The French Kitchen: 200 Recipes From the Master of French Cooking

I started reading tonight and immediately got enthused about the vegetable dishes and terrines. I must try the soups, soufflés and pâtés.But as I got into the book I became a little deflated. Why include yet another recipe for boeuf bourguignon or raclettes or sole veronique? Where can I get calf's brains or woodcocks or sweetbreads when I live outside of London? Even duck has become a meal of the past since we left the EU as the thin offerings we get now aren't worthy of their price compared with the wonderful magrets, guinea fowls and the like of pre-2016. Sigh!.To make matters worse, the supplier had packed a brand new book into a thin plastic bag and inevitably the book's cover was badly damaged on route.

This is a great book that is pure French cooking and includes some ingredients which may not be readily available in the UK.If the idea of eating parts of an animal which you would usually discard does not appeal then this book is not for you.The recipes are mostly straightforward and far removed from the complex Michelin starred ones that would usually be associated with this chef.Thoroughly recommended for lovers of French country cooking.

Exciting easy to read recipes and the results speak for themselves

I like his TV films, and that is why I bought the book. However photos are not very good quality, and the menus chosen for the books, are not as inspiring as several I have watched on TV. Would not personally recommend it. Mary Berry's book are much better

Having watched MRJ on Masterchef I jumped at the chance of getting this book. It has a lot of recipes and quite a few are variations on his classical test recipes from the Professionals series. The instructions are good and detailed and whilst not every recipe is illustrated enough are and look appetising enough to try and the instructions are easy to follow. There are a lot of French classics here and whilst there are some you will know many will be new. What you need to remember though is that these classics may be different in each region so the version here may not be quite the one you have experienced. The selection of sauces at the back is good as well and useful.What holds this back from being a five star book is that too many of the recipes require ingredients that you may find difficult to track down (pigs bladder, pigs head, gorse meat etc). You are going to go beyond your local supermarket in order to recreate everything here. However, what is here is well worth trying and you will enjoy both the book and the food that it helps you to create.

This is a lovely book for a 'celebrity' one. Generally I find celebrity cook books over priced and full of dishes you either would not wish to eat or cannot get the ingredients for but for the £5 I paid for this I am very pleased. The instructions are clean and there are more pictures of dishes than I thought there would be. The French are well known for their complete use of an animal (and also ones not common in the UK) and well done to them so it is no surprise to find recipes for calf's brains, ox tongue, grilled kid and horse fillet. I personally will not be trying these recipes and if it is possible to get cockscombs for the recipe on p145 I will give that a miss too. This aside, there are some lovely fowl, game and fish recipes and I will certainly be trying each of the desserts! If you love French food you will probably like all of the recipes, if you like cookbooks to enjoy reading them then you will also like this book. If you are at all squeamish over ingredients and want to be able to try the whole book then this is probably not the book for you.

I must admit I pounced on this when I saw it had the recipe for beer soup that was on the telly the other night, without the very appetising little choux buns but what looks like a very tasty alternative. Since becoming older and less sturdy in the dentine department I have become a huge fan of terrines and mousses and there are some absolute cracking examples in here. I am positively twitching to get on and start on the ham mousse. The little mutton pies look delicious, and his scrambled eggs and chicken choux buns are making my mouth water just thinking about them. Haven't got my apron yet, and you may ask why I'm reviewing before cooking. This is Michel Roux Jnr, as if the recipes won't work perfectly. Apart from wrestling with a pig's head, or foraging through the entire mort of England to find a full foie gras, I'm prepared to try any of the recipes on faith as its inconceivable he would present any recipe that isn't out of this world delicious. If you don't cook, and have no intentions of cooking, then just reading this book feels like one step away from sitting in a restaurant actually eating, they look that good. Decades ago I found a fully illustrated book of Escoffier recipes, and never cooked a single one, although I have often browsed through it over the years. I cannot say the same of any of the family Roux books. They are all pretty dog eared and stained now from sitting open amongst the detritus on my kitchen worktop.

Have tried a few of the recipes now and OH MY they were worth the effort. I now understand why people like beef bourguignon after years of not understanding (thanks to my wonderful mum for cooking that one). I made duck and red wine last weekend. My husband gets to eat at Michelin star restaurants quite often through work and he said this duck dish was right up there with the best he’s ever eaten. My oh my it was good. Can’t wait to try more. Poached chicken tomorrow. If you like cooking then buy it. If you like eating then buy it for someone who likes cooking. Wow.