Rating  - Great Book
This is a wonderfully informational book for aspiring chefs or "foodies" who enjoy cooking. I gives you basic knowledge and information to help you understand the cooking process and food selection. I would highly recommend this book!
Rating - Basic kitchen reference book
Every cook should have this available. No recipe will be too difficult with this book to decipher it.
Rating  - Excellent reference, good assortment of recipes.
As a self-taught amateur "chef", I have been very pleased with this useful reference volume from CIA. While professionals may find this a bit rudimentary in its coverage, there is much of value for "the rest of us" who would love to go to culinary school but can't.
The first portion of the book is strictly for food-service professionals, with information on how to operate a restaurant kitchen. There is also a brief segment on the basic science of food preparation. The next portion discusses major cultural influences and cuisines from all areas of the world, including charts that summarize the key ingredients to be found in each culinary "dialect." The third portion, which I found extremely helpful as one without formal training, was an extensive photographic reference of nearly every type of ingredient you might run across in the kitchen, grouped by category.
The remaining two-thirds or so of the book is the recipe section, but it's more than just that. First, there is a detailed teaching segment on how to make stocks and sauces, "les fondes de cuisine," complete with step-by-step photos. This is of great importance since a very large number of the recipes to follow will use the stocks and sauces you make at this stage. From there, the recipes are categorized by the type of food or cooking method, such as meats & seafood, vegetables, braising and stewing, immersion cooking, etc. Each section opens with some helpful illustrated instruction relevant to that type of food or method.
In a nutshell, this book is both an excellent teaching tool for the uninitiated, and a handy reference for the professional. I would add only one caveat: all the recipe sizes assume restaurant use, with 10 servings being typical, so you'll need to adjust accordingly for smaller settings.
Rating - More Than Satisfied
This book is wonderful for the person who wants to learn cooking techniques, and is not looking for another receipe book. The pictures and instructions are excellent; more along the line of what you would learn in culinary school. As for the receipes included, they are in large quantities, so unless you are able to reduce them (something the book teaches), they are not appropriate for the average family.
If you are unable to attend culinary school, but have the desire to learn what is taught in them, this book is perfect!
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