Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: 20th Anniversary Edition

by Anthony Bourdain

Overview

20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY FERGUS HENDERSON, CO- FOUNDER OF THE ST. JOHN RESTAURANT

BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN.

'Anthony Bourdain, like the Sex Pistols, created a movement not a following' – Marco Pierre White

'A book of the greatest hits of French food, nothing comes close' – Matthew Ryle

'Les Halles is peak brilliant Bourdain. You will devour it whether you've read it before or not!' – Andi Oliver

'Anthony Bourdain is an inspiration to generations about how to run restaurant for your customers, not the ego of the chef. A generous chef and generous person, still missed by all.' – Angela Hartnett


Globally beloved chef Anthony Bourdain's bestselling classic – the hearty, delicious recipes and provocative tricks of the trade from his famed French brasserie where he made his name.

Before stunning the world with his bestselling Kitchen Confidential, and hit TV shows Parts Unknown and No Reservations, Anthony Bourdain spent years serving some of the best French brasserie food in New York. With its no-nonsense, down-to-earth atmosphere, Les Halles matched Bourdain's style perfectly: a restaurant where you can dress down, talk loudly, drink a little too much wine, and have a good time with friends. Now, 20 years after its original publication, Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook remains an audacious classic, full of his signature humour and charm.

Bourdain teaches you everything you need to know to prepare classic French bistro fare. While you're being guided, in simple steps, through recipes like roasted veal short ribs and steak frites, escargots aux noix and foie gras au pruneaux, you'll feel like he's in the kitchen beside you – firing off a few insults when you've scorched the sauce, and then patting you on the back for finally getting the steak tartare right.

As practical as it is entertaining, Anthony Bourdain's handsomely repackaged Les Halles Cookbook and new foreword by Fergus Henderson make for a can't-miss treat for cookbook lovers, aspiring chefs, and Bourdain fans everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526690944
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/16/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	1
File size:	77 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Anthony Bourdain was the bestselling author of Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and the author of the novels: Bone in the Throat, The Bobby Gold Stories and Gone Bamboo. His work appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker and Food Arts magazine. He was the host of the international CNN television series Parts Unknown.
Anthony Bourdain was the New York Times-bestselling author of Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw, A Cook's Tour, Typhoid Mary and The Nasty Bits, the cookbooks Appetites and Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, and the novels Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo. He also co-authored the graphic novel Get Jiro! with Joel Rose. His writing appeared in the New York Times and New Yorker. He was the host of the popular television shows No Reservations, Parts Unknown, A Cook's Tour and The Layover. Bourdain died in June 2018.

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

June 25, 1956

Date of Death:

June 8, 2018

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Place of Death:

Kaysersberg-Vignoble, Haut-Rhin, France

Education:

High school diploma, Dwight Englewood School, 1973; A.O.S. degree, The Culinary Institute of America, 1978

Website:

http://www.anthonybourdain.com/

Table of Contents

	Introduction	10
	Les Halles: What the Hell Is It?	18
	General Principles	22
	Scoring the Good Stuff	27
	The Knife	34
	Stock: The Source	36
	Soups	41
	Salads	56
	Appetizers	66
	Fish & Shellfish	99
	Beef	117
	Veal & Lamb	138
	Pig	164
	Poultry & Game	176
	The Big Classics	200
	Blood & Guts	221
	Potatoes	234
	Miscellaneous Meez & Other Useful Recipes	246
	Desserts	266
	Glossary	282
	Suppliers	288
	Further Reading	290
	Acknowledgments	291
	Index	292

What People are Saying About This

Mario Batali

"Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook joins the classic French cookbooks on my shelf, and shames every would-be 'bistro bible'. Nobody else writes with such respect for real food." (Mario Batali)

Jim Harrison

"Anyone serious about their cooking will want to own Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. It has an enormous amount of vital information presented in Bourdain's pungent, abrasive, and memorable writing style." (Jim Harrison)

Eric Ripert

"This is a great cookbook! Anthony Bourdain directs you brilliantly through delicious recipes, with explanations that are crystal clear." (Eric Ripert)

Jacques Pepin

"Don't be misled by Anthony Bourdain's witty, irreverent style. His Les Halles Cookbook is solid, smart, and informative, and his recipes are bona fide bistro fare. An instant classic." (Jacques Pepin)

Editorial Reviews

Long before Anthony Bourdain became a "tell-all" bestselling author, he was a standout chef. For years, the author of Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour has sharpened his skills as the executive chef of Brasserie Les Halles, one of Manhattan's most prestigious and down-to-earth restaurants. In Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, he reveals the cooking secrets that enabled him to create bistro fare that makes Parisians envious. Exquisite food; great kitchen tips.

"Bourdain shows himself to be one of the country's best food writers. His opinions are as strong as his language, and his tastes as infectious as his joy."

New York Times Book Review

"This is a great cookbook! Anthony Bourdain directs you brilliantly through delicious recipes, with explanations that are crystal clear."

Eric Ripert

"Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook joins the classic French cookbooks on my shelf, and shames every would-be 'bistro bible'. Nobody else writes with such respect for real food."

Mario Batali

"Anyone serious about their cooking will want to own Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. It has an enormous amount of vital information presented in Bourdain's pungent, abrasive, and memorable writing style."

Jim Harrison

Don't be misled by Anthony Bourdain's witty, irreverent style. His Les Halles Cookbook is solid, smart, and informative, and his recipes are bona fide bistro fare. From the onion soup to the veal kidney to the gratin dauphinois, this is the honest, unpretentious, comforting, and abundant food I loved as a youth in France and am always ready to enjoy with my family and friends. Anthony has given us an instant classic.” —Jacques Pepin, author of The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen and Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques

“Anyone serious about their cooking will want to own Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. It has an enormous amount of vital information presented in Bourdain's pungent, abrasive, and memorable writing style. This is a cookbook you'll keep handy in the kitchen.” —Jim Harrison, author of The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand

“This is a great cookbook! Anthony Bourdain directs you brilliantly through delicious recipes, with explanations that are crystal clear.” —Eric Ripert, author of Le Bernardin Cookbook

From the Publisher