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Thomas Keller runs The French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York, both with three Michelin stars, and is the only American chef to have held three stars at two restaurants at the same time.
Sous vide came to him through the Frenchman Bruno Goussault, who developed the method for restaurant use in the 1970s and is about as close as the technique has to a true originator. Keller came to it relatively late and went on to become its most influential advocate.
The book shows what the method can actually do that others cannot, namely precision all the way through the ingredient. Steak that is perfectly medium rare from surface to centre, ribs that become meltingly tender without giving up their flavour to the cooking liquid, and fish that would otherwise have a cooking window of only a few minutes.
The scientific sections are written by Harold McGee, which tells you something about the level at which the book operates. It assumes you have an immersion circulator and vacuum sealer and makes no attempt to adapt itself to an ordinary home kitchen.
It was published in 2008, when the technique still belonged largely to restaurant kitchens and when health authorities in some places were questioning whether it should even be permitted. The fact that Keller was the one to write the book was probably crucial to sous vide being accepted rather than dismissed.
Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 304
Language: English
First published: 2008
