together with the secrets and advice that remain unforgettable his work.

Michel Bras Essential Cuisine

It is not available in Italian edition, but this book is worth reading anyway, because it tells the cuisine of a teacher like Michel Bras, a precursor of the importance of vegetable cuisine, local production, of the serenity of the work rhythms. Very current concepts that are told through the recipes of what is called an essential cuisine.

The great masters of French cuisine

A book that contains history and recipes of five centuries of the gastronomic tradition, starting from the masters who built it flat after course.