Restaurant/Celebrity Chef Cookbooks - Giving Away Secrets?
A lot of restaurants run by celebrity chefs put out cookbooks these days. Are the recipes in the book really what they use in the kitchen? ie, are they really giving away their secrets? My inclination is that the published recipes mimic, but do not exactly copy what is done in the kitchen.
What do y'all think?
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8 Comments:
I think they are pretty close, with some tweaking for the home kitchen or less volume. What secrets? Are there really secrets in restaurant cooking that are that highly protected? ...doubt it. What percentage of patrons actually try to make the stuff? My guess is it is pretty small. I have several of these cookbooks and have made the recipes and eaten at the restaurants (Babbo and Vetri, for example). Other than skill level of the chef and perhaps quality of ingredients, I don't see that much difference.
derosa at 8:39AM on 08/25/09
Thanks, in terms of secrets, I was thinking of a spice combination or maybe a certain type of broth that would make a restaurant unique.
djwerdna at 8:47AM on 08/25/09
Any recipe, mine yours or a famous chef is a list of ingredients and some suggestions for preparation. Mix with that cookware, kitchen equipment and appliances, ingredients and personal touch and you can make the same thing and have it totally different. Not everyone can make the same thing the same way twice too. I have heard dozens of times right here someone changes the pan, the oven, the butter, the brand of flour and then says, "omg its not how it usually comes out..."
Recipes are hard to copyright because of this. It is a list of ingredients and a suggestion for preparation. The rest is knowledge and experience and what you put into it.
JerzeeTomato at 8:49AM on 08/25/09
I can't imagine why they wouldn't be honest about giving away their secrets. You are eating their creations in their restaurants, they are giving you part of themselves, so why wouldn't they reach out to people who can't eat in their restaurants or would like to re-create their food?
I am in the club that can't stand people who don't share recipes, or who feel the need to keep "secret" ingredients, isn't food for sharing?
For myself, being progressively ill, and having to be taken care of most of the time by my parents, nothing makes me feel better than being able to prepare awesome meals for them as the only way I can really thank them for what they do for me.
I have read of many chefs enjoying watching patrons take bites of food and see their reactions savoring something they have produced and say it makes all their hard work worthwhile.
bobcatsteph3 at 10:17AM on 08/25/09
i've cooked a lot of these recipes before and i think the reason they don't mind giving away the secrets is that a lot of the recipes take a really long time to make and also are pretty expensive if you aren't buying ingredients in bulk. (i am thinking of some of batali's recipes from babbo, also the process of "spherification").
i usually gain an appreciation for the dishes and am more likely to go to the restaurant for the dish next time rather than try to replicate it myself.
from the previews i have seen of david changs new cookbook, it looks like it will be a similar story. i am unlikely to say "oh i could just have easily done this at home."
kristin314 at 10:32AM on 08/25/09
It's not like a consumer who makes the dish at home is ever going to be competition for the restaurant. And, any competing chef who would stoop so low as to 'borrow' a unique published recipe or even to try to copy a unique dish would be called out and ridiculed for it.
That said, I think there is very little that is truly unique.
MarvinDog at 10:39AM on 08/25/09
Having been a pro cook for 35 years I can tell you there are some secrets they won't give away. The biggest reason that what you cook at home isn't quite like the restaurant version is because of the portion adjustment. Cooking for 300 versus cooking for 6 isn't the same. The recipes don't convert down properly so the ingredients are slightly off. Plus, the equipment in a pro kitchen generally gets hotter than home stuff does. You get a better sear or crust or browning in a restaurant. Plus, sometimes chefs just leave out an ingredient in a cookbook because they don't want you duplicating their food. Why would you go to the restaurant if you can get it at home? Anyway...just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.
AugieWren at 6:35PM on 08/25/09
AugieWren was pretty close in my opinion. Although charging $30 for a list of ingredients with some photos is chicken shit if you don't give up the real recipe.
I think the biggest SECRET they keep is all about the technique. Pans, grills, and ovens, are hotter in a commercial environment. Pans are pushed to the limit. Shallots instantly caramelized in smoking hot olive oil taste different than something brought up to heat at home. Pasta water is different after hundreds of orders. Cast iron grates on a grill work better than any wire grates on a Weber.
All that being said, a home cook with a bit of skill and intuition can get real close or even surpass the most famous celebrity chef hawking a cookbook.
climbhighak at 3:22AM on 08/26/09