By Richard Florczak
Foreword by Jennifer Garner
169 Pages
Hardcover
2006, The Hamilton Group
$29.95
ISBN: 097732950X
Review by Cheri Sicard
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When I first heard about this book I thought, do we really a book filled with fussy food for high maintenance celebrities. It turns out, yes. Home cooks can learn a lot of practical tips and techniques from chef to the stars Richard Florczak (on staff personal chef to Mel Gibson plus freelance jobs with Jennifer Garner and other Hollywood luminaries). After all, the private home chef does not have the luxury of a staffed, prepped kitchen that his restaurant counterparts do. He has to do it all -- from shopping to chopping to cooking and often even serving and cleaning up afterward. As such his routine must efficient and streamlined, although he must still turn out world class fare.

Richard Florczak has lots of experience and he happily shares his tricks of the trade in these pages. If you ever had aspirations of becoming a home chef yourself, you can get quite an education from these pages. But even if you have no professional culinary goals, you can learn a lot of practical tips, time saving techniques and fabulous recipes from Richard.

The book is surprisingly versatile and way more practical for the day to day cook than I would have expected. A lot of the fare would be at home at a formal dinner or cocktail party, but many of these recipes are also great for every night suppers (after all Richard prepares ALL of his clients meals). What was most surprising is that a lot of the recipes are kid friendly -- or Florczak gives tips for making kid appealing variations. His instructions are clear, concise and easy to follow. The book is beautifully produced and there are lots of full color photos of the dishes to inspire you to actually get cooking.

Chapters include: Hors d'Oeuvres; Soups; Salads; Meat; Pasta and Rice; Fish and Seafood; Vegetarian; Side Dishes; Desserts.

Sample Recipes from The Private Chef

• Raspberry Vinaigrette
• Grilled Asparagus Salad
• Roast Duck Breast with Blackberry Sauce
• Pear Purses with Vanilla Sauce

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The Private Chef. Order now and save 24%. Regular price $29.95, Amazon.com price $22.76. You save $7.19! Usually ships in 24 hours. (Amazon.com prices subject to change.)