Ken Frank's La Toque Cookbook

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Description: When Ken Frank was fifteen years old, in an ultimate stroke of good fortune, his family moved to France to live in a tiny fishing village on Lake Geneva. While French public school and French girls occupied most of his time, he did have a chance to develop an interest in another French enthusiasm, French food. "The lunches local women prepared in the school cafeteria were incredible," Ken tells us in the introduction to this book. "Richly flavored country food, stews, roasts, sausages, farm-fresh vegetables and cheeses, better food than I had ever known. These women could have made a fortune running a restaurant in the United States. It was an eye opener for me." 

And obviously an inspiration. By 1976, at the age of twenty-one, Ken was already an acclaimed master of French cooking, having reached the lofty position of head chef at La Guillotine in Los Angeles. It was here that his distinctive cooking style took shape. Eventually Ken left La Guillotine because the restaurant became too popular and overcrowded, compromising his philosophy of cooking at the very highest level, that is, cooking to order for just a handful of people at a time. Five years later Ken Frank was back at La Guillotine, where he first emerged as a rising star of the American food scene. But this time, he was the owner and the place was called La Toque (currently located in the Westin Veresa in Napa Valley, California - relocated from Los Angeles to Rutherford, California and finally Napa. 

Free to do as he pleases, Ken does certain things certain ways. He admits that he tends to be a little fanatical when it comes to cutting vegetables to a similar size so they'll cook evenly and chopping shallots by hand and never in the food processor because they taste better that way. This cookbook is full of his special "fanaticisms," as well as 145 of his favorite recipes. The message of the book is that these recipes are for everyone. Because, with practice and the right kind of guidance, Ken believes, everyone can be a great cook. This is first and foremost a teaching book, and inside its pages you will find not only wonderful recipes but all the experience and shortcuts Ken has learned and perfected himself. 

To cook well, you need not be a famous chef. All you need is a little confidence and the hands-on experience this book provides. Inviting instead of intimidating, this is the ideal cookbook for any cook who wants to learn from one of the best chefs cooking in America today. 

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Condition: Good condition