What constitutes essential reading for serious cooks/chefs? A 'Larousse Gastronomique,' and...?

Question

There's some notable stuff here,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cookbooks

but. Comments? And, what magazines/trade publications?

Answer 1

When I did my chefs apprenticeship back in 1978-79 in Canada our other required reading was La Reprtiore du la Cuisine", written in the 30's by Edoard Brunet, it is a book most professionals should read or buy, I paid $11.25 in 1978, we had to have it for our cookery classes at George Brown College in Toronto, I would imagine it is still in print, but will be slightly more than what I paid for it, I n the US there is a book, I also have a copy from the CIA, it is called "The Professional Chef" put out by The Culinary Institude of America, it is a helpful and valuable resource, I answered a question a few weeks ago about Herring Cooking Bible, it is another interesting read form a professional or so to be chef.

By the way Edoard Brunet, was a sous chef for Escoffier back in the 1920 and learned first hand from the master.

Answer 2

I still love my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook for the basics. Then for fancier stuff I like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Cooking Light. The New York Times cookbook by Craig Claiborne is great. So is The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook. They're very thorough.

I have a couple hundred cookbooks. Some simple, some very gourmet, it's hard to choose. I find it good to start with the basics and work up from there. If you want food history, amazon is great. My favorite read was Perfection Salad.

Read anything and everything!