Prune Hardcover – June 1, 2015

There are many inspiring and even poetic recipes in this cookbook, many. The notes, while a bit patronizing, are very helpful. I would have preferred, notes that are a bit less, "I told you how to do it.".. However, my main objection to this cookbook is the absolute lack of an index. even in the sub categories, there is no protein, veg or otherwise order. Very annoying.I am serious, but clearly not a professional chef, which I am assuming is the vast majority of who bought this book. There is no need for the arrogance of acting as if this is for pros only. Even then I do not understand the lack of organization, which is very arbitrary, albiet personal. Your audience are people that go to the farmers market and then come home and want to find a recipe that favors what they bought. This is not the book that allows that. Too bad, there are so many good recipes in here, that are not accessible. Why in the world would you not do an index? Why make it hard to find recipes that are based on specific primary ingredients, rather than personal ideas of when one might eat something. I do not get it? it would be very good if the publishers would offer a supplement index to compliment this otherwise great collection of ideas and recipes.

This is not a real cookbook. some of the strangest ingredients ever. Beef tongue. Octopus. Monkfish liver. I never even made it to the entrees. Few pictures but many of those of uncooked meat. Hard to read handwritten scribbles as notes or warnings or advice or serving size adjustments. Increasing the font didn’t make the handwriting legible. Many instructions included steps like “plate” the items, get the “entire staff” to help, cook things in “hotel pans in at least 2 different ovens.” Some of the recipes don’t have amounts for individual ingredients. I began to think this was the author’s second novel and her publisher’s idea of a joke.

Such a cool book. The care to make this feel real is outstanding. As a fellow Chef I loved all the notes and insights into the Chef’s mind and all the pet peeves. We all have them and the good ones have similar ones. I can’t put this book down. I am currently reading it cover to cover. I own about 1000 cookbooks and this one has become my favorite by far this year.

I’m a big fan of Gabrielle Hamilton and always love her recipes in the Nytimes Cooking website. This cookbook is a departure from any other cookbook I’ve had. And, I’ve got a significant cookbook library from Julia Child to Daniel Boulud. I read Prune from cover to cover the day amazon delivered it. It is really not a cookbook for the home cook unless you’re familiar with restaurant jargon and procedures. There were many restaurant terms that were unfamiliar. It may change the way you cook. The writing is fluid and intimate. This book is a challenge not an easy go. There is no index or table of contents per se.

Well, not ALL ALL but she provides many recipes from her appearances on PBS' excellent series The Mind of a Chef, as well as recipes you may be familiar with from her autobiography Blood, Bones and Butter (highly recommend!). In addition there are oodles of other wonderful recipes featured at her NYC restaurant Prune. (Can you tell I'm a fan?)Anyway "wall to wall", this cookbook takes you through creating super-delicious food step-by-step with 'hand written' notes and photos galore. You'll gain an inside look into the practices that keep Prune at the top of their game as well as expanding your skill-level in the kitchen.Do check out her section on cocktails! Salud!

I have loved Chef Hamilton since I first saw her on Chef’s Table. I am a collector of cookbooks. While not a professional chef I am an avid and decent cook. I worked in the industry for forty five years. Mostly front of the house. This book is very detailed and gives one the experience of the kitchen without being there. It’s a tough grind. Not a walk in the park. The recipes are thoroughly presented. Nothing is average. For me this is more a novel of a journey through the kitchen at PRUNE than what one usually gets from a celebrity chef cookbook. Some readers will be disappointed expecting a nice easy presentation. For me it’s a great adventure.

Ok, I would give this 5 stars. But I can’t get most of the products in my area. I own a restaurant and really love all the side notes. I’ve even used some of her thoughts on left overs to help at the restaurant. I would love to follow this chef around for just a few days to be able to learn a fraction of what she knows. I love cookbooks , but this is also a book that reads like a novel. You feel like your in her kitchen for the good and the bad. I recommend this book to any restaurant owner or chef, there is plenty of insight.

I feel terrible leaving a 1-star review for a very good cookbook based on the crummy binding, but whatya gonna do.I made for myself a project of reconstructing the book. But hey, Random House, what the heck? Seriously? You don't know how to put together a hard-cover book that will stand up to a couple decades of use?

I bought this when it came out, and two copies for friends ... but the major flaw was that there was no index! How could Random House have allowed this to happen? Luckily the wonderful people at Eat Your Books collaborated with Gabrielle, and there's now a downloadable index on the Prune website.The content of the book is imaginatively laid out, somewhat in the style of a chef's notebook, with addenda and other info apparently sellotaped onto the page, and photographs "backstage', as it were. Gabrielle's is a truly original voice in the cooking world, and this book deserves to be on your shelf.

I pretty much love everything about this book from the photos to the no nonsense language in the recipes. Admittedly this is not for first time cooks as it is very loose in the language, but anyone wanting to learn a bit about the back story in a bustling restaurant kitchen would enjoy the read. Also the recipes are great and they work and are so dang delicious.

great but could do with an index

It was a gift I bought for my sister who is an excellent cook. She loves this book. What inspired her to ask for this book was the real life story behind the chef in her story called Blood, Bones and Butter.

O livro veio com a capa totalmente danificada, parecendo mais um livro usado.