My son got me this book for Mother's Day. I took it into work to share with my other Top Chef fans and didn't see it for a month. We all loved it. It was very interesting to be behind the scenes of the show. I've tried some of the recipes and feel that I had to take creative license in preparing them. Zahtar? Not available in Tucson, Arizona. Would a teaspoon of it make a difference in taste? I have no idea. That's what I mean. But it's all good fun and if you are a TC fan, buy the book.

I bought this for a friend who is a die hard fan. He loves the book and said he actually liked reading the behind the scene "tid bits" just as much if not more than reading the recipes.

I think my "title" tells you what I think of this book. I really had no interest in the fluff, on competeing chefs. The dishes that were created sparked my wish to settle in and try a few of these wonders. Sorry, it did not give me the desire.

Are there any recipes in this book that aren't available on the Bravo website?

If not, why should I buy the book?

I'm a huge Top Chef fan and was super excited to get this book. So far, I've made Harold's Duo of Beef and Dave's Truffle Mac and Cheese with Cognac cream (both from season one). Both turned about amazingly. There are very minor omissions in some of the recipes (i.e., the recipe tells you to bake the mac and cheese for ~20 mins, but omits any mention of temperature) which are easy enough for the more experienced home cook to figure out. I probably wouldn't suggest this to a newer cook, as some of the recipes are a bit intimidating, but totally worth the effort.

In summary:
Pros - delicious recipes, plenty of pictures of finished product
Cons - some recipes lack detail and may be a little difficult for a beginning chef and there is a LOT of space wasted talking about the different seasons and recapping every. single. challenge. (elimination and quickfire)

At the end of the day, the quality of the recipes makes up for any other deficiencies. I'd rate this 4.5 stars overall.

Anybody who watches TopChef just once tends to get converted instantly into an ardent fan, and I am no exception. Having watched seasons one and
three, the behind the scenes portions of the books, which are many,
are a fluffy delight. My roommate and I had many a good chuckle
discussing the observations and interviews made in the book. Despite
being fairly lightweight in the sections of the book devoted to the
show, for the fan it makes great light entertainment.

The recipes themselves are clearly written, and span difficulties from
easy to advanced. For someone who hasn't watched the show, there
isn't much cohesion in terms of an overarching theme, other than
perhaps recipes you would find in bistros across America. For
the fan the recipes provide one more outlet to reminisce about the
show and try their hand at making dished that may have intrigued them.

Four stars as it will make Top Chef fans very happy, but it's
certainly not a 5 Star cookbook in scope or depth.

Beautiful photos and great recipes but the real flavor in this cookbook is the inside info (like the answer to what caused that scar on Padma's arm), great pictures of the contestants (Harold is every bit as hot as Sam), to helpful hints and definitions ("What are black chicken and Geoduck?"), bios of the contestants, and of course the recipes I've been dying to try such as "Ilan's Fideos with Clams and Saffron" , "Dave's Truffle and Cognac Cream Macaroni and Cheese", and "Tiffani's Mirin-Glazed Sea Bass" to name just a few. If you love the show, this book is a treasure.

While the recipes are a major plus, original and at times most certainly not to be found anywhere else...this in itself is in keeping with the spirit of Top Chef, what truly adds the flavor and spice to the untraditional cookbook is the sidebars and stories centered around the series itself.
Even better it doesn't lean toward being mean. It is lightly gossipy while still maintaining its dignity.

Featuring some of the favorite winning recipes:
Elia's Breakfast, lunch, and dinner waffles
C.J's Crepes
Mia's Crabcake Benedict
Hung's Tuna Tartare
Lea Anne's Deep Fried Oysters
Dale's Seared Elk Loin
Tre's Bacon wrapped Shrimp
Harold's Duo of Beef

Too name a few.

It also features some major info/updates on the past contestants which is in my opinion the best part of the book...and short Bio Bites on just about every participant and past judges along with major info on Tom, Gail and Padma.

A must have for Top Chef addict and for those looking for some out of the box recipes you certainly can't go wrong.

I have been hooked on Top Chef since I stumbled across it during the second season. While I don't cook a lot, I LOVE to read cookbooks and this one is great! It entertainly chronicles each season of the TV show, as well as providing great photos of the challenges. Very creatively, the dust jacket is cloth, like a chef's apron! VERY clever.

As an MTV-style cat-fest, this book does well, touching on the rivalries, pretty faces, and nasty noises of all our favorite culinary impresarios over the last three years. Unfortunately, most of the recipes are about as untried and unworkable as they were on the show. One would almost have had to be to culinary school to follow many of the directions in the first place, and that still doesn't guarantee that the recipes will work. A.O.K. as a coffee table book, but be prepared to be inventive when you flop with every third dish!

This, the first Top Chef cookbook, is pretty complete for all levels of fans. The best recipes are here, as well as the inside looks into both production and the contestants themselves. While some parts (elemination time lines) are clearly just filler, the overall book is designed to satisfy every fan for any of a number of reasons. Being Top Chef, the recipes are better than many cookbooks currently out by some celebrity Chefs. I would reccomend it for any fan of the show, from fan of reality T.V. to hard core foodie. Also, as you may have learned on the April 23 aring of the show, there is a desert recipe from one of this seasons favorites, Richard, in the back!

if you're a fan of the show and want to se good recipes and some gossip of the contestants, then this is a great book to have.

I love Top Chef! This book has all of my favorite recipes from the show plus lots of juicy behind-the-scenes details! Can't wait for the next volume!

I was so excited to get this book! I have been a fan of the show since the middle of the first season. The production of this book is excellent. Great cover, high quality paper and fabulous content. I read this cover to cover but kept forgetting to have a stack of sticky-notes to flag all the recipes I intend to try. Loved the book! But how will I get an adendum for season 4!

This is two books in one. On one hand it's a collection of gourmet recipes, with lush color photographs and handy preparation times. I would have appreciated nutritional and calorie information with the dishes, but the instructions are thorough and easy to follow.

On the other hand, this is a fan-fest for "Top Chef" addicts (like me). Whole sections are devoted to each of the show's three seasons. Each starts with an Elimination Bracket chart, which shows you all the contestants, which challenges they won, and in which episode they were eliminated. An Episode Guide describes the Quickfire competition and the Elimination Challenge. Next are many pages devoted to the contestants, with photos, bios, quotes from judges, an interview and statistics.

Bonus tidbits include bios of each Top Chef judge and photos of the kitchens used in the shows.

I especially liked chef Anthony Bourdain's Insult-O-Meter page, with samplings of the cranky judge's comments. About Sara Mair's seared salmon: "Salmon is usually a very forgiving fish. Not this one. Mine was beyond overcooked. We're talking cat-food territory."

Underneath the canvas dust jacket is a silver cover with the same "Top Chef The Cookbook" logo.

I have been a huge fan of the show since it's first season and was thrilled when they came out with this book. It's very well organized and edited and the pictures are beautiful. And while some of the recipes are quite challenging and the ingredients may be unavailable to a lot of amateurs, it's still a fascinating read. The book made me appreciate even more the talent, stamina, and creativity it takes to be a Top Chef. Very, very inspiring.

The Cubano Pork sandwiches I like it, I like it!!! Get this book if you love top chef. Also try finger licking Different, I also enjoyed this book.

This book is a combo of Top Chef the show and a cookbook. The Top Chef show of the book is ok. However, as far as the recipes go, most of them do not look that good. And, there are only a few full color page photos of the recipes. And the print is one of the smallest print I have ever seen in a book. I originally ordered this book on-line but cancelled it when I saw it in person in the book store. I was so unimpressed with the book. I really was looking for a good cook book. I think that this book is only good for die-hard fans of the show who will take anything. I may get some hate responses from this, but it's the truth. I am glad I had the chance to cancel the book - thanks to Amazon being so slow with the mailing when one goes for free shipping.

I LOVE this book. I am a huge fan and have made a some of the recipes from the show. I have found a couple of differences from the recipes on the web site versus the cook book. The Cubano Pork sandwiches from the food cart challange are great, but in the book there is no mention of the stone fruit chutney, which is a yummy must for this dish.

Highly recommended. An outstanding book that exceeded my expectations. All that a Top Chef fan could wish for. Every time I turn a page it gets even better and more exciting. From cover to back its a 5 stars material. Good job Bravo Media.

Este libro es excelente. Excedio completamente mis expectativas. Presenta las mejores recetas de las tres temporadas, fotografias detalladas, excelente diseno grafico, "behind the scenes", datos de interes sobre los ingredientes, glosario de terminos y muchisimo mas. Lo que habia estado esperando por tanto tiempo!

The book is LOADED with color, photos, behind-the-scenes stuff, and all those recipes you wondered about. Dale's lamb chops from the finale? They're here! The photos of all the participants are really well done. The food looks great too. I will be spending many happy hours with this book. There's lots to read. Congrats to BRAVO, the book reflects all the excitement of the show.

There's two different reasons to buy this book and I'll review it two ways for both types of people!

IF YOU'RE A CHEF: I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book because I'm not a gourmet cook by any stretch. However, I love to cook and this book has a huge variety of recipes--just like the show! I was very pleased to see that nearly every page is in full color and lots of the recipes are pictured in detail. Although parts of the book are arranged by season, the table of contents also lists things by meal (breakfast, small plates, fish, dessert, vegetarian, etc.) I found the book easy to navigate with a clearly deliniated table of contents and a great index list of ingredients. That way, if you have a certain item in mind (peppers, for example) you can find things from all different seasons. Some of the recipes do seem complex, but the instructions read as "easy enough" and I think everything is well explained.

IF YOU'RE A "TOP CHEF" FAN: You will DEFINITELY love this book, I say that without hesitation. And what a bargain! Usually "full color" like this goes for $35 or more (like the Jamie Oliver books and the Rachael Ray or Giada, three others that I love). For about $20, this book is great! It's AWESOME if you are a fan... it has pictures of cast members, summary pages of the seasons, and recipes from the "Quickfire" challenges as well. GREAT eye candy (admit it, Sam from season three is ALL THAT and Padma is gorgeous). There are also notable quotes from multiple seasons at the bottom of pages and on the sidebars (who could forget Dave's famous, "I'm not your..." quote!). I'm a huge fan of the show and the book is great... it's about time they came out with a cookbook! I can't wait to see what happens on season four!