How to thrive in one of today’s top ten “dream professions.” Despite the long hours, arduous training, and grueling physical work, the allure of being a professional chef has made it one of the fastest growing career markets in America today. In this must-have guide, a master chef and baker gives practical, up-to-date advice on everything aspiring chefs (and expert chefs looking for the next career move) need to know, including how to apprentice at a five-star restaurant, connect with renowned chefs and bakers, open their own restaurant, and much, much more. • Expert author with decades of restaurant experience. • One of today’s top ten “dream professions” in America. • Culinary institutes have seen an explosion in their enrollment of between 50% to 100% annually. • Covers gourmet restaurants, upscale hotels, catering, specialty food shops, gourmet takeout, bakeries, and much more.

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cooking Basics helps you find your way around the kitchen and create tasty and nutritious meals on an ordinary budget. You get simple steps to all the basic kitchen skills, plus friendly advice in an easy-to-understand, easy to enjoy format. Tips, definitions, warnings, and substitutes help you save time and effort, and easy recipes guarantee you'll impress your friends and your taste buds!--p. [4] of cover.

In this mouth-watering guide, award-winning chef and author Leslie Bilderback serves up a hearty helping of soul-soothing, tasty dishes that satisfy your craving for comfort food. From casseroles to cookies, more than 300 recipes will tempt you with the family favorites you remember from the past—and will want to share with the next generation. • Each recipe includes an icon for quick reference to help you decide which dishes best fit the occasion • Great for autumn and winter cooking

Beyond Iceberg Lettuce and Beefsteak Tomatoes ... From gourmet salads to classic macaroni and potato varieties, salads are the food for all seasons. With over 110 recipes to choose from, here's the perfect book to spice up one's salad repertoire. It includes advice on how to select the best ingredients, tips for quick preparation, salads for all courses, and international cuisine. *16-page full-color photo insert by a professional food stylist and photographer *Over 110 exciting, new, classic, and international recipes, with dozens for Dressings *Also available as an e-book

All the tempting decadence-homemade! Includes color photos. Master Baker Leslie Bilderback shows readers how to make their favorite treats in their own kitchens, then goes on to introduce dozens of other mouth-watering snack cake recipes from around the world. Everyone loves a treat: serve them up with tea, coffee, or lemonade; take a plate to a party- and wait for the raves to roll in! * Written by an expert master chef and baker * More than 100 delicious and easy-to-follow recipes * Four-color insert with fantastic decorating tips

Zest it up! Using spices and herbs—the key to any delicious meal—can be daunting with so many to choose from, not to mention the many possible combinations. In this book, master chef and baker Leslie Bilderback unlocks the key to the dazzling world of flavor by showing cooks of every level how to use and combine the most popular spices and herbs. She also provides delicious recipes, fun facts, tips on storage, and a resource guide on where to get hard-to-find spices and herbs. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • Concise information on the flavor, uses, and availability of nearly 250 popular spices and herbs. • A red-hot look at commonly used fresh and died chili peppers. • A helpful guide to combination spices like Jamaican jerk and vindaloo curry. • Dozens of delicious recipes featuring a verity of herbs and spices.

Holy is healthy! Learn to transform the natural, simple, tasty foods mentioned in the Bible into superb, easy-to- make dishes-everything from appetizers to main courses, side dishes, and desserts. Each meal features only those ingredients mentioned in scripture or the closest modern equivalent. Including explanations about the "Kosher" rules found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, this guide will help you to eat healthily and deliciously-the Biblical way. * Written by an expert master chef and baker * Over 100 delicious recipes, including nutritional components * Dozens of scripture quotes and interesting historical food facts

No more burnt offerings! Whether it’s nachos or crock-pot kielbasa, a party, something quick for the kids’ lunch, a romantic date night, or dinner-for-one, this guy-friendly cookbook features over 230 real-food recipes for everything from vegetables, pasta, and desserts, to leftovers, appetizers, and grilling. Instead of relying on shortcuts, canned food, or unhealthy processed ingredients, it pares down complex cooking instructions, explains basic cooking terms, figures in prep time and cook time, and allots larger portion sizes. • Notes high-salt or high-cholesterol recipes. • Includes more than 230 recipes. • Provides special tips, advice, and recipe construction for beginners, plus bigger portion sizes for hungry men.

Break into the brokerage business. Here is a step-by-step handbook to joining this elite group. Written by an accomplished mortgage broker with more than 15 years in the business and 2,000 deals to his credit, this book covers everything from whether or not real estate financing is the right career move to how to master the skills necessary to be successful. * Overview of a day in the life of a mortgage broker-including the pros and cons of the career * A self-test to help readers determine if the brokerage business is right for them * Licensing and educational requirements, advice on successful networking, and basic mortgage information * In 2004, there were over $3.8 trillion in mortgage originations nationwide-an all-time record- according to The Mortgage Bankers AssociationShow More Show Less

The recipe for a successful restaurant, now revised! In this revised edition, aspiring restaurateurs will find everything they need to know to open a successful restaurant, including choosing a concept and location, creating a business plan, finding the cash, and much more. New content includes information on tips, tip-outs, and reporting for the entire staff, choosing the best POS system, setting up a bar and managing the wine list, and making the bottom line look good long-term. -Restaurants are a high-risk venture, but starting a bar or restaurant is still one of the most popular new business ventures (Cornell Univ/Mich State) -Overall industry sales are projected to hit $476 billion for 2005, a 4.9% increase -The industry employs a workforce of 12.2 million in more than 900,000 restaurants nationwide (National Restaurant Assn.)