Practical cookery vs The Professional Chef: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Quantity cookery, Quantity cooking, Cookery, Cooking
Practical cookery
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This edition includes information on food allergies, sauces, butters and processed meats, as well as additional pastry, soup and water ice recipes. It is suitable for training levels up to and including NVQ Level 4.
The Professional Chef
“The first restaurant (as we know restaurants today) opened in Paris in 1765, when M. Boulanger, a tarvern keeper, served a dish of sheep's feet, or trotters, in a white sauce as a restorative.”
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"Named one of the five favorite culinary books of this decade by Food Arts magazine, The Professional Chef is the classic kitchen reference that many of America's top chefs have used to understand basic skills and…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Practical cookery is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 22 for The Professional Chef.
- Practical cookery has the widest readership — 66 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Practical cookery | The Professional Chef | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.1 (66) | — |
| Hardcover | — | 4.7 (11) |
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Reception
| Practical cookery | The Professional Chef | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 66 | 11 |
| Editions | 13 | 31 |
| Want to read | 336 | — |
| Reading it now | 25 | — |
| Written reviews | 3 | — |
| Pages | 320 | 1232 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Practical cookery or The Professional Chef?
The Professional Chef has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Professional Chef 4.1/5, Practical cookery 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: Practical cookery or The Professional Chef?
Practical cookery is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Practical cookery (320 pages, ≈ 5 h 56 m); The Professional Chef (1232 pages, ≈ 22 h 49 m).
Which is harder to read: Practical cookery or The Professional Chef?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Practical cookery: Moderate; The Professional Chef: Challenging.