The Escoffier is the English title for Auguste Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire, a book you probably should have in your bookshelf for many reason. One is that it looks very impressive, all leather bound and big and French looking. Escoffier. Say it out loud. Es-kaw-fyey. Come on. That sounds impressive. You can convince your friends you're not just a purveyor of gastronomy, but also a scholar of important books.

More importantly, many consider Le Guide Culinaire to be the authority on haute French cuisine. Originally published in 1903, it contains thousands of recipes in a nice streamlined format.

The latter might be a curse for some, as you are expected to either know quite a bit of food lingo or possess the know-how to find definitions yourself. This was probably more of an issue in 1903 than it is now, seeing we have the web on our hands. Plus a large portion of expressions and techniques are described somewhere in the book.

There are two versions of The Escoffier floating around (possibly more): a translation of the original 3,000 recipes book and one of the newer 5,000 edition. Currently the former is easier to obtain and, from what I can understand, it's more than enough for most of us, perhaps even a bit overwhelming.

Even if you have no interest in cooking yourself, The Escoffier makes a fine reference book. Flip through it now and again, and you're bound to find some cool information. You're a Better Taster, and you owe that to yourself.