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The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life Hardcover – Print, November 20, 2012
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“If you crossed Jason Bourne with Julia Child, you’d end up with Tim Ferriss.” – Marco Canora, Chef-Partner of Hearth & Terroir
“Wildly inventive.. [a] rangy, obsessive immersion in food and its many wonders. [T]he tools needed to learn to cook well can be deployed in every manner of endeavor, from skinning a deer to memorizing a deck of cards. The author distills them into minimal, learnable units and examines how to order the units so as to keep readers engaged in their endeavors. Ferriss is a beguiling guide to this process, at once charmingly smart aleck-y and deadly serious, and he aims to make readers knowledgeable and freethinking.” - Kirkus Reviews
"Tim Ferriss distills kitchen wisdom like a rotary evaporator on power surge. The results are potent, lucid, and delicious." - Nick Kokonas, Co-Owner, Alinea, Next, The Aviary
WHAT IF YOU COULD BECOME WORLD-CLASS IN ANYTHING IN 6 MONTHS OR LESS?
The 4-Hour Chef isn’t just a cookbook. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure guide to the world of rapid learning.
#1 New York Times bestselling author (and lifelong non-cook) Tim Ferriss takes you from Manhattan to Okinawa, and from Silicon Valley to Calcutta, unearthing the secrets of the world’s fastest learners and greatest chefs. Ferriss uses cooking to explain “meta-learning,” a step-by-step process that can be used to master anything, whether searing steak or shooting 3-pointers in basketball. That is the real “recipe” of The 4-Hour Chef.
You'll train inside the kitchen for everything outside the kitchen. Featuring tips and tricks from chess prodigies, world-renowned chefs, pro athletes, master sommeliers, super models, and everyone in between, this “cookbook for people who don’t buy cookbooks” is a guide to mastering cooking and life.
The 4-Hour Chef is a five-stop journey through the art and science of learning:
1. META-LEARNING. Before you learn to cook, you must learn to learn. META charts the path to doubling your learning potential.
2. THE DOMESTIC. DOM is where you learn the building blocks of cooking. These are the ABCs (techniques) that can take you from Dr, Seuss to Shakespeare.
3. THE WILD. Becoming a master student requires self-sufficiency in all things. WILD teaches you to hunt, forage, and survive.
4. THE SCIENTIST. SCI is the mad scientist and modernist painter wrapped into one. This is where you rediscover whimsy and wonder.
5. THE PROFESSIONAL. Swaraj, a term usually associated with Mahatma Gandhi, can be translated as “self-rule.” In PRO, we’ll look at how the best in the world become the best in the world, and how you can chart your own path far beyond this book.
- Print length672 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherNew Harvest
- Publication dateNovember 20, 2012
- Dimensions7.5 x 1.92 x 9.13 inches
- ISBN-100547884591
- ISBN-13978-0547884592
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Tim learns about selecting the best cuts at Dickson's Farmstand Meats. At Dickson's Farmstand Meats, Tim gets tips on
the art of butchering from an in-house expert. Tim prepares to make Bistecca
Alla Panzanese. He coats the meat with grapeseed oil and
seasons both sides with salt and pepper.
Harissa Crab Cakes, a quick appetizer that showcases the flavors of chili and lime. The ingredients for Mashed Coconut
Cauliflower with Cashews--mashed potato
mouthfeel without the guilt. Tim prepares succulent Herbed
Sous-Vide Turkey Legs with thyme,
sage, garlic, and butter. These White Chocolate Chip and Pistachio
Cookies have a delectable flavor and texture.
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : New Harvest; 1st edition (November 20, 2012)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 672 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0547884591
- ISBN-13 : 978-0547884592
- Item Weight : 3.85 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.5 x 1.92 x 9.13 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #487,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,416 in Other Diet Books
- #4,390 in Culinary Arts & Techniques (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the authors
Penny De Los Santos began photographing as a way to understand her own diverse cultural background and identity.
Born in Europe to an American military family that eventually settled in small town Texas, with generations of family history tied to the Texas-Mexico border, Penny’s background no doubt inspired curiosity about culture.
From the historical all male dining clubs of the Basque Country, to Jerusalem’s most suicide bomber besieged markets, photographing culture has been at the heart of Penny’s work. It has influenced the subject she picks and the way she makes photographs. Her recent evolution into food photography has allowed her to explore and celebrate culture, history and community through the lens food.
She has been fortunate enough to travel extensively throughout the US and to over 30 countries on assignment for various magazines making these photographs.
Penny is an award-winning internationally published photographer, she is a Senior Contributing photographer to Saveur Magazine and a regular contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine and Martha Stewart Living. Penny has received numerous grants, fellowships, and awards for her documentary photography including: The National Geographic Photography Grant, Recipient of the Prestigious World Press Joop Stewart Master class, College Photographer of the Year, Eastman Kodak Photography Grant, Canon USA Photography Grant, The Eddie Adams Photography Grant, California New Media Award, Ohio University School of Visual Communication Photography Grant and The Parson’s School of Design Marty Fortier Fellowship.
Her work has been featured in magazines including Time, News Week, Sports Illustrated, Mother Jones, Latina, Texas Monthly, Budget Travel, Caribbean Travel, U.S. News & World Report and Paris Match. She has been a contract photographer for numerous publishing companies and cookbooks.
De Los Santos has a Masters degree from Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication and an Undergraduate degree in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She has been a featured speaker at many universities and industry conferences throughout the country. She is represented by National Geographic Image Collection.
Tim Ferriss has been listed as one of Fast Company‘s ‘Most Innovative Business People’ and one of Fortune‘s ‘40 under 40’. He is an early-stage technology investor/advisor (Uber, Facebook, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ others) and the author of four #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef and Tools of Titans. The Observer and other media have called Tim ‘the Oprah of audio’ due to the influence of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, which is the first business/interview podcast to exceed 200 million downloads. Tim received his BA from Princeton University in 2000, where he focused on language acquisition and East Asian Studies. He developed his non-fiction writing with Pulitzer Prize winner John McPhee and formed his life philosophies under Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe. He is far dumber than both. Tim enjoys bear claws, chocolate croissants, writing ‘About’ pages in third person and neglecting italics.
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Customers find the book provides useful information and advice for learning. They find it easy to read and well-researched. The book offers simple, straightforward instructions and recipes that are easy to follow. Readers appreciate the interesting cooking tips and techniques, describing it as a valuable resource for cooking skills. Overall, customers consider the book an enjoyable read and a good value for money.
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Customers find the book provides useful advice and techniques for learning. They appreciate the valuable resources and lists of tools included in the appendix. The descriptions are informative without being overly technical, and the book teaches kitchen creativity basics.
"...detailed above, the appendix is related to random skills and interesting "life hacks" that you can learn quickly...." Read more
"...Most important, this section teaches you the basics of kitchen creativity, and how to branch out and improvise on your own using the techniques from..." Read more
"...Equipment/Pantry Items: I loved this section. The stuff he recommends is really good, and he obviously put a lot of thought into this...." Read more
"...There's a lot of this in there, in both very entertaining and usable kind, but you'll have to consign yourself to jumping around a lot, something..." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and well-researched. They appreciate the author's storytelling style and the dense, rich content that takes them along for the ride.
"...Those two disclaimers being said, this is a GREAT book if you come in with the right expectations...." Read more
"...As such he's developed a reputation for learning things incredibly quickly, unusually and effectively...." Read more
"...Domestic - The good stuff. This is the recipe section, learning to cook section, with full coverage on the best kitchen tools, dishware, ingredients...." Read more
"...In conclusion, lots of good substance, but also an equal portion of dazzle dazzle, which while making for a fun read leaves me wanting more in hard-..." Read more
Customers find the book easy to use. They say it's skill-driven and concise, with a simple guide and mnemonics to help readers grasp the recipes. The book provides actionable steps and pictures that are easy to follow. Readers mention it's easier to understand than other cooking books.
"...to learn HOW to cook taught in an unpretentious tone with easy to follow pictures, you'll find it here...." Read more
"...book, but it is clear from the beginning that the goal is always to simplify and distill the essence of any task to its basic elements...." Read more
"...1. Osu-Buko - This is the first recipe in the book, it's really easy to make, and it teaches braising...." Read more
"...He claims only four ingredients per dish for simplicity of execution--bravo--who among us hasn't given up on 20 ingredient dishes that end up..." Read more
Customers find the cooking tips in the book helpful and informative. They say it's a comprehensive guide to culinary skills, from making simple salads to elegant dishes. The book teaches the principles of cooking and various recipes to train specific skill sets. It starts by teaching about flavors and using scrambled eggs.
"...to such, and 200 more at least somewhat related--consisting of wilderness cooking and survival, great restaurants, 140 character recipes, and basic..." Read more
"...The idea is to teach the principles of cooking, so that after finishing the book you can tackle any recipe you come across and, more important, have..." Read more
"...Domestic - The good stuff. This is the recipe section, learning to cook section, with full coverage on the best kitchen tools, dishware, ingredients...." Read more
"...Great dinner party pyrotechnics. Using a bit of baking soda in the pot to make soft boiled eggs peel easier?..." Read more
Customers find the book entertaining and fun to read. They mention it provides useful recipes like amazing eggs and crowd-pleasers. The sidebars are also appreciated.
"...The 4-Hour Body is a relatively interesting and fun book on fitness and diet experimentation...." Read more
"...that you have the essentials under your belt, it'll also give you a few crowd-pleasers to dazzle dates and parents alike...." Read more
"...really this a journey through Tim Ferriss's mind - which can be pretty interesting...." Read more
"...There's a lot of this in there, in both very entertaining and usable kind, but you'll have to consign yourself to jumping around a lot, something..." Read more
Customers find the book provides good value for money. It offers useful tips and tricks that are practical. Readers consider it worthwhile even if it's free.
"...The first section is about a hundred pages are worth the price of admission alone...." Read more
"...But, overall this book gives a TON of VALUE for a low price...." Read more
"...are as useful and satisfying as learning to pick locks with an inexpensive toolkit you can keepin your pocket, another life hack in Tim's..." Read more
"...--learning to cook, the section on Meta-learning along is worth the price of the book. And, in fact, is the real POINT of the book...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's visual style. They find the color photographs and modern layouts appealing. The recipes are presented step-by-step with beautiful illustrations to accompany most of the steps. Readers enjoy the physical look and feel of the book, as well as the sidebar graphics featured throughout.
"...If you like books, do yourself a favor and pick this up. It's a great design and Tim Ferris and his publisher did not pull any punches...." Read more
"...Of course, they all looked and sounded delicious, but I really just enjoyed the process of learning...." Read more
"...it will all stem from this wise, iconoclastic book with its elegantly persuasive, over-the-top impressive, actionable content...." Read more
"...but have the hardcover on it's way from Amazon, given how beautiful the layout and colours are in this book...." Read more
Customers have different views on the cookbook content. Some find it a complete guide for novice cooks, taking them from very basic dishes to more complex ones. Others mention some recipes are not practical, and the book contains too many unrelated topics like meta-learning, bizarre recipes like squirrel and crickets.
"Despite the cooking theme, this is not a cookbook...." Read more
"...Granted, this is a 'cookbook' for learning, but for at least these couple of examples, there isn't enough...." Read more
"...Overall: This is a bit of an odd book. It's not a cookbook, there are only a few recipes and they're dumbed down so that you can learn to..." Read more
"...It is a fairly complete guide for the absolute novice cook, taking someone from very basic dishes towards more complicated delicious fare...." Read more
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Great content - physical book is poorly made
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2012Disclaimer: I am a real reviewer who actually purchased and read the book. I felt compelled to write my first review because I was annoyed in two ways: first, the clearly fake reviewers, second, the readers who came in with ridiculous expectations about the contents of the book.
Second disclaimer: I am NOT a Tim worshiper. The 4-Hour Workweek is a sometimes unethical pipe dream that a couple people writers imitating Tim have made money on. For most of us, it contains a couple tricks to be more efficient at our 9-5. The 4-Hour Body is a relatively interesting and fun book on fitness and diet experimentation. I learned a few tips and tricks from it and really enjoyed reading about his experiences. I have read most of Tim's blog and consider it a sometimes better alternative to "Life Hacker".
Those two disclaimers being said, this is a GREAT book if you come in with the right expectations. If you're looking for 600+ pages solely devoted to grocery shopping, prep, recipes, cooking and eating, you will not find it here. You'll find about 200-250 pages dedicated solely to such, and 200 more at least somewhat related--consisting of wilderness cooking and survival, great restaurants, 140 character recipes, and basic tools you need in the kitchen. At a macro level, the most useful cooking lessons are Tim's notes on equipment to have in your kitchen, his 10 easy recipes (most of which are really interesting/easy shortcuts), and the charts on spices that go with different countries. At a micro level, I picked up a few random tidbits from the 1/2-pagers on how to quickly defrost a steak, how to make the perfect cup of coffee, etc. The most important part of this section is that Tim teaches you HOW to cook, not just how to follow a recipe. The best part about his methodology is that he removes all roadblocks from the reader--the excessively expensive equipment, the hard to find ingredients, and the difficult cooking techniques are all put nicely out of mind with shortcuts and detailed pictures.
The rest of the book, in my opinion, is actually more interesting. The first section is about a hundred pages are worth the price of admission alone. It details a method to learn anything efficiently--Tim is merely using cooking as a MEDIUM to teach this method. I've started applying this first section to learning a number of skills already. As the middle sections are the ones devoted to cooking and wilderness survival that I detailed above, the appendix is related to random skills and interesting "life hacks" that you can learn quickly. Yes, these feel like last-minute additions but if one thing is clear Tim actually cares about his readers, why not throw in these interesting pages--they do not detract from the focus as they are part of the appendix.
If I can say one thing--buy this book. For me, I can see myself going back to it for years anytime I'd like to learn a new skill (be it with cooking or otherwise). If you want to learn HOW to cook taught in an unpretentious tone with easy to follow pictures, you'll find it here. If you're interested in shortcuts to learning complex skills, you'll find it here. If you just want to pick up a few cooking shortcuts, you will most definitely be delighted with this book. And lastly, if you are a fan of Tim and his other works, absolutely buy this book.
Lastly, a note on format, BUY THE HARDCOVER. I bought the Kindle as well since it was on sale for just $4.99 on Amazon and it does not even come close to comparing to the hardcover version. This book is meant to have pages cut out and marked up, its detailed color pictures to be seen, etc.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2012Despite the cooking theme, this is not a cookbook. Think of it more as a cooking class, where each recipe is designed to teach a skill (e.g. braising, sautéing, knife skills, etc.) and every subsequent recipe builds upon those of the last. The idea is to teach the principles of cooking, so that after finishing the book you can tackle any recipe you come across and, more important, have the skills to improvise on your own.
If you've struggled with cooking in the past, this alone is enough of a reason to pick up the book. Not only will it ensure that you have the essentials under your belt, it'll also give you a few crowd-pleasers to dazzle dates and parents alike. But the fun doesn't stop there. The 4-Hour Chef is divided into five main parts: Meta-Learning, The Domestic, The Wild, The Scientist, and The Professional. For those familiar with Tim Ferriss` previous work, these subdivisions make perfect sense. If not, here's a quick rundown:
Tim is a bit of a self-made savant, building his career on starting as a no-name, know-nothing and transforming himself into a world-class _(fill in the blank)_. The "blank" for Tim has included holding a world record in tango, being a champion Chinese kickboxer, #1 best-selling author, etc. The full list of Tim's accomplishments is astounding. As such he's developed a reputation for learning things incredibly quickly, unusually and effectively. In The 4-Hour Chef he unveils the secrets of this "meta-learning" using cooking (a skill he'd always struggled with) as an example.
At first glance I was most excited about the Meta-Learning, Domestic and Scientist sections (I'm a food writer and scientist), and I was not disappointed. In "Meta" he breaks down the basics of deconstructing problems (e.g. language learning, tango, swimming, tasting, launching companies, etc.) and solving them in the most effective way possible. (It also includes how to say "I must eat" in 9 different languages. Win.). Long-time Ferriss fans will love this section.
Despite having a decent idea of how to navigate a kitchen, I learned a lot from the "Dom" section as well, and found its instructions far more logical than most introduction cookbooks. He focuses on transferable skills, like learning to "eyeball" measurements (while clarifying when you need to be exact) and knowing when something is "done." There are also dozens of little tips and tricks that'll instantly skyrocket your kitchen confidence, which is half the battle of sticking with it. Though I didn't cook my way through the lesson plan (I've only had the book for a few days), it seemed highly approachable and even a little fun. The first day you'll learn to make osso "buko" without ever touching a knife.
The "Sci" section wasn't at all what I expected (come to think of it, I have no idea what I expected--I just like science). It turned out to be a crash course in molecular gastronomy, which left me a bit crestfallen at first. While I love eating at fancy restaurants that serve elegant foams and spherical droplets of surprising flavors, I've never had any desire to recreate these things at home; some things are best left to the professionals. But the second I saw his "Crunchy Bloody Mary" recipe where chipotle infused vodka and bloody mary mix is transformed into a gel used to fill mini celery sticks, I had a change of heart. Reading the science behind all the culinary magic of restaurants like Alinea and El Bulli is fascinating, and I picked up a few parlor tricks to impress my friends. This section is a great way to feed your inner food geek.
I didn't expect to be as impressed with the "Wild" section. Catching city pigeons in the park with my bare hands? Thanks, but no thanks. Yet sure enough, I was roped in after a few pages. The recent devastation of Hurricane Sandy really drove home the importance of this section. Though he dives deeper into shelter building and arrow carving than I probably need (Tim may beg to differ), this section is an excellent lesson on the value of life, the importance of life skills, and even a few things you'll use on a more regular basis, like quartering a chicken. To my surprise, I found myself enthralled by the details of cooking a squirrel over a fire and removing pigeon (aka squab) breasts from a whole bird (feathers and all) with bare hands. Yum.
The "Pro" section was another surprise. As I've said, I've never aspired to cook like a pro at home. I just want simple, tasty food. And the quicker the better. But this section is essential for transferring the skills from the rest of the book into things you can use in the real world. It also covers some essential "classic" dishes, like roasted chicken, that weren't covered in the "Dom" section. Most important, this section teaches you the basics of kitchen creativity, and how to branch out and improvise on your own using the techniques from the earlier sections.
The 4-Hour Chef is an incredibly ambitious book, but it is clear from the beginning that the goal is always to simplify and distill the essence of any task to its basic elements. It teaches the principles of cooking (and learning in general), not one-off recipes that you may or may not get around to making. I anticipate using it for years as a reference, whether it's to find restaurant recommendations in NYC or as a reminder of the essential few ingredients that define a specific ethnic cuisine. I've flagged dozens of pages to revisit in the future.
I also love that Tim revisits life philosophies in this book, which I loved in The 4-Hour Work Week, but missed in The 4-Hour Body. The 4-Hour Chef touches on several invaluable life lessons, including why it is important to not waste food (especially if it comes from an animal), and how cooking is a path that brings you closer to love and life. Feeding ourselves is one of our most basic human needs, and is at the root of our life, our culture and ultimately our happiness.
(Modified from my original review at Summer Tomato)
Top reviews from other countries
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ArturoReviewed in Mexico on January 2, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Otro gran libro de mi autor favorito
Recomiendo todos los libros, podcasts, pláticas y consejos de Tim Ferris. Como él lo dice, no espera que sigamos su estilo de vida, pero podemos extraer grandes aprendizajes de sus "experimentos" y consejos.
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Rodolfo André Cardoso Neves (Dirack)Reviewed in Brazil on July 18, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente livro sobre aprendizagem acelerada!
Apliquei essas técnicas em várias áreas da minha vida... me ajudou a aprender a tocar violão, linguagens de programação e no meu doutorado, recomendo!
- PrajitReviewed in India on November 2, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it for the hacks
Was a good read. The learning bit was more fun for me and there definitely are a few take aways
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Benny SwatReviewed in France on December 20, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Un manuel des Castors Juniors pour adultes
Un livre étonnant, pour apprendre à apprendre, en visant l'excellence.
Les 150 premières pages décortiquent les mécanismes d'apprentissage et les astuces de Tim Ferriss pour aller chercher la performance chez les experts dans chaque domaine (on y parlera de natation en totale immersion, de techniques de mémorisation, d'apprentissage des langues etc...)
La suite applique la méthode exposée au domaine de la cuisine, avec des recettes conçues chacune pour gagner un savoir-faire particulier (on commence avec la cuisson braisée, et on traversera la préparation des ingrédients, l'organisation du plan de travail, les techniques de découpe au couteau, la cuisson à basse température...)
Quatre grands chapitres: cuisine domestique (des recettes faciles mais originales), cuisine sauvage (chasse, gibier, techniques de fermentation, découpes de viande, cuisson au feu de bois), scientifique (toutes les techniques d'émulsion, sphérification, gels, mousses etc...) et professionnelle (avec des recettes de cuisine contemporaine inspirées par de grands restaurants)
Chaque recette est bien illustrée, avec des suggestions de thés (au lieu de vin) et de musique pour accompagner les mets
Au fil du livre, de nombreux encarts abordent des sujets aussi variés que les techniques pour faire des noeuds, des abris dans les bois, la dégustation de vin, la mémorisation de l'ordre des cartes dans un jeu tiré au hasard, le matériel de cuisine...
Bref, une approche vraiment intéressante et excitante de la cuisine et de l'apprentissage, dans un beau gros livre, finalement pas très cher au regard de la masse d'informations qu'il contient !
- Sam WellsReviewed in Australia on December 29, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent outlook on life
Excellent!! I love Tim Ferriss' outlook on life, especially to learn to be in the moment and use what you have