Julia Child:Julia Child:
Julia Child's Home Cooking with Master Chefs is an important addition to any cook's library. The CD-ROM combines elements of a classic paper cookbook and a video series. Like a cookbook, it contains recipes, hints, and advice on cookware. Like a video, it shows the chefs at work. There are 40 separate video presentations on the CD-ROM illustrating recipes, techniques, and the chefs.
One cannot really say that this CD-ROM completely replaces a book or a video. Certainly a computer is often less convenient than a book. Nor does present technology allow an entire television series to fit on a CD-ROM and computer video is not yet as high quality as television. Within these limitations Julia Child: Home Cooking with Master Chefs presents a reasonable compromise.
The disk is well indexed and organized by chef, recipes, and lessons. There is a biography and recipes for each of the 16 chefs. The recipes are organized as in a cookbook into 14 separate areas. Recipes can be printed for convenient reference.
Lessons, which make up 25 of the video presentations, are organized by chef. The section on Julia's Kitchen includes cookware, knives and utensils, and plates and platters and includes more videos where chefs demonstrate their techniques. There is also a tour of Julia's pantry where she discusses staple ingredients and their uses and of the wine cellar where she presents different wines, wine glasses, and more recipes.
