Paul Bocuse is widely considered to be the father of modern French cuisine. His  restaurant L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges in Lyon has retained its three Michelin stars since 1965. Last year, the Culinary Institute of America named him Chef of the Century.

In his latest cookbook The Complete Bocuse, he shares 500 easy-to-prepare, traditional French recipes over 782 pages, many illustrated by bright photos by Jean-Charles Vaillant. These dishes can easily be made at home with fresh and widely available ingredients.

The book is divided into twenty-two chapters, fourteen covering savoury recipes and eight covering sweet recipes, with everything from soups to soufflés, by way of terrines, fish, meat, and vegetables. Practical appendixes include average cooking times for different types of meat, conversion tables, and a glossary of key French culinary terms.

You won’t find any kitchen tricks or techniques from this larger-than-life chef. There is no foreword or introduction, and with rare exception the recipes don’t even have explanatory head notes. Neither is it the type of book  that will hold your hand, step-by-step in the kitchen.  Rather it is a starting point that cooks can expand on, and it covers most of the classics – French onion soup, a variety of soufflés, sole meuniére, pepper steak, coq au vin, almond tuiles, to name but a few.

The Complete Bocuse is a superb reference book and one that we will cherish at the Wickedfood Cooking School library and use as a source of inspiration for developing new French cooking classes.

Interested in buying this book? Visit – Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door.  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients. We’ve just launched a new and exciting class, Wickedfood Master Cook. Think Master Chef with a fun twist.