Cook Like a Chef: Season 1 V.1 (20 Episodes) [DVD]

This DVD is 14 years old, I was relevant then but its outdated now. The visual aspect is good, similar to the iron chefs cameras getting close and moving around. As far as the actual content, this is not a cooking course; its more like a demonstration that implies that you will be able to pick up the details and integrate them into your cooking technique.Most of the actual recipes are basic French: Pan frying, pan & wine sauces, mirepoix and bouquet garni into everything.It seems like these cooks just got out of culinary school and put on DVD what they learned in the first semester.Buy this if you want to see some basic French by non French chefs with a good view.

This is not a DVD about using recipes to cook stuff. It covers fundamental French-style cooking techniques. If you want recipes, try Julia Childs' "The Way to Cook" or any number of the excellent DVDs out there. Once you get a feel for the techniques presented on "Cook Like a Chef", and know how things will taste because you practiced them, you don't really need recipes. BTW, I emulated its turkey-roasting segment and oh, boy, was that bird good.There is an out-of-print companion cookbook, "cook like a chef." It is by Chris Knight, ISBN 1-55285-612-7.

This DVD was an almost complete waste of money. All it contains in a bunch of self-congratulatory young chefs running around frantically around a studio kitchen, and then eating their own cooking and praising their own abilities. There is very little to be learned on these DVDs. The one good bit was the chef making risotto, and it was good only for its comic effect, as he ran around the counter from pot to pot to pot. I don't think even an advanced chef has much to learn from this, and it's a total waste for a beginner. Instead, spend your money on DVDs by Julia Child or Lidia Bastianich or Jacques Pepin, chefs who actually teach something.

I have pleanty of cook books for recipes to fill in what was left out of the video. The inspiration, techniques and different product usage made the video well worth not only watching but owning. There was no disappointment for me and it was exactly what I expected. For what it cost it was a great deal. Thanks ever so much!

When purchasing any kind of cooking video/lesson, you anticipate that recipes will be included with the lesson... There were no recipes included, and these cooking videos were extremely disappointing. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, the instructors are all very young chefs who are VERY fond of their cooking. I did not learn anything and was not happy that I purchased these videos.

You can down load thousands of recipts from the internet. This dvd set teaches you how pros cook in a kitchen. I learned a lot and I have run a kitchen before. You will learn many bases for things. You get a taste of fine dinning.

I haven't watched it, but when I ordered it, I thought it was about Jacques Pepin. I may have made a mistake.

I consider Americas test kitchen to be twice as good and easier to duplicate the menu items.RJR

Although the recipes are great it is the professional tips and insights that make the video well worthwhile. Not your dump and stir type effort so prevalent on a good number of the celebrity type food shows. These folks are real working chefs and show you the proper techniques of the pros. The camera angles and invasive camera men are a little distracting at first but at a point the instruction overcomes this and one is refocused on the what is being prepared.I have had people who were not particularily interested in cooking get "hooked" on some of the assorted chefs on the DVD and watch them for hours. I would highly recommend Cook Like a Chef for all levels of ability and hope there is a DVD of a second season.

For those who say they don;t know how to cook, i'm sorry but your just plain lazy. get this dvd and not only learn how to cook, but learn how to cook like a chef. My favorite!!!