Alinea

I had the pleasure of dining at Alinea in June of 09. My son requested this as his graduation present from U Chicago Law School. I have eaten at the finest restaurants around the world and all I can say is Alinea is in a class by itself. I was given a short tour of the kitchen afterwards. It made me think of NASA. If you are a foodie this is Mecca. The book is an astonishingly beautiful coffee table class book. The size, photography, design, and production conjures up a fine art book. I have been a serious amateur chef for nearly 40 years and what is very clear is that this is not a book for beginners. It assumes a fairly high level of skill and familiarity with advanced practices. That said, this is a treasure trove of innovation and methods to challenge the skills and imagination of anyone who loves to cook. The only other book I think it compares to is The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller. Both of these chefs rank amongst the top innovators in the world of fine cuisine. If you really want to push yourself as a chef buy this book. If you simply want an astonishingly beautiful coffee table conversation piece buy this book. Whatever you do make sure dining at Alinea is on your "Bucket List."

the book is beatiful!

This is the most complicated cookbook I have ever seen. If you want a challenge, like to constantly up your game, and want to buy lists of ingredients and pieces of equipment that you dont own, then get this book. I have started to wear out the binding from using it. This is college varsity level cooking. Expect some things to not work out, do some research, and try again it will work. Chef Achatz and his team have created some crazy wonderful things. Most importantly, they have captured the detail needed to recreate them. Directions are straightforward, meaning they expect you know what they are talking about when they explain it like a chef, and they expect you own things like a sous vide, a chinois, lab grade sieves, and jars of modernist ingredients. I was able to work around the equipment that was out of sight, like a rotovap, or a refrigerated centrifuge. this is a great companion to the Modernist Cuisine box set. When I received this book, I flipped through it for two days straight, back and forth. I have made several things for small and large groups, and they were fantastic, everyone was amazed and even though I gave full credit to Alinea and Chef Achatz there were high marks for execution. The ideas and thoughts I used to create my own dishes have also resulted in amazing things. If you are not a professional chef but cook like one, get this book.

I feel like everyone ordering this book, knows exactly what they’re going to get, and no one is disappointed. Gorgeous photography and great binding. Quality book, cover to cover. This is not for beginners, it’s all professional level stuff, but the sheer beauty and creativity is mind blowing. My chef boyfriend loves this book, and visually, it looks great on the table in his office. An impressive gift for a pro!

G. Achatz has a truly amazing brain!! I consider myself able to read well, follow recipes exactly, and be a fairly decent home cook (albeit probably not to any fabulous chefs nor my family). This book took my breath away!! ALINEA has absolutely beautiful pictures, amazingly detailed recipes, and wonderful text and content!!! But, I don’t think I will ever be able to successfully make anything in it. Each recipe is written so that its outcome will be a magnificent and delicious result of the creative mind of G.A. I completely understand that fact, hence why I bought the book. But, due to my limited cooking abilities I would ruin the integrity of the recipe, the genius that created it, and my result would most likely be inedible. My New Year’s resolution will be to try to make and enjoy one of his recipes! BUT, I promise not to share (or photograph) said results, because in doing so I would embarrass myself and/or be disrespectful to the Author!! Thank you G.A. for a fabulous and beautiful book!! P.S. Another New Year’s resolution will be to totally lie and tell everyone I made the recipes...and the results were delicious and fabulous!!!

If you're a fan of Alinea, then you know the restaurant is much more than just a restaurant. It's an experience. The book, Alinea, is an extension of the experience. The narrative is very interesting to read. The recipes are written such that you can easily take a dish apart and construct your own creation from it. So, you can take the recipe for a sauce and apply it to your steak or shrimp and make your ordinary dinner something extraordinary. There is even helpful information about substitutes for hard-to-find ingredients. The book is a companion to a website that is available only to people who have purchased the book. I haven't visited the website yet, but the book claims that Grant Achatz and his staff participate in online discussions and there are supposed to be videos on the website that accompany many of the recipes. I'm very much looking forward to exploring this. If Alinea is a three-star restaurant, then this book is worth five stars on Amazon. It's exceptionally well done. I highly recommend it.

I'll keep it short!! I purchased this book after eating at Alinea and falling in love with his modern cuisine. As a chef you can only idolize what Grant does and attempt to do some of his magic. The book is easy to read and follow! Some of his recipes and stuff in here is a little dated compared to what he knows and puts out but still amazing and delicious!! The only down side is that to completely complete one whole meal, you need to have crazy machines, ingredients, time, and money!!!!!! I have successfully replicated some of his dishes but man, it was no easy or cheap chore!! While in the end it was great and rewarding!! I don't think I will EVER be able to complete most of what he has in there!! If you're a chef is is a must have in your repertoire!!! And I highly recommend saving some money, time, and buying tickets early to go try some of his amazing food!!!

If you are into modern food, you will love this book. It contains detailed directions for each of the indulgently artistic plates. The food presentation is so inventive. The only negative is that some of the ingredients are not easily sourced for me because I am in the rural part of the state of Virginia. That is were Amazon comes in handy. This book will make even a picky eater want to try the food. The book is filled with wonderful photos of each plate. This book makes you believe that you too can achieve the art and techniques of modern cuisine. He detailed how to do it step by step, component by component. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BOOK

Within moments of opening up this book, it is quite easy to see why Grant Achatz (rhymes with jackets) is one of the true pioneers of modern cooking. Everything is cutting edge. The recipes are difficult to follow, but with a little perseverance they are attainable. (try to remember that everything is available on the internet). The flavour combinations often seem strange but they almost always work beautifully. It is truly a look into the mind of a culinary genius. One recipe pairs Beef with orange and a few other seemingly random, scattered flavours. It is only upon reading the text that you find he has broken down a popular steak sauce to its bare ingredients to create this dish. This book will not be for everyone, but if you are serious about pushing the envelope of your culinary abilities, this is for you. Well worth every penny!!

Libro molto ben fatto, con fotografie molto precise, ed una descrizione assai accurata delle procedure da seguire. Rimane un libro dei sogni, certo - ben poche ricette sono realizzabili al di fuori di un laboratorio di chimica - ma la lettura è di per sé affascinante.

One of the my dream book, I got very surprised discount, thank you Amazon

Recommend it for a pro chef, as a home cook won't have MANY of the things necessary to complete these dishes - but it is a treat to witness the absolute cutting edge of the modern culinary world. Chef Grant Achatz pushes the envelope daily and is a role model to many aspiring chefs. A peek into the kitchen of Alinea is a rare thing, this makes it possible to improve a chef's way of thinking.

Superbe. En anglais mais la qualité de l'ouvrage et le talent du chef valent bien quelques détours par le dictionnaire !