A GEORGIAN COOKERY BOOK

I bought A Georgian Cookery Book recently online and am very touched by it. It is absolutely fascinating, and right up my street. I love the Georgian Era; the architecture, symmetry and the food too. When it arrived in the post, there was a note in the book from the daughter of Laraine Hare. Such a sweet thing to do. The note indicated her mother had passed away five years ago, and how much it meant that someone would enjoy her mother’s book which took years to write. A real heartfelt message.

There are so many dishes to try here. To hash ducks and make fish patties, eggs au miroir, and pease pudding, all compiled from various Georgian cookbooks of the time. The time all that research must have taken is staggering. What a beautifully put together piece of work.

Fascinating to see so many citrus recipes here from that age. Remembering back a few weeks ago to my visit to Fingask Castle in rural Scotland, where citrus was used in a posset from a recipe from 1692.

Here we see lemonade, punch for chambermaids from a recipe in 1723 and a ratafia of orange from 1820. A glorious and opulent time to be a chef in a big house I would imagine, when the great Careme was over here. A Frenchman cooking for our Prince Regent, but it didn’t last long as apparently, he was a bit of a diva. Not much has changed with chefs has it?

HARROD'S COOKERY BOOK

This is brilliant for lots of reasons. Harrods Cookery Book by Marilyn Aslani. It is everything

you would expect from the world’s most famous shop. The incomparable food halls with

spectacular displays are always a joy to visit, and we do often visit as our son, Oscar, works

there. It is a very good cookery book with all the bases covered. Of course it is rather fancy,

with some wonderful dishes like pears poached with quince and cassis, or salad roquefort

and what about quenelles of halibut with saffron sauce. It is all so 1980’s, and I remember

cooking dishes like this back then, not too much has changed as I flick through the book.

There is a lot of game, with teal, widgeon and pigeons, which we don’t eat enough of. Great

to see grouse with bread sauce included, a real favourite of mine.

I wonder what the prices were back then for say a lemon sole from the fish counter. Fish

prices have gone through the roof. A lemon sole just now would cost you about £11 to buy

from a wholesale fishmonger, quite expensive. But this is a great, fun and fascinating book to flick through, which will be used again after I find a few nice dishes to try.

BEST OF GUY SAVOY

Another charity shop find this week. I always wonder why a book ends up in a charity shop, and who owned it. I bet this has a story behind it. Best of Guy Savoy is a cracking little book that shows us around a dozen dishes, his restaurant has been running forever almost, and the food he creates is simply stunning, sadly I have never eaten there but the beauty is in looking at the quality ingredients on each page, the methods, the photography, his unquestionable perfection really comes across in this book. I doubt we will ever put many of these dishes on the menu at Cafe but the inspiration is there, however his clafoutis looks so good. In the real world no-one cooks like this, but in my dream world, we all do and it is wonderful. He shows off French food very well, seasonality and freshness, quality and a standard that is so high, this is what every chef wants to be like if we are honest, but not many achieve it. It is a lovely book.

WOMEN IN THE KITCHEN BY ANNE WILLAN

Women in the Kitchen by Anne Willan is a book to read and absorb. A great book about twelve cookbook writers who have contributed to the way we eat over the centuries. Cookbooks back in time were for mainly the well off, but now, a cookbook can be bought cheaply from a charity shop, and if you buy well and in season, which all of these women tell us to do, then it can be inexpensive to eat well.

I am so pleased this book was written, a woman in the kitchen is a formidable force. I remember my own mother cooking brilliant steamed puddings and pies, marmalade and many other delights and it was my grandmother who really made me think about food differently. I was so used to good food having a father as a chef, but my Gran, cooked for us with so much love, and that scotch broth will never leave me. Having worked with lots of men in the kitchen, a female presence creates a better environment, plus, I believe, women can be far more natural cooks and chefs.

Fast forward to Cafe, and we have had many women in our kitchen, who now have gone on to become head chefs in their own kitchens and opened their own businesses.

The women in this book are impressive as are the dishes. Picking a couple, Hannah Glasse, an 18th century food writer, who became well known with her book, The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy. And to the present day, with Alice Waters, who inspired me as Vice President of Slow Food. Her practice of taking a new chef out of the kitchen to show them the soil on the farm to pull a carrot from the ground and to pick an apple from a tree and to make a cheese, is simple, but it works. This is inspiring stuff.

GARY RHODES, NEW BRITISH CLASSICS

This week is a superb book by the late, great Gary Rhodes. New British Classics is a very good book indeed, covering so much with many recipes and good photography. Flicking through this book reminds me of how approachable it is, with something for everyone and for every occasion. The recipes are straightforward and easy to follow which is one of the

reasons why Gary became so popular, I remember watching him cook at a demonstration in Perth many years ago. He cooked a few simple dishes and was very much the life and soul

of the event.

This book has dishes that would sit well on a menu now and is timeless. We will still be using this book in years to come. It doesn’t follow silly trends, it is just good, well executed food, presented simply and tasting delicious. His restaurant in Edinburgh was a busy place, and I recall eating there quite a bit, with a pork/ bacon/ belly and white bean as the standout dish, it was delicious.

Sadly, Gary is no longer with us, but his memory will live on through his books, dishes and his personality. Gary acknowledges in the front of his book a quote from Brillat Savarin “The discovery of a new dish is more beneficial to humanity than the discovery of a new star” and I agree.

THE PUDDING CLUB BOOK

Those of you who know me, and there are a handful, are aware that I don’t have a sweet tooth. I would rather have a couple of starters and a main course than a sweet dessert. There was a great pastry chef called Michael Nadell who was once asked, what’s your favourite dessert? His response was “A glass of port and a piece of cheese” and I am like him. I prefer cheese, with a simple piece of fruit or chutney.

However, this book, The Pudding Club Book is fantastic. It is written by Keith and Jean Turner with Annette Balfour Lynn. A wonderful little book, and another charity shop find, but full of almost forgotten recipes from time gone by, with delicious sounding names of puds like Lord Randall’s Pudding, made with marmalade and apricots, or how about St Nicholas Pudding, another rich steam type with plums, or an Ascot Pudding sounds lovely, made with rice, mixed peel and suet, served with a sherry sweet sauce. With so many to choose as a favourite it is impossible to pick one I would want to make and eat but Granny’s Irish Pudding sounds big and bold with marmalade, cherries, suet, of course and a bottle of Guinness. The names of some are brilliant, the classic crumble and summer are here but also the elusive Sussex pond, one I have never made before. I need to roll my sleeves up and get baking.

SIMPLE FRENCH COOKERY BY RAYMOND BLANC

I am not ashamed to say that I spend a reasonable amount of time at charity shops, not just looking for that rare mid century piece of furniture that they don’t realise is worth more than what they are selling it for, but to search for cookery books. I adore looking through old bookshops and finding a real gem and sometimes I walk away with half a dozen under my arm, other times none, it is a constant search. This week is a gem of a book, Simple French Cookery by Raymond Blanc. It is a really good book if you wish to start cooking French food, with simple instructions and good photography. It contains all the absolute classics from the kitchens of M. Blanc, heavily influenced like so many chefs, by his mum’s cooking including moules mariniere, coq au vin, gratin dauphinoise and tart tatin, a real treat pudding. This is a real gem actually and one I enjoy looking through to remind me to keep it simple. I paid £2 for it at a local charity shop, worth every penny, and will be very well used.

I worked for Raymond Blanc in the mid 1990’s and he was a tough guy to work for, many chefs came and went in the time I was there. He was always kind to me but he could give a serious bollocking if something wasn’t right. In my first week at Le Manoir I must have scrubbed 100kg of black truffles, a memory I shall never forget. I stank for days after that and I am sure a few pigs were chasing me home every night.

COOKBOOK OF THE WEEK: THE GOOD COOK BY SIMON HOPKINSON

For a very long time, many have admired Simon Hopkinson for his cookery skills. He loves food and knows how to cook it. This book is called The Good Cook, and rightly so. It is all about simplicity and chasing the right ingredients. The old saying “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear“ is very true, but I believe Simon would make a delicious dish out of that ear. He follows the classic dishes yet manages to be up to date and modern.

His dishes range from a simple veal chop with ceps, parsley and garlic, to traditional English roast duck with apple sauce, which really does make my mouth water. There are similarities with his food and mine. He has been admired by many chefs for decades and we all have his books, many of which have been featured here before. And his lamb breast, breadcrumbed till crisp with garlic mayonnaise came via Ruth Mott and him to appear on our menus at Cafe.

I adore the recipes here. The photography is clean and simple and it is food I genuinely want to eat. It looks delicious, unfussy and elegant. Standout for me are broad beans, smoked cod roe and ricotta with olive oil, a dish we reinvent with crowdie. The pot roast pork with endives makes me very hungry indeed. I want to eat this food every day. He has had a great career and headed up some of the best kitchens in the UK over the years, Hilaire, Bibendum etc.  This guy cooks very well and the book came with a television series. If you love food and love eating in the sort of places I do, then get this book.

COOKBOOK OF THE WEEK: THE LITTLE PARIS KITCHEN BY RACHEL KHOO

The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo is a stunner of a book which I like a lot, for many reasons. I remember watching the television series years ago and thinking, this person is good, speaks French, lives in a tiny apartment in Paris and cooks really well. I admire her style, she oozes it. I met her several years ago, at a gig in 10 Downing Street, when the then Prime Minister David Cameron asked about 100 of the best supporters of UK food for a drinks and nibbles reception. I am such a name dropper.

This book is filled with dishes I want to eat and what she has learned at le Cordon Bleu in Paris comes across here. The dishes are stylish, simple to follow and easy for most to create. From pear Belle Helen to fish with lemon and brown butter or classics like coarse pork pate, pissaladière and Quiche Lorraine. If I was to write a cookery book it would look similar to this one. The photography here is spot on, with images of France’s capital and her of course in various locations looking so stylish and cool. Like Cafe St Honore this is so much a slice of Paris and I love every page of it, truly a great book for everyone.

COOKBOOK OF THE WEEK: AT HOME WITH THE ROUX BROTHERS

Most people have heard of the Roux brothers. They were at the forefront of cookery in the UK for decades and throughout that time trained some of the best chefs this country has ever seen. They were a brilliant team. They had many generals working with them, and some brilliant cooks. Mention any famous chef today and they will probably have worked in one of the Roux’s kitchens at some point. Their professional standards were so high. I know as I worked free for 6 months at The Waterside Inn in Bray for Michel. He was brilliant. He was supportive of me and we became good friends. Their ability to appeal to the home cook was tricky as it was quite ‘cheffy‘ but in this book, At Home with the Roux Brothers, which went with a television series, they mastered the art of showing us how to cook simply, well, and with that French panache at home.

Their famous Le Gavroche opened in 1967 and The Waterside Inn in 1972. Subsequently they had countless Michelin stars, accolades and people were queuing around the block, not just to eat there, but were desperate to work there. I never got an interview at Le Gavroche. My father had told me it would be a practical exam so I practised and practised, knife skills,

frying eggs gently, cutting a chicken for sauce, but the call or letter never arrived. Imagine if I had been there at the same time as a certain Ramsay or Pierre White, the mind boggles. I was asked to go into business with them later but I said no.

I am sure you will have seen this book before, it is an oldie but a classic.