Just a French Guy Cooking: Easy recipes and kitchen hacks for rookies
£12.70£14.30 (-11%)
French Guy Cooking is a YouTube sensation with half a million subscribers. A Frenchman living in Paris, Alex loves to demystify cooking by experimenting with food and cooking methods to take the fear factor out of the kitchen. He wants to make cooking fun and accessible, and he charms his viewers with his geeky approach to food.
In this, his debut cookbook, he shares 90 of his absolute favourite recipes, some of which feature step-by-step photography from amazingly tasty toast and pizza ideas all the way to some classic but super-simple French dishes. Along the way, he offers ingenious kitchen hacks a cheat’s guide to wine, five knives you need in your kitchen, the secret to brilliant ramen so that anyone can throw together great food without any fuss.
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Additional information
| Publisher | 1st edition (6 Sept. 2018), Quadrille Publishing Ltd |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 176 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1787132234 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1787132238 |
| Dimensions | 18.73 x 2.54 x 23.5 cm |
by Andy Peiris
Watching Alex’s YouTube channel for some time now, I thought I will get his first cooking book.
My expectations has been surpassed. I have been expecting one of those standard cook books (sorry Alex), but was surprised with a joyful, colourful, recipe book with lots of delicious looking dishes, lots of handy tips, drawings and photographs.
This book is good reflection of the Just A French Guy Cooking’s personality with small bits of humour and handy tips. Enjoying reading it, as much as I was watching Alex’s videos. Great work for all involved!
by Serenedipity
I love Alex on YouTube but I didn’t love this book. All the interesting recipes are much better explaine don his channel and all the rest are just … meh. I find the cooking books can be either artsy or everyday recipe inspirations, and this is one is falling short in both categories. Still love Alex though!
by Mr. P. F. Robertshaw
I like Alex. I’ve watched a bunch of his YouTube videos. I like how he breaks things down and takes them apart to create perfect versions. I thought this cook book would be in that vain. But it’s not. It’s just a regular cook book and there are much better ones out there. The bit that really disappointed me was the croissant recipe. I’d have happily paid for this book just for that recipe believing that he’d done all the ground work and research to create the perfect croissant. But his recipe in the book uses store bought filo pastry.
by Louis
I’ve been watching Alex for a long time now, and this book lives up to all of my expectations. What he has done has redefined how I view Gallic gastronomy. As much as I love the traditional Burgundian fare which I typically associate with French cuisine, it can seem a little bit heavy and buttery (if such a thing is even possible), but Alex has offered his own unique twists in order to reinvigorate traditional dishes, providing hacks and tweaks which I shall definitely be trying. I also love the international scope of the recipes on offer: this is a book to cater for everyone’s palate, and though I am a keen cook anyway, I would strongly recommend this as the first port of call for beginners too – Alex’s no-BS approach will give even the most reluctant of cooks the vital ingredient of confidence. Without wanting to sound too pretentious (though it may be a bit late for that), his cooking philosophy is truly inspirational. C’est vraiment fantastique! (Cheers to Google translate for that one).
by DR D P WATSON
I’m writing this review as a fan of Alex and his you tube channel so there may be a not-so-hidden bias here…
I love this book!
Each recipe has a little preface that I can’t help but hear as being read by Alex with his almost Monty Pythonesque French accent. Most recipes also have an afterword or addendum giving more details on how to adjust for taste or dietary requirements.
The sections on so-called “hacks” are somewhat useful; the herb section is great, anecdotes about chopping onions are entertaining.
I own lots of cookbooks and this one is right up there with the best of the Nigel Slaters and Simon Hopkinsons!
Buy it, then cook everything in it. You will be a better person for the experience!
by Bettina Hughes
Lots of interesting recipes. From simple to more demanding, it’s all here. I actually read this like a novel and the annotations are fun to read. I would definitely recommend this!
by HeLiam
I’ve followed Alex’s youtube channel for a few years now, and this book is a clear extension of his channel, both in quality, style, and personality.
One thing that stands out in particular about all of Alex’s work is the brutal honesty that underpins it. In his channel he shows his failures, and in this book he adds at least one personal note to every recipe. Whether that be his own thoughts, alternative ingredients, backgrounds on the traditional recipe, demystifying pretentious terms, and unapologetic cheats/variations on the original to make it more accessible to everyone. He presents every recipe as an opportunity that is realistically achievable to every home cook; each one is an opportunity to try new foods, get excited about new techniques, or inviting you to add your own flair to it.
This book is not only filled with clear and delicious recipes, but also serves as an insight to Alex’s mind, filled with enthusiasm, experience, humour, and honesty on every page.
by Daniel
It’s a very well presented cookbook, the style is familiar and reflective of Alex’s personality, which always makes me smile every time he uploads a video on YouTube (check out the channel!) and now every time I open up the book to cook. Plenty of recipes inside to broaden your culinary experience; from Shakshuka to Alex’s obsession – Ramen (and plenty more!). Can’t wait to get stuck into more of these and learn a few kitchen ‘hacks’ in the process.
It does feel like it gets a little text heavy at times – I think this is partly because its a slightly smaller page size than some other books and there’s a lot in there – so perhaps a slightly bigger version would allow some breathing space for the detail.
Overall I’m very happy with the purchase and wasn’t a rip off price like some cook books.