200 Skills Every Cook Must Have : The Step-By-Step Methods That Will Turn a Good Cook into a Great Cook

Think of this book as cooking skills for dummies ratcheted up to a higher level.... Two British chefs export their ways and wisdom to teach, update, and demystify novices as well as experienced cooks about critical kitchen skills. Along the way, when recipes are offered, so much the better. Their basics cover literally anything necessary to start cooking, from the rudiments of fashioning a tomato sauce to advice for soaking saffron. Therefore, such advanced skills as crafting croissants or building a fancy cake don't qualify. Many of the 200 techniques feature color photographs; all include ingredients, directions, expert tips, and, occasionally, recommended variations (for instance, foodstuffs to fold into couscous). It's the tips, though, that readers will savor... Well organized and explained.--Barbara Jacobs"Booklist" (12/01/2013)

This would be a great book for someone starting out in the kitchen or who has been cooking for just a few years.--Nancy J. Stohs"Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel" (01/08/2014)

The book, a fine choice for cooking novices and those unsure of how to make Pavlova, provides kitchen building blocks ranging from cracking an egg to flambeing, with step-by-step images, expert tips plus charts on meat cuts and equipment.--Bill Daley, Judy Hevrdejs and Joe Gray"Hartford Courant" (12/12/2013)