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Rating: 
Summary: revised rating and additional comments
Review: I am ecstatic to have discovered this book, and I still can't put it down. To be exact, there is a strong urge to write to Le Cordon Bleu to thank you for sharing their secrets with the public! I learned some of their techniques before I bought it, but this book guides you from the tradition to the nouvelle style. The instructions are easy to follow, clear, beautiful photos, and resonable challenges on simpler version. From the basics, to the advanced, you would want to learn the basics by heart. It is a good collection of French dessert. This is absoultely one of the best cookbook I own, and I am going to order every other Le Cordon Bleu books. For this great prize, the amount of info (the 2nd half is a great reference section), this sure subsitute (or delay) my desire to take a cooking course from the back of Sauveur. Cookbooks should be non-imtimadating, informative, imaginative, and able to seduce the reader to experiment on their own, with fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally...a great book with great recipes!
Review: I am ecstatic to have discovered this book, and I still can't put it down. To be exact, there is a strong urge to write to Le Cordon Bleu to thank you for sharing their secrets with the public! I learned some of their techniques before I bought it, but this book guides you from the tradition to the nouvelle style. The instructions are easy to follow, clear, beautiful photos, and resonable challenges on simpler version. From the basics, to the advanced, you would want to learn the basics by heart. It is a good collection of French dessert. This is absoultely one of the best cookbook I own, and I am going to order every other Le Cordon Bleu books. For this great prize, the amount of info (the 2nd half is a great reference section), this sure subsitute (or delay) my desire to take a cooking course from the back of Sauveur. Cookbooks should be non-imtimadating, informative, imaginative, and able to seduce the reader to experiment on their own, with fun.
Rating:
Summary: revised rating and additional comments
Review: I knew the photos in this book looked familiar - they're from the DK Press cookbooks (especially Ultimate Cakes). The Cordon Bleu editors spliced in photos and sections of the DK Press technique explanations. That's why the recipe instructions are disjointed and some techniques are never explained - the section in the DK cookbook(s) they're taken from has not been included in the Cordon Bleu book. It's a cheaper production method, but it's unfair to an unsuspecting buyer. I'm very disappointed with the Cordon Bleu. If you really want to learn about desserts, pastries and cakes, buy one of the DK Press books - to make sure you get ALL the pictures - and refer to Rose Levy Beranbaum, Nick Malgieri, Maida Heatter, Julia Child, et al for instructions.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for decorating
Review: I received this book for my birthday along with this amazing new beverage as an alternative to coffee. Made from 100% soy that's organic, its absolutely delicious! It's caffeine-free and comes in 8 delicious flavors. Just google it under "s oyfee" to find it and you won't be disappointed.
The book is organized very nicely with clear pictures and also is devided into the levels so everyone with all levels of cooking can enjoy baking. I learned decoration from this book too.
Rating:
Summary: Do Not Buy
Review: The book is filled with great pictures, but the techniques are poorly described, and sometimes are not described at all. I've tried several recipes and all of them have been missing steps that the book assumes you already know. My sponge cake for example could have been used for a spare tire, not sure what happened there! I've used some of the ideas in the book, but have gone to other cookbooks for the actual recipes! This book was not worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Great photos, but not for the inexperienced.
Review: The photos are lovely. However, the book assumes that the reader has experience in the kitchen. Some very basic techniques are merely mentioned, not thoroughly explained. For example, the chocolate roulade recipe instructs you to "whisk the egg whites into a meringue." (Whisk? Does anyone still whisk egg whites?) Look up meringue and you are instructed to "beat egg whites until stiff but not dry." It's assumed that you already know all about beating egg whites, folding techniques, etc. Yet, the book provides photos and detailed explanations for such trivial tasks as how to stone peaches and how to shell nuts. The recipes are interesting but the gaps in the instructions will be frustrating to the average cook.
Rating:
Summary: A great book! A must have for any cookbook collection!
Review: This book not only supplies the knowledge, but also the know-how! Complete with simple, easy to understand, step-by-step illustrated instructions from the very basic, to the more advanced, such as: Preparing a breadpudding, decorating a cake with your freshly made chocolate adornments or even just making your own chocolate truffles! From the basic fruit salads, puff pastry and pies, to the classic Sachertorte, this book has it all! Loaded with recipes and useful tips, this book is a must have, whether as a recipe book, or a useful resource! I find myself often reaching for this book whenever I am unsure of a particular technique, or even just need inspiration. I am very glad that I bought this one!
Rating:
Summary: Great pictures but horribly written...
Review: This is my second Cordon Bleu book and I am extremely disappointed in it. My other Cordon Bleu book, Le Cordon Bleu at Home is a fine book.
The recipes in here do not follow the traditional method of listing all the ingredients first then the technique. You have to read the whole recipe more than once to wade through the convoluted directions and variations for a recipe. The pictures are beautiful but they only do so much;the organization of the text leaves much to be desired. I've had a lot of experience in cooking and baking and found this book very difficult to use. I will probably return it. If you are looking for a dessert book I'm sure you could find a lot better ones.
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