Booklist Review

Briton Anne Willan may have run La Varenne, one of France's most notable haute cuisine cooking schools, but her candid, unassuming attitude toward good food has made her an outstanding teacher. A large part of her success has resulted from her partnership with publisher DK, whose instructive graphic design makes recipes much less intimidating to the individual cook. Willan's early Look & Cook series now appears in less-expensive paperback, and although reduced in size, the series still retains the signature approach to cooking instruction with full-color illustrations, digest listing of ingredients and equipment, and companion recipes showing how a basic formula may be imaginatively applied to alternatives. Libraries owning Willan's earlier hardback editions do not need to duplicate them with these paperbacks unless they need supplemental cooking materials more attractive to beginning cooks. --Mark Knoblauch