The New Cooks' Catalogue

For research hounds, and really anyone who thinks twice before picking up a new tool or appliance for the kitchen, this is a massive volume of Cliffs Notes. Thinking about a blender? Countertop or immersion? Cuisinart, KitchenAid, Waring, Krups, or Hamilton Beach? What should you look for in terms of design, weight, capacity, noise, power, speeds, and cleaning? What does the UL symbol mean? This volume provides the answers to questions you didn't even know you should ask. Burt Wolfe has been researching kitchen equipment since 1969 and there isn't a question he hasn't thought of. The chapters are broken up by tool category, such as measuring devices, griddles, grill pans and irons, and handheld utensils for beating, mixing, whisking, stirring, and lifting. Peppered with interesting, helpful information on subjects like Japanese knives, strainers, and baking and pizza stones, kitchen gods and goddesses will love nothing better than to curl up with their favorite beverage to peruse the contents.

Recipe collectors, do not fear. Wading through this wealth of information rewards you too. Each section includes recipes from famous chefs using that section's equipment. Use your fry pan to make Pork Chops with Cream and Calvados, use a skimmer for Poached Spiced Figs, slice Gravlax with Mustard Sauce with a fish slicer, and make Ginger Ice Cream or Buttermilk Sorbet in your ice-cream maker. With contributions from more than 100 of the world's leading food authorities, among them Bruce Aidells, Julia Child, Rick Bayless, Marion Cunningham, Francois Payard, Nancy Silverton, and Thomas Keller, to name a few, it really is like getting a bonus cookbook with your encyclopedia.

And everyone will be entertained by food-related cartoons from The New Yorker, so funny and appropriate you'll find yourself hunting them down when what you really need is a new proofing basket or crème brûlée dish.

A great reference guide for kitchen tool collectors and aficionados, as well as anyone outfitting a kitchen from scratch, Wolfe has included so much information, both general and specific, that even when the models described are out of date, you'll still know what to look for, and how to find it. --Leora Y. Bloom

Product Description
Updated, expanded, thoroughly revised, and now in full color--the definitive guide to cooking equipment and utensils

This book offers detailed evaluations of more than a thousand items of kitchen equipment--from paring knives to grill pans to espresso machines--providing you with practical information about brands, models, size, function, and performance. Each entry is accompanied by a color photograph and includes features and tips on care and usage. Also included are sections on what to look for when purchasing, as well as recipes and sidebars by more than a hundred culinary celebrities.

Whether you are setting up a kitchen for the first time or adding to a long-standing collection, you will find The New Cooks' Catalogue an invaluable and entertaining guide to making the right selections.

Contributorsinclude:

Bruce Aidells
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
Mario Batali
Michael & Ariane Batterberry
Rick Bayless
Daniel Boulud
Terrance Brennan
Giuliano Bugialli
David Burke
Penelope Casas
Helen Chen
Julia Child
Bernard Clayton
Shirley Corriher
Marion Cunningham
Ariane Daguin
Rocco DiSpirito
Alain Ducasse
Florence Fabricant
Susanna Foo
Larry Forgione
Edward Giobbi
Dorie Greenspan
Jessica B. Harris
Marcella Hazan
Maida Heatter
Pierre Hermé
Ken Hom
Dr. Ernesto Illy
Steven Jenkins
Thomas Keller
Gray Kunz
Daniel Leader
Sarabeth Levine
Michael Lomonaco
Nobu Matsuhisa
Michael McCarty
Danny Meyer
Joan Nathan
François Payard
Jacques Pépin
James Peterson
Alfred Portale
Paul Prudhomme
Eric Ripert
Claudia Roden
Douglas Rodriguez
Michael Romano
Julie Sahni
Marcus Samuelsson
Nancy Silverton
Raymond Sokolov
André Soltner
Jane & Michael Stern
Christopher Styler
Jacques Torres
Barbara Tropp
Margaret Visser
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Alice Waters
Nach Waxman
Jasper White
Paula Wolfert
Kevin Zraly

There were some items that we had acquired that we knew were really good -- the authors had done their research and it was encouraging that they found the same and for similar reasons. That gave me some reference as to their experience.

The book is up-to-date. They have equipment that is top-notch and widely available. The photos are excellent.

The book is also a great resource for items you may not have considered or known about. I know that we now have several more items on our list of equipment to buy. This makes it especially good as a gift to newlyweds or people starting out on their own and want to cook.


Not exactly a catalogue....   April 27, 2002
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

.....but more of an encyclopedia. This is a good book if you don't know what a certain kitchen tool does or would like a breif history lesson. This not the best consumer buying guide around, but a good buy none the less.


Interesting but Flawed   December 18, 2001
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is a large coffee table sized book. You'll find more cooking tools and appliances than you ever dreamed existed. Yet it is flawed by the fact that not a hint of the relative cost of the items compared is provided. The publisher probably didn't want to date the book by providing actual prices but some mechanism should have been used to gauge the relative cost of items within a category. That's a major shortcoming! Still, it's an interesting book for hardcore cooks.


Great Resource!   May 19, 2001
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I love the New Cooks' Catalogue for several reasons. It's comprehensive, easy to use and well written. I also enjoy the historical anecdotes and recipes. The book's design is beautiful, but even more important, the contents are practical and well researched. I used it to determine which kind of food processor to invest in, and now I wouldn't make a serious purchase without first consulting this book. When in doubt, the New Cooks' Catalogue will help you figure it out! This has become an indispensable tool in my kitchen and a lovely addition to my library of reference books.