Rating: 
Summary: A great exploration of good, inexpensive food for everyone
Review: As a former chef, this book brought back memories of the things I used to cook for my staff. Sometimes the staff meal was the only bright spot in an otherwise monotinous day in the kitchen. The crew food was a chance to experiment and think outside the box, or sometimes just a chance to make the comfort food I was craving like everyone else. It may be hard to believe for the non-pros out there, but even in a world class restaurant, it is possible to get tired of the same old thing, but you'll never tire of the recipes here. This book made me remember how much I enjoy cooking, and why.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite cookbook since Patricia Wells' Bistro Cookbook
Review: Chanterelle is my favorite restaurant, so I was interested in seeing what David Waltuck cooks behind the scenes. All of the recipes sound wonderful (so far, I've made only the Panacea Vegetable Soup), and the directions are friendly and direct. Panacea Vegetable soup is absolutely the best vegetable soup I've ever tasted -- fresh, clean flavors. If the Andy Birsh is who wrote the first review is the Andy Birsh I used to know, trust him. He knows what he's talking about!
Rating:
Summary: My favorite cookbook since Patricia Wells' Bistro Cookbook
Review: Chanterelle is my favorite restaurant, so I was interested in seeing what David Waltuck cooks behind the scenes. All of the recipes sound wonderful (so far, I've made only the Panacea Vegetable Soup), and the directions are friendly and direct. Panacea Vegetable soup is absolutely the best vegetable soup I've ever tasted -- fresh, clean flavors. If the Andy Birsh is who wrote the first review is the Andy Birsh I used to know, trust him. He knows what he's talking about!
Rating: 
Summary: Recipes to feed a family
Review: I bought this book the morning after a meal at Chanterelle. The meal was spectacular, but don't buy this book hoping for a recipe for (for example) Diver Caught Maine Sea Scallops with Duck Fat, Tomato and Basil, or the chef's famous Seafood Sausage. This book is more about feeding a family than the customers at the upscale TriBeca eatery. To me, that made the book more practical; how many of us have access to foie gras? Not many, but we can all find the ingredients for Waltuck's Beef Short Ribs Braised in Beer.I collect all manner of cookbooks, and this is one that I can recommend to both to experienced cooks and folks new to the kitchen. Woo.
Rating:
Summary: Recipes to feed a family
Review: I bought this book the morning after a meal at Chanterelle. The meal was spectacular, but don't buy this book hoping for a recipe for (for example) Diver Caught Maine Sea Scallops with Duck Fat, Tomato and Basil, or the chef's famous Seafood Sausage. This book is more about feeding a family than the customers at the upscale TriBeca eatery. To me, that made the book more practical; how many of us have access to foie gras? Not many, but we can all find the ingredients for Waltuck's Beef Short Ribs Braised in Beer. I collect all manner of cookbooks, and this is one that I can recommend to both to experienced cooks and folks new to the kitchen. Woo.
Rating:
Summary: They don't get any better than this, folks
Review: I could use all kinds of fancy adjectives to describe the dishes and information in this book, but there is no need. I have only owned this cookbook for about a month and can honestly tell you that this "foodie" who was raised from generations of great southern cooks is enraptured with this compilation of wonderful recipes. Although I love some Southern dishes, my palette is more broad and contemporary, so Staff Meals from Chanterelle fits the bill perfectly. There are recipes that are truly "comfort foods". Then he has dishes that have elements of comfort in them but also urge you to go beyond the confortable to stretch your wings a bit...to take a small risk with a new enhancement. I love some of the dishes he terms "ethnic" but admits that he "loves to experiment" and says that this particular recipe is his own rendition and cannot be assigned the term ethnic. Then there are some "gourmet" dishes that, although are not of the same calibre as the meals served in his restaurant, has Waltuck's signature all over them. The food literally "makes you happy". Most of the recipes are fairly easy to make and call for ingredients usually found in any kitchen pantry. Although some call for very specific ingredients, he explains that these can be obtained in any good international market or a good supermarket. Another feature I love about his book is the sidebars with tips, important cooking information, and descriptions that help the cook do a better job when preparing the dish. The recipes are easy to read and follow. They are not long and tedious but straightforward and clear. The format is very readable. Waltuck also talks fondly about his "family" at the restaurant, talks about some of their favorite dishes and their lives, and has recipes that they love to eat. This gives the book an air of "hominess" that is warming from first to last. Already the pages and cover of my book are spattered a bit and showing signs of use. It's now the first book I turn to, even on days when I want something rather simple and quick. There is something in these pages for everyone, and you will find yourself going back again and again. My husband is my "acid" tester. He is from England but has traveled around the world and has a cultivated taste for food, wine and beer. Every dish I have prepared from this cookbook has swept him off his feet. After eating Waltuck's "Chicken Paprikas", my husband immediately proposed to me for the second time. From an Englishman, THAT is really saying something!!! This cookbook is a MUST on every cooks shelf. More than that, it is a book to be used often. This foodie could not have spent money more wisely on a cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: They don't get any better than this, folks
Review: I could use all kinds of fancy adjectives to describe the dishes and information in this book, but there is no need. I have only owned this cookbook for about a month and can honestly tell you that this "foodie" who was raised from generations of great southern cooks is enraptured with this compilation of wonderful recipes. Although I love some Southern dishes, my palette is more broad and contemporary, so Staff Meals from Chanterelle fits the bill perfectly. There are recipes that are truly "comfort foods". Then he has dishes that have elements of comfort in them but also urge you to go beyond the confortable to stretch your wings a bit...to take a small risk with a new enhancement. I love some of the dishes he terms "ethnic" but admits that he "loves to experiment" and says that this particular recipe is his own rendition and cannot be assigned the term ethnic. Then there are some "gourmet" dishes that, although are not of the same calibre as the meals served in his restaurant, has Waltuck's signature all over them. The food literally "makes you happy". Most of the recipes are fairly easy to make and call for ingredients usually found in any kitchen pantry. Although some call for very specific ingredients, he explains that these can be obtained in any good international market or a good supermarket. Another feature I love about his book is the sidebars with tips, important cooking information, and descriptions that help the cook do a better job when preparing the dish. The recipes are easy to read and follow. They are not long and tedious but straightforward and clear. The format is very readable. Waltuck also talks fondly about his "family" at the restaurant, talks about some of their favorite dishes and their lives, and has recipes that they love to eat. This gives the book an air of "hominess" that is warming from first to last. Already the pages and cover of my book are spattered a bit and showing signs of use. It's now the first book I turn to, even on days when I want something rather simple and quick. There is something in these pages for everyone, and you will find yourself going back again and again. My husband is my "acid" tester. He is from England but has traveled around the world and has a cultivated taste for food, wine and beer. Every dish I have prepared from this cookbook has swept him off his feet. After eating Waltuck's "Chicken Paprikas", my husband immediately proposed to me for the second time. From an Englishman, THAT is really saying something!!! This cookbook is a MUST on every cooks shelf. More than that, it is a book to be used often. This foodie could not have spent money more wisely on a cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: Good For a Little Quick Inspiration
Review: I first saw this book featured on Oprah. For such an inauspicious beginning, this book has proved very useful and interesting. The author is imaginative and not overly-gourmet. Occasionally I have to laugh at the way he expresses his abiding love for things like Tripe and pigs feet, and the offhand way he mentions that it is best to make soup stock in gallon batches. All in all, though, David Waltuck comes through with a book full of homey recipes just the Paris side of my Midwest gourmet kitchen. The first two things I made from this book were the cream cheese pound cake and the honey cake. While I liked both recipes, the results of my efforts cemented the general impression I have, which is that Mr. Waltuck tends to like strongly flavored dishes. If you look at a recipe of his and think to yourself "that is way too much nutmeg" you are probably right. But don't worry, the recipes are otherwise so well constructed that a few creative liberties on the part of the cook should not harm them.
Rating:
Summary: Standout cookbook
Review: I have dozens of cookbooks...and am generally quite cynical about them...but I find myself returning to this one a lot. Every time I try one of the recipes, I have the most dire predictions...oh no I've ruined all the food I have. Ruined indeed! These are some of the best meals I've ever turned out. If you like your food dry, tough, bland, ugly, typical, and difficult to make, there are several other cookbooks that will serve you to a tee. But if you like your food falling-apart tender and juicy, rich and beautifully spiced, unique and yet quite easy to prepare, this cookbook I've found works fine. Also I'd say that I always choose the finest ingredients but if I had to use less than the best, I would want these recipes, which will make the most out of whatever you've got. I would give this away as a Holiday gift to anyone who was already at Joy of Cooking level. And who didn't need to lose lots of pounds.
Rating:
Summary: Keeping up the morale
Review: I think this is a very pleasant, accessible collection of recipes (with lots of chef-to-cook asides). David Waltuck focuses on his Chanterelle family -- his cooks, cleanup crew, and wait-staff -- for whom he makes meals that give new meaning to "employee benefits." It struck me that his happy gang working behind the scenes at a stellar restaurant is at odds with that story that runs from Orwell's scullions in "Down and Out in Paris and London" to the desperados in "Kitchen Confidential." But, hey, Waltuck's proof is in his pudding - life must be fine if a night on the job includes "Roast Chicken Stuffed with Basil" or "Spaghetti with Mussels, Tomatoes, and Cream," and maybe a blackberry cobbler. The recipes are eclectic like food markets in New York City - kind of French, kind of Hispanic, kind of Asian, kind of Middle European, kind of North African, kind of small-town American. Things the recipes have in common are keen, punchy flavors - the sautéed/baked Cornish hens call for garlic, tomatoes, wine, olives, thyme, and red pepper flakes - and quantities that feed 8 to 10 people (or can be upped for a crowd). The hidden gems: roughly 30 pages of salad dressings that look like they can have many real-life uses and a run of breakfast and brunch items that might go over well enough to be worth the price of the book (I'm thinking of "Buttermilk Corn Muffins with Orange").
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