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Top 10 Chef Books

10 Best Chef Books

The results are in! Find out if your favorite chef book made our list of the Top 10 chef books, then cast your vote for this year’s favorites. Think we’re missing something? Nominate a Chef Book for the next round of voting on the please visit the Chef2Chef forums.

Rank Title Total Votes Score
1 Ice Sculpting the Modern Way 4501 22392
2 LA Technique: The Fundamental Techniques of Cooking : An Illustrated Guide 3625 17512
3 Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen 3541 16344
4 Bobby Flay's Boy Gets Grill 3122 14857
5 Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking 2971 14740
6 The Way to Cook 2978 14701
7 The French Laundry Cookbook 2647 12483
8 Eat this Book: Cooking with Global Fresh Flavors 2441 12153
9 Much Depends on Dinner: History, Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos, of an Ordinary Meal 2329 11354
10 Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly 2275 10680
Show Top 100
11 The New Food Lover's Companion: Food, Drink, and Culinary Terms (Barron's Cooking Guide) 1595 7570
12 Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone 1530 7324
13 On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (On Food & Cooking Cloth Tsp) 1399 6913
14 Brilliant Simple Food to Make Any Time 1361 6770
15 The Food of France 1347 6310
16 On Cooking: Techniques From Expert Chefs, Trade Version (3rd Edition) 1206 5954
17 The Cake Bible 1178 5815
18 Simple French Food 1223 5598
19 The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities, and Meaning of Table Manners 1108 5500
20 50 Ways to Feed Your Lover: Top Chefs Share Their Recipes and Secrets for Romance 1058 5230
21 Larousse Gastronomique 1004 4822
22 The New Joy of Cooking 974 4760
23 Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking 864 4200
24 A Taste of India 661 3285
25 Basic but Brilliant 628 3090
26 Bistro Cooking 547 2625
27 The Escoffier Cook Book: A Guide to the Fine Artof Cookery 531 2590
28 La Varenne Pratique 424 2028
29 Escoffier : The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery 400 1980
30 From the Cook's Garden: Recipes for Cooks Who Like to Garden 395 1945
31 The New Making of a Cook: The Art, Techniques, and Science of Good Cooking 370 1820
32 Cookwise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking 378 1815
33 Caviar, Truffles, and Foie Gras: Recipes for Divine Indulgence 361 1755
34 The Splendid Table 352 1705
35 The Professional Chef's Techniques of Healthy Cooking, Second Edition 324 1595
36 Le Repertoire De LA Cuisine 308 1498
37 A Celebration of Women Chefs: Signature Recipes from 30 Culinary Masters 299 1475
38 LeCordon Bleu: Classic Light: Sophisticated Food for Healthy Living 294 1455
39 Culinary Artistry 303 1440
40 On-Premise Catering : Hotels, Convention & Conference Centers, and Clubs 288 1425
41 A Woman's Place Is in the Kitchen: The Evolution of Women Chefs 287 1420
42 Sauces : Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making 295 1420
43 The Physiology of Taste: Or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy 297 1420
44 Chefs Creating Lean: A Nutrition Course for Food Professionals 287 1420
45 Chef Daniel Boulud: Cooking In New York City 286 1420
46 Large Quantity Recipes, Fourth Edition 288 1420
47 Finger Food (LeCordon Bleu Home Collection, Volume 14) 290 1420
48 Four-Star Desserts 286 1415
49 Women of Taste: Recipes and Profiles of Famous Women Chefs 288 1415
50 Cooking Essentials for the New Professional Chef 286 1415
51 The Professional Chef, Seventh Edition 382 1395
52 James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking 294 1388
53 Cheese Primer 178 856
54 The Babbo Cookbook 165 794
55 Susur: A Culinary Life, Books 1-2 162 788
56 The Professional Chef 119 558
57 The Professional Chef's Art of Garde Manger 108 505
58 Becoming a Chef: With Recipes and Reflections from America's Leading Chefs 108 505
59 Cooking for Fifty : The Complete Reference and Cookbook 102 500
60 Herings Dictionary of Classical and Modern Cookery 116 495
61 The American Baker: Exquisite Desserts from the Pastry Chef of the Stanford Court 95 470
62 ON FOOD AND COOKING 98 470
63 Fish & Shellfish 96 470
64 Private Cuisine: An Executive Chef's Secrets to Gourmet Cooking Made Easy 97 470
65 Cracking the Coconut: Classic Thai Home Cooking 98 470
66 Great American Food 97 470
67 Nuevo Latino: Recipes That Celebrate the New Latin American Cuisine 96 470
68 Crust & Crumb: Master Formulas For Serious Bakers 97 470
69 Professional Vegetarian Cooking 98 468
70 Jeremiah Tower's New American Classics 96 465
71 Webster's New World Dictionary of Culinary Arts (Trade Version) (2nd Edition) 97 465
72 On Becoming a Professional Chef 95 465
73 The Oxford Companion to Food 95 465
74 The Dessert Bible 96 465
75 IronChef: The Official Book 97 465
76 Professional Charcuterie : Sausage Making, Curing, Terrines, and... 98 465
77 Becoming a Chef 97 465
78 Chef's Book of Formulas, Yields, and Sizes 97 465
79 The Sauce Bible : Guide to the Saucier's Craft 96 465
80 The 4th Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant 96 465
81 Thai Food 94 465
82 New Professional Chef / Instructor's Manual 141 450
83 Professional Baking (Professional Baking) 81 380
84 Classic HomeDesserts: A Treasury of Heirloom and Contemporary Recipes from Around the World 69 340
85 Themes, Dreams, and Schemes : Banquet Menu Ideas, Concepts, and Thematic Experiences 57 275
86 Professional Cooking Canadian Chefs Version w/ CD-ROM 58 275
87 Dessert University: More Than 300 Recipes and Lessons from White House Pastry Chef 56 275
88 The Fine Art of Italian Cooking 56 275
89 The Professional Chef's Baking Recipes 57 275
90 The Japanese Kitchen 58 275
91 Practical Professional Cookery 58 275
92 How to Bake :Complete Guide to Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins 58 270
93 LeCordon Bleu Wine Essentials: Professional Secrets to Buying, Storing, Serving, and... 51 235
94 LeCordon Bleu's Complete Cooking Techniques 52 235
95 The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute 71 230
96 The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection 68 230
97 Garde Manger : The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen 68 220
98 The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 4th Edition 41 170
99 The Professional Pastry Chef 38 160
100 The Professional Chef's Knife Kit 48 155