professional cooking

The book has wealth of information for those absolutely new to Food and Beverage. Don't look for inside hints or for good restaurant or service systems for the professional, it's just not there. I ordered the book to improve my knowledge of the finer points of service, what I got instead was a rehash of basic techniques that have been better presented elsewhere. Disappointing for the price.

There's not a whole lot to say about the English edition of the service textbook used by Swiss hotel management schools. Clear writing, decent maps/diagrams, illustrative photographs, and a conservative position are some of the features of this book that covers both dining room and banquet service.

Like the French edition ("Technologie du service"), the page layout design leaves a fair amount of blank space which results in a volume that's much larger than necessary. Still, this is a good reference for the F&B or catering manager to have on his/her bookshelf, to be supplanted with Conrad Tuor's compact "Aide-Memoire du Sommelier" (a.k.a., "Wine and Food Handbook").