Christian Chefs International - Recommended Books

Return To Recommended Books Homepage

Must have books for those who want to be a professional cook/chef. These books will get you familiar with the fundamentals of cooking, but to get even further check out some of the other more specialized categories of our Recommended Books. See our Baking & Pastry category for those wanting to be pastry chefs.

The Professional Chef
by The Culinary Institute of America
This is one of the best all-around cooking informational book and cookbook on the market. It is produced by the chef instructors of the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) and is the main textbook for the entire school's curriculum. It is the main textbook for many other culinary schools as well. This book is excellent for anyone who likes to cook, from the novice to the professional. Everything is covered in it; from the basics, such as how to tell if the produce is fresh, to the not-so-basics, such as creating the more complex sauces (with easily learnable instructions). Recommended by Ira Krizo, Christian Chef.

On Cooking
by Sarah Labensky
This is a very similar book to The Professional Chef above, and used by many other culinary schools as their textbook. Read through the reviews and sample pages to see which you prefer, but you really only need one of the two books. Recommended by Ira Krizo, Christian Chef.

The New Food Lover's Companion
by Sharon Tyler Herbst
A culinary terms dictionary which has almost any English language culinary-based term you can imagine (including many frequently used French culinary terms). This book is excellent as a quick reference for everything from unusual ingredients to cooking techniques to classic recipes and their history. Recommended by Ira Krizo, Christian Chef.

Larousse Gastronomique
The best all-purpose culinary encyclopedia you can find. It speaks of culinary styles & regions, has over 3500 recipes, cooking techniques, and more. Recommended by Ira Krizo, Christian Chef.

On Food and Cooking
by Harold McGee

Yes, even professional cooks and chefs need to know a thing or two about baking and pastry (see Baking & Pastry category for my review)

Cooks Illustrated
This is a great magazine that really gets deep into why we do what we do through using a test-kitchen approach to finding the best recipe, method, cooking technique, and even cooking supply and equipment test reviews. Somewhat of a Consumer Reports magazine on cooking. Recommended by Ira Krizo, Christian Chef.

All links open in a new window
Return To Recommended Books Homepage

CCF receives a very small commission for any books sold through these recommendations. Click HERE to find more information about how we handle our finances and what we use them for. Also please feel free to Contact Us if you know of any other exceptional books you believe our members would benefit from. If you are looking to promote your own book(s) we do require a sample copy for reviewing purposes.