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.

TASTING THE PAST, RECIPES FROM ANTIQUITY BY JACQUI WOOD

Tasting the Past, Recipes from Antiquity by Jacqui Wood is a magical book. A real page

turner for many reasons. Without stating the obvious, it shows us what we used to eat, and

when we started eating certain foods. Britain has been influenced by many other countries

over the years. France, Italy, Germany and other further away places. The invasions of

Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans brought with them their cultures and food. Spice

from the crusades must have been an amazing addition to a possibly bland dish, but only for

those who could afford them. And of course, the British colonies introduced us to new foods,

The Civil War brought restrictions and eating a mince pie on Christmas Day was against the

law! Georgians took on chocolate and coffee with gusto but it was the Victorians who

seemed to bring all this together, truly global, I suppose.

This book provides us with some great recipes from our past, perhaps avoiding dishes we

won’t ever cook such as cows udders and stuffed fish heads. There are some good ideas

here that I will be stealing, and I will use this book for reference as I grow greyer and greyer.

Fascinating reading beans and peas were eaten by the Celts. Herbs were used a lot and

foraged items too, like ramsons and wild garlic for flavour. Interesting to read that pigeon,

and black and red grouse carcasses were found in a midden in Glastonbury during the Iron

Age. We use a lot of pigeon today. The Romans ate well it seems with plenty of stews using

lamb, lentils and lots of fruits. But the first Christmas feasts were Roman, as it was banned in

the first few centuries here. And jumping around a bit, cooking food in clay seemed all the

rage in Iron Age times, a method used today, but in a salt pastry crust. With so much to talk

about in this book, its best you just go and buy a copy, it really is very interesting reading.

NEIL'S COOKBOOK OF THE WEEK: THE ROMAN COOKERY BOOK 'APICIUS'

I have recently found this book at a church book sale, and I can’t put it down. It is called The

Roman Cookery Book ‘Apicius’ translated by Barbara Flower and Elisabeth Rosenbaum. It is

a wonderful book to pick up, find some interesting facts and put down again, but you will go

back to it. What seems to underlie Roman food is that they were very keen on covering up

the taste of say, the actual meat they were cooking, with other flavours, like garum. I

suppose today we do similar things but are more subtle with our sauces and

accompaniments.

I read some stunning recipes that wouldn’t be out of place in a restaurant today. Mussels

with chopped fresh coriander, and peppercorns or a barley soup or broth with dill, leg of

pork, with coriander, pepper, lovage, cumin, moistened with honey and vinegar and poured

over it. Which actually sounds quite nice. I adore the sauces for ostrich section, which can

be used with crane, pheasant, chicken, goose or peacock. However, instructions on how to

pluck a flamingo are possibly a bit much for today’s tastes.

In the gourmet section there are recipes for wombs from sterile cows, skin, fillets, ribs and

trotters. A grilled womb anyone? Roll in bran and afterwards, soak in brine and then cook. All

a bit peculiar, but I suppose there is a melting pot of so many cultures in Roman times with

food from all over the world brought by servants and slaves and tried by the cooks of the

day, a really interesting read.

NEILS COOKBOOK OF THE WEEK: THE RACINE EFFECT BY HENRY HARRIS

.Finally my copy of ’The Racine Effect” by Henry Harris has arrived which has been long awaited. I have admired this chap for many years. I absolutely love his food. It is the food that I want to eat. He cooks with so much love and flavour, something a lot don’t do. His ability to keep to the classics and produce excellent dishes time and again amazes me. It is in essence so simple, but so difficult to do. His restaurant at Farringdon is wonderful. I have only eaten there once, but it was memorable and one of those places you wish you lived close to. Someone said some years ago, “if there is a heaven then I want Mark Hix to be cooking in the canteen” I would like to see Henry Harris cooking alongside him. Please buy this book and go and eat at his restaurant, if you can get a table, because it is full of chefs eating there on their day off.

CONSUMABLES FROM THE ROYAL SCOTSMAN TRAIN

It's an unusual book this week, one which I don’t believe you can buy. It has me in it, and was a book produced when working on board The Royal Scotsman train. Consumables was put together in the 1990’s as so many guests who stayed with us on the train would ask for recipes of dishes, so we decided to put this little book together for them to take home with them. The images are funny to look back on now, but yet again, it feels like yesterday. I look so young, and the food looks fresh and as great as I remember. We cooked some great food on the train. Remember we were moving about 70 miles an hour during the day, serving breakfasts and lunches but always stabled in the evening and overnight. It was a magical way of seeing the whole of not just Scotland, but the UK too as we ran tours in the West Country and Wales and into London. Guests stayed at the Goring hotel the night before and were piped on board at Paddington station and the adventure began. It was 3 of the most enjoyable years cooking and where I met a certain Mrs Chef. If you for some reason have a copy of this book, it will be worth a fortune….or possibly not.