The Professional Chef
by Culinary Institute of America., Elizabeth Riely, Steven Kolpan, Linda Blocker, NRA Educational Foundation, Le Roi A. Folsom · first published 1962
73% recommend27% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Methodical, technique-first textbook used in culinary schools that starts from first principles; techniques come before the recipes that apply them. Suits home cooks and software-minded learners who want fundamentals.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Named one of the five favorite culinary books of this decade by Food Arts magazine, The Professional Chef is the classic kitchen reference that many of America's top chefs have used to understand basic skills and standards for quality as well as develop a sense of how cooking works. Now, the ninth edition features an all-new, user-friendly design that guides readers through each cooking technique, starting with a basic formula, outlining the method at-a-glance, offering expert tips, covering each method with beautiful step-by-step photography, and finishing with recipes that use the basic tec
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2014–2025I'm Just Here for the Food
Alton Brown
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 65 recommend · 6 mention5 recommend · 65 recommend
2007–2026How to Cook Everything
Mark Bittman
Recommended by 29 · mentioned by 3529 recommend · 35 mention29 recommend · 3529 recommend
Lateral Cooking
Niki Segnit, Yotam Ottolenghi
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
2013–2026The Food Lab
J. Kenji López-Alt
Recommended by 46 · mentioned by 5946 recommend · 59 mention46 recommend · 5946 recommend
2017–2025Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
Samin Nosrat
Recommended by 53 · mentioned by 6953 recommend · 69 mention53 recommend · 6953 recommend
2012–2022Twenty
Michael Ruhlman
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 109 recommend · 10 mention9 recommend · 109 recommend
2009–2026On food and cooking
Harold McGee
Recommended by 67 · mentioned by 9167 recommend · 91 mention67 recommend · 9167 recommend
2010–2026The flavor bible
Karen Page
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 2015 recommend · 20 mention15 recommend · 2015 recommend
…found it to be a more enjoyable read than McGee's. Not as technical which was a boon for me since as a home cook there's a lot more information that can be readily skipped. For learning to cook: The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America is a great book to learn from. All the recipes will need to be scaled down for home usage which is a bit of a nuisance though. For the home cook, Essentials Of Cooking,…
on “Ask HN: What are the best textbooks in your field of expertise?” ↗I'd recommend The Professional Chef by the CIA.
on “Are Cooking Videos Making Us Better Cooks?” ↗I would recommend The Professional Chef - it provides techniques and how do them, and follows this with recipes that apply them after. As might be expected though, this is a fairly serious book. https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-...
on “The unreasonable effectiveness of just showing up everyday” ↗Sure it does. https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-... Would be useful for any home cook (I have it in my kitchen)
on “Why do recipe writers lie and lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions?” ↗…distill my own recipe tailored to the exact ingredients and tools available to me. Other than Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, I can recommend On Food and Cooking, The Way to Cook and The Joy of Cooking, The Professional Chef, Essentials of Italian Cooking, Ratio, Food Lab. If you're looking for a reference on combining flavors see The Flavor Bible [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernist_Cuisine
on “Ask HN: How do you learn (not copy/paste) cooking?” ↗…Rubbermaid tub/lid for rising bread dough - 1 slow cooker / crock pot (you can get em for as little as $20) As for books, I've collected a few here and there but the ones I refer to the most are The Professional Chef (referenced in article), The Magnolia Bakery cookbooks, and Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (amazing bread a pizza dough for busy people). http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutioni...…
on “The Minimum Viable Kitchen” ↗Two recommendations that I think will be especially suited to the personality type that’s already matched to software development: 1) The Professional Chef - This is the textbook used in culinary schools. It’s advanced but it starts out from first principles assuming no prior knowledge and just methodically walks through literally every concept one could…
on “The unreasonable effectiveness of just showing up everyday” ↗…reference to make anything, and there's lots of info on technique. There are a few Culinary school books that are really good too (the ICC book "Fundamental Techniques of Classical Cooking" and the CIA "The Professional Chef" are good). Practice, Practice, Practice. Make certain dishes because you want to get good at a technique or skill. On general recipes: Don't make too many dishes because they were on a blog, sound…
on “Ask HN: Hackers who cook” ↗> The Professional Chef It's a great book. Most of the recipes do need to be scaled for home purposes (eg. soup recipes are one US gallon, mains are "makes 10 servings"). One of the neat things about the book is that many…
on “The unreasonable effectiveness of just showing up everyday” ↗I was a professional chef for 17 years, 11 in Michelin star restaurants and 6 as a private yacht chef. I used Cooks Illustrated America's Test Kitchen's[0] cookbooks on the yacht, mostly The Best Recipe. [1] That set of recipes…
on “Based Cooking” ↗Ninth edition is the latest (published 2011): https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-...
on “Why do recipe writers lie and lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions?” ↗…list for Japanese at the bottom. Note, I am biased against nouvelle cuisine, so you'll have to Google that for yourselves. [Haute Cuisine] Le Guide Culinaire - Auguste Escoffier [American/Haute] The Professional Chef - The Culinary Institute of America (As well as the Bakery/Pastry version) [Haute Cuisine] Le Répertoire de la Cuisine - Louis Saulnier [French/Haute Cuisine] Larousse Gastronomique - Prosper Montagné…
on “Cooking for Founders” ↗