Cookbook Review

Classic French Cooking Price: $20.00 Hardback Illustrations: Watercolor and black & white line illustrations by the author Author: Elisabeth Luard

Elisabeth Luard has carefully selected 100 recipes that are the core from which all French cooking derives. The repertoire includes all the techniques necessary to expertly handle any dish. For instance, the techniques required for preparing a coq au vin are almost identical to those of a boeuf bourguignon—both are types of fricassees, and so follow the method for cooking a fricassee.

Luard is very conscious that classical French cuisine can be complicated and lengthy on method and that most home cooks do not have endless hours to prepare family meals, nor are they willing to give over an entire day to cook for a dinner party. She has analysed the methods carefully and wherever possible has simplified the process without losing the most important feature of French cooking—flavour. Luard has demystified the process with her common sense approach. For this reason Classic French Cooking is an exciting and welcome addition to any cook’s library.

Her text is thorough and the pages are peppered with her enchanting line drawings of dishes, kitchen utensils, ingredients and market stalls. Luard, who has lived on and off in France for many years, brings to her latest book lively reminiscences of meals cooked and eaten.