[4] The French Laundry Cookbook contains 150 recipes divided into six sections, each representing a course of a meal.

[5] The Wall Street Journal called the cookbook "notorious for including some of the most laborious recipes in print", commenting that "putting the ingredients together on a plate properly can be an architectural challenge".

[4] Restaurants & Institutions called the cookbook "too esoteric for home cooks" but found that it "does inspire, teach and set standards for any chef".

[6] Grant Achatz of Alinea has called it "[t]he ultimate reference for cooks [who wish] to be inspired by the pursuit of perfection".

[7] The cookbook has also been cited as an inspiration by David Chang of Momofuku and Éric Ripert of Le Bernardin.