The Way To Cook DVD

Although it shares a title with  Julia Child's magnum opus , it actually predates it by a few years, and represents what might be considered the twilight of the first part of Child's career. Though much faster-paced than her PBS shows and with a different visual feel because of the single camera, TWTC represents a masterpiece of short-form cooking shows (as well as a top-notch guide for the would-be YouTube chef), as well as one of the best thought out designs for a VHS product of its genre, including a relatively early use of on-screen bugs to provide easy lookup for both the onscreen recipe as well as the accompanying booklet. The DVD production is no-fuss -- no commentary or special features, just basic lookup menus with each recipe to its own chapter, and two discs where the original took up six tapes. (Another reviewer complained about the video quality; considering what was available for field production in 1985, IMHO it's actually about as good as you can expect it to be.) Also, although I'm not 100% sure, I seem to recall it was taped in her little-shown California home, which makes a nice bonus for longtime fans.The recipes are mostly Julia's classics, including her much-beloved Queen of Sheba chocolate cake and French onion soup, as well as the French bread recipe she and Simone Beck learned directly from French bread impresario Raymond Calvel. The material in the video set is covered in the later book as well, but the two actually seem to stand alone in their own rights. It does lack Child's famous asides and chitchat, but at the same time it proves that she was just as capable of running a tightly planned show as her usual, more personable TV productions. The graphics are... well, it was 1985, so about what you'd expect.The only bothersome thing is that it actually seems too short, if only because six one-hour shows at firehose speed isn't exactly sit-with-a-glass-of-wine-and-some-food-porn leisurely. But it's still excellent work from one of the 20th century's greatest American food personalities, and a nice change of pace when you're bored with the usual PBS and Food Network fare. (And do get the book with it; it's an amazing piece of work.)

This has to be by far the BEST cooking DVD. Believe me when I tell you, if you buy this you will need no other.There are two DVDs that include :Poultry, Meat, Vegetables, Soups, Salads, Bread, Fish, Eggs, First Courses and Dessert. To give you an example on how the DVDs and classes work:Every class has a number Example: Sauteed Chicken is 101, you watch her prepare it, if for example there is an ingredient like sautéed mushrooms that needs to be added then that preparation is 103, you can then stop and go to 103 and see how it's prepared, that way once you know how to prepare a recipe and want to just watch the steps, you don't have to watch every single step , just what you need. And for example after sautéed chicken come recipes that have that same chicken as the base, so once you know how to sauté chicken you can then move on to Coq au vin or chicken with mushrooms and cream or chicken provencal, etc. all with sautéed chicken as base. And believe me with Julia preparing you feel like you can do any of those recipes. She makes you feel very confident.The DVDs also come with a booklet, and not just a crummy pamphlet but a booklet with every recipe in the DVDs.I really believe that every household should have this, it is such an easy way to come together as a family and have dinner with great food that doesn't take forever to prepare in most cases. Forget fast food, here you have very good food made very quickly and you know each and every ingredient that goes into it.Bon appétit!

The first time I saw this video, I had checked it out from the library. Watching, I found it a masterwork in simplicity and decided to buy it. Not only does Julia teach the viewer how to cook (even without a recipe in most instances, except for the fancier desserts), but she has the DVD indexed in such a wonderful way that it's very easy to go immediately to the lesson you want. She presents a basic recipe and then variations on the basic. It is not entertainment, but a pleasant, essentially timeless (unless ingredients disappear for environmental reasons) cooking school with only the extended cooking periods removed.One thing dates it: she encourages the viewer to taste for seasoning in two places, I believe, (1) when she has mixed it with raw meat and (2) when she has prepared a stuffing with raw egg. Since the 1980s, we've seen enough salmonella and e-coli outbreaks to be wary of this practice.And finally, there was only one recipe offered that I found a little disappointing: the French bread. She doesn't use a biga or poolish to develop the complexity of flavor through pre-fermentation.This is really a fine little cooking school, and I highly recommend it to both beginners and seasoned cooks who enjoy learning from a chef who loves making "chef school" (cooking, but not restaurant management) accessible to everyone who is interested.A little companion "brochure" with recipes for the lessons shipped with my DVDs. (I ordered one for myself and two more for gifts) It is divided into the same basic sections with numbered lessons to match those of the DVD.This would be a great way for a young person to prepare for either independent living or work as a chef -- and to practice on the family as the lessons progress!

Even if your culinary talent is mediocre at best, this old-school (gold-school) lady will teach you how to cook non-pretentious basic dishes. A booklet is also supplied with the DVDs enclosed. This is a very practical, no-nonsense series of tutorials on the basics of cooking. Page numbers are discretely presented for the various recipes on-screen so you can refer to the booklet later as a reference.

these dvd were a great trip back in time and the recipes work really well, we are slowly working our way through it

i due dvd sono completati da un piccolo libricino (manuale non rilegato e senza figure) dove sono elencate brevemente le ricette e (ovviamente gli ingredienti per prepararle).qui Julia ci insegna alcune delle sue ricette, fornendoci anche alcune variazioni rispetto alla versione primaria (Mastering the Art of French Cooking) ma non vi so dire quali e come, dato che questo è il mio primo acquisto inerente le ricette di Julia.all'interno dei dvd le ricette sono divise in categorie e all'interno della categoria selezionata si possono vedere tutte le ricette in sequenza oppure selezionare una singola ricetta di interesse per una visione mirata.le categorie sono: POLLAME, CARNE, VERDURE, ZUPPE INSALATE E PANE, PESCE E UOVA, ANTIPASTI E DESSERTSle migliori tecniche per cucinare, con meravigliosi consigli su come montare le salse, non far sgonfiare timballi/sufflè tra le cose importanti per la buona riuscita delle ricette. "TUTTO CIO' CHE JULIA SA TU IMPARERAI" e come esclama lei, ad ogni ricetta con il suo inconfondibile accento rustico: " Bon appétit!"le puntate sono a colori IN LINGUA INGLESE - NO SOTTOTITOLI(diversamente da altri dvd che collezionano altre ricette video di Julia che invece sono in bianco e nero) e credo sia proprio l'ultima serie che Julia ha fatto, comunque sono datate 1985.ATTENZIONE: consiglio buona dimestichezza con la lingua per comprendere senza intoppi sia la parte video che la lettura del libricino.metto 4 stelle al prodotto e non 5 perchè: mi sarebbe piaciuto che il libro (con copertina rigida) contenesse i 2 dvd e che la confezione fosse un pò più pratica (la custodia ha il primo dvd in una sede centrale che si stacca sempre quando si fa per accedere al secondo dvd, non è propriamente rotta, ma è come se lo fosse se ogni volta devo trovare il sistema per incastrarla nuovamente!)Julia ti rapisce subito con i suoi modi spontanei e la sua vivacità, credo che dopo aver imparato queste preziose ricette, comprerò anche dei suoi libri poichè sono interessata a perfezionare la mia cucina casalinga. (ci sono molte cose che cucino tra cui diverse ricette giapponesi e cinesi, molte mie ricette della cucina italiana sono contaminazioni della mamma e della nonna e spesso le mie ricette seguono l'ispirazione del momento; solo da poco ho cominciato a creare zuppe partendo da ingredienti rigorosamente freschi e ora vorrei scoprire metodi e basi soprattutto della cottura delle carni in forno che fino ad ora non ho mai cucinato altro che un tipo di polpettone, il pollo o l'anatra interi e le cosce di pollo, invece sarebbe una grande soddisfazione imparare ricette dal gusto raffinato e perchè no magari un bel roastbeef all'inglese -non so ancora se una versione della ricetta sia contenuta in questi dvd-)

My youngest Daughter 17 is an aspiring chef, and has been watching Julia (in reruns) since she was very young. We gave her a Julia Child themed Christmas this year, and she loved each and every item we managed to find! Even though we are all Vegan, Julia's technique, style, and versatility, made her an iconic star by being real, and she is, or should be an inspiration to all chefs!

So glad has the little book with it. Really good buy..