French Patisserie: Master Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts

ITS LIKE A COLLEGE ART HISTORY BOOK: A HUGE THICK VOLUME OF PHOTOS OF BEAUTIFUL ART WORKS. I HAVEN'T MADE ANYTHING FROM IT YET THOUGH, BUT IT SURE IS A TREASURE JUST TO BEHOLD.

Such a comprehensive guide with great pictures and instructions. I love that there are recipes for every level so you can progress in your skills.

I don’t usually leave reviews but I felt compelled to after receiving my book. An instructional French pastry book would not be complete or authentic, without well written step by step instructions for simple traditional to phenomenally complex recipes, accompanied by beautiful pictures on high quality paper. Down to the ribbons for page markers, the book’s authors and contributors thought of everything. Nothing has been left out, from quality ingredient recommendations, to tips on how to prepare each tiny component to make the perfect pastry. I am literally in love with this book, and studying from cover to cover. I can only express my gratitude and appreciation for the contributors of this book who must have spent so much time, and passed on their traditions. I am only a home cook, but I have loved cooking and baking for my whole life. I care about making my food perfect for my loved ones, so they can understand the love I put into it. That is why I am so grateful for this book. You must purchase if you have a passion for baking and appreciate tradition as well. Ce livre est parfait et très spécial, il faut l'acheter !

Very complete! It seems like I can find the recipe for all things I'm interested like mousse, white chocolate mousse (which requires more ingredients to solidify it), all sorts of creme (patisserie, chantilly, mouseline, etc). And so far I've always had good results with the methods and ingredients.Lots of large pics and the words are just enough, not too much that it's overbearing like some other cookbooks.Updates Jan 2021: For the entremet recipes I do find that some of the measurements are off. For example on the round coffee entremet, it says to prepare 500ml heavy cream for the infused cream. Later on, only 240ml cream are used for the custard. So it takes some guessing if the typo was in the 500ml or the 240ml.Also I do find that for the entemet, oftentimes the components yield much more than needed. I think they can improve on that so that we don't need to waste too much.However, for individual, simpler recipe, the recipes seem to be more on point.And in all, it's a worthy book to have. Esp during lockdown, the book is full of inspiration of things to try from biscuits, chocolate, macarons, gummy jellies, sorbet, and many more.

This is a fabulous book! If you are a baker, this could be your bible. Some of the ingredients are not easy if impossible to find. In any case it’s a beautiful book.

I have nothing but nice things to say about this text. It's a massive book -- coffee-table sized for sure -- and it's full of exemplary instruction on pastry basics, as well as some beautiful, classic recipes.The instructions for techniques are accompanied by large, clear photos. Ingredients and equipment are noted ahead of time.If you don't have the time or money to go to pastry school, this is a great compromise in terms of self-paced learning.

Midwestern amateur baker here... I have always wanted to learn to make some of those delicious French pastries you see on all the cooking shows and competitions. CHALLENGE accepted. I tried my hand at chocolate Croissants.I made 2 batches. 1st batch edible, 2nd batch almost perfect. The book is not perfect for directions. You have to flip to several different chapters to put the full dessert together. It could be better with step by step. I had to use YouTube to see the laminating process, the photos and directions were lacking. I will continue to work my way through the book making more desserts and challenging myself. The book itself is beautiful and heavy! You could use to defend yourself if needed.

This beautiful book is MASSIVE (no joke, it weighs 10+pounds), but, WOW! As others have said, if it isn't in this tome, it doesn't exist! It IS like going to Paris to the School, without the cost of classes, lodging, and a plane ticket! I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but it's beautiful enough to be a great coffee table book, as flipping through it will certainly spark discussion! A great buy!