Food and Drink
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Sally Clarke's Book: Recipes from a Restaurant,Shop and Bakery
Sally Clarke's cooking is of the utmost simplicity; everything depends on the absolute freshness and quality of the ingredients. It is firmly rooted in Mediterranean and California traditions, using the day's best produce in a light, contemporary style that has gained accolades, awards and rave reviews since her now world-famous restaurant, Clarke's, opened its doors in the mid 1980s in London. But at long last the rest of us have caught up with her and her philosophy. Never before has this book been so meaningful or useful. Any cook will learn a great deal and for those now following the contemporary food culture which preaches seasonality and terroir, it is a 'must-have' cookbook which won the coveted Glenfiddich Award when it was first published. This collection of her creations, arranged by season offers heaps of excellent modern recipes, and an introduction to how you, the home cook, can produce her signature dishes.
The Fat Duck Cookbook
In this beautiful, smaller format edition of the bestselling Big Fat Duck Cookbook, we hear the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck, birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and encounter the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant. Heston Blumenthal is widely acknowledged to be a genius, and The Fat Duck has twice been voted the Best Restaurant in the World by a peer group of top chefs. But he is entirely self-taught, and the story of his restaurant has broken every rule in the book. His success has been borne out of his pure obsession, endless invention and a childish curiosity into how things work - whether it's how smell affects taste, what different flavours mean to us on a biological level, or how temperature is distributed in the centre of a souffle. In the first section of The Fat Duck Cookbook, we learn the history of the restaurant, from its humble beginnings to its third Michelin star (the day Heston received the news of this he had been wondering how exactly he would be able to pay his staff that month). Next we meet 50 of his signature recipes - sardine on toast sorbet, salmon poached with liquorice, hot and iced tea, chocolate wine - which, while challenging for anyone not equipped with ice baths, dehydrators, vacuum pumps and nitrogen on tap, will inspire home cooks and chefs alike. Finally, we hear from the experts whose scientific know-how has contributed to Heston's topsy-turvy world. With an introduction by Harold McGee, incredible colour photographs throughout and illustrations by Dave McKean, The Fat Duck Cookbook is not only the nearest thing to an autobiography from the world's most fascinating chef, but also a stunning, colourful and joyous work of art.
Persia in Peckham: Recipes from Persepolis
Persepolis is a foodie's paradise. Sally Butcher and her husband Jamshid have created a food store from heaven, gathering all that's best from Iran and the Middle East. Chef and food writer Tom Norrington Davies remarks that 'Persepolis is my corner shop. But even if it wasn't, I'd happily cross town and country to get there. Otherwise, I'd miss the heady scent of their herbs and spices every time I opened my kitchen cupboards. Persepolis is an emporium in the true sense of the word. It feels exotic and local all at once, and this is, in no small part, thanks to Sally Butcher. She is always happy to give advice on everything from chick peas to hookahs with the same warm mix of humour, expertise and enthusiasm. And if the samovar is on you get all the above with a cuppa. Persepolis is the sort of place no neighbourhood should be without.' This book distils all that is remarkable about this shop and the style of cooking that it supports. Sally herself is English, but she has had to learn the ways of her customers and her husband's family. She is a matchless interpreter of Persian food and cookery, as well as of modern Iran and the tremendous changes that have been going on in that society since the revolution. This book should be seen as a way for British readers to enter into the Persian experience; to understand how the cuisine has developed; and to appreciate how the cookery (and the society) is reacting to the modern world. The recipes are full and informative, covering every aspect of Persian cookery from soups and stews to drinks and sweetmeats. This will be a book to remember; and a book that will be applauded and endorsed by some of the most respected of our modern food writers and chefs.
A Day at ElBulli
For the first time, "A Day at elBulli: An Insight into the Ideas, Methods and Creativity of Ferran Adria" allows unprecedented access to one of the world's most famous, sought after and mysterious restaurants. Having held three Michelin stars since 1997, and regularly voted Best Restaurant in the World by a panel of 500 industry professionals, elBulli has been at the very forefront of the world restaurant scene Ferran Adria became head chef in 1987. Aimed at food enthusiasts as well as industry professionals, the book documents all the activities and processes that make up just one day of service with stunning colour and black and white photography of the kitchens, staff, creative workshop, dishes, the restaurant itself and its striking surroundings near the town of Roses, north east of Barcelona.The book starts with daybreak at 6.15 am, then shows visits to the local markets to source ingredients from 7.00 am, Ferran's arrival at the workshop, his morning creative experimentation session, the arrival of the rest of the brigade at 2.3 0 pm to begin the mise-en-place for the evening, the preparations of each guest's menu, the daily tasks of the front of house team, and the arrival of the first guests for dinner from 7.45 pm until the last guests' departure by 2.00 am.The menu is fully explained with detailed and technical recipes that reveal the full extent of the chefs' artistry. Innovative diagrams open the lid on the technical processes behind the creation of a dish, the network of sensations and interactions that take place between a restaurant and its guests, and the sensory experiences of eating, as well as the formidable reservations procedure and the structure of a meal into four theatrical 'acts'. "A Day at elBulli: An Insight into the Ideas, Methods and Creativity of Ferran Adria" allows all lovers of good food to experience this spectacular restaurant to the full.
I am Almost Always Hungry: Seasonal Menus and Memorable Recipes
Simplicity, quality, and seasonality are the guiding principles behind the menus and recipes of Lora Zarubin. In order to focus on the freshest ingredients, the book is divided by season, each recipe featuring produce, fish, and meat from that season's bounty. The menus and dishes are drawn from Lora's childhood and her extensive travels in Europe and the U.S.
Ottolenghi: The Cookbook
Ottolenghi is one of the most iconic and dynamic restaurants in the country. Its unique blend of exquisite, fresh food, abundantly presented in a cutting-edge, elegant environment, has imaginatively redefined people's dining expectations. For the first time, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi are publishing here their superb sweet and savoury recipes. Yotam and Sami's inventive yet simple dishes are inspired by their respective childhoods in West and East Jerusalem but rest on numerous other culinary traditions, ranging from North Africa to Lebanon, Italy and California.The 140 original recipes cover everything from accomplished meat and fish main courses, through to many healthy and quick salads and suppers, plus Ottolenghi's famous and delectable cakes and breads. "Ottolenghi: The Cookbook" captures the zeitgeist for honest, healthy, bold cooking presented with flair, style and substance. This painstakingly designed book, lavishly photographed book offers the timeless qualities of a cookery classic.
Beyond Nose to Tail: A Kind of British Cooking: Part II
'It would be disingenuous to the animal not to make the most of the whole beast; there is a set of delights, textural and flavoursome, which lie beyond the fillet.' In this new collection of recipes, Fergus Henderson, award-winning author of Nose to Tail Eating, inspires with more carnivorous classics such as deep-fried rabbit, pigeon pie, venison liver and pressed pig's ear. Justin Piers Gellatly, Head Baker and Pastry Chef at St. John Restaurant, introduces us to the world of breads and sweets - sourdough loaves and lardy cakes, puddings such as chocolate baked Alaska, burnt sheep's milk yoghurt and goat's curd cheesecake, and delicious ice creams including bay leaf and the famous Dr. Henderson. This covetable collection is complemented by quirky colour photographs by Jason Lowe and a St. John-inspired monochrome design, making it the perfect companion to Fergus's first book.
Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking
Fergus Henderson caused something of a sensation when he opened his restaurant St John in London in 1995. Set in a former smokehouse near Smithfield meat market, its striking, high-ceilinged white interior provides a dramatic setting for food of dazzling boldness and simplicity. As signalled by the restaurant's logo of a pig (reproduced on the cover of "Nose to Tail Eating") and appropriately given the location, at St John the emphasis is firmly on meat. And not the noisettes, fillets, magrets and so forth of standard restaurant portion-control, all piled up into little towers in the middle of the plate: Henderson serves up the inner organs of beasts and fowls in big, exhilarating dishes that combine high sophistication with peasant roughness."Nose to Tail Eating" is a collection of these recipes, celebrating, as the title implies, the thrifty rural British tradition of making a delicious virtue of using every part of the animal. This new edition, beautifully redesigned, comes with an introduction by Anthony Bourdain.
The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
The Hummingbird Bakery is the destination bakery for Londoners with a passion for great cakes. In this irresistible book, the chefs from the bakery share their recipes for a delicious range of 60 bakes, from deliciously light cupcakes with pretty buttercream frosting to moist chocolate layer cakes and zesty lemon meringue pie. Hummingbird recipes not only taste great but also look spectacular - without resorting to fussy recipes and hours in the kitchen. The chapters include Cupcakes, Cakes (including loaf, layer, ring and cheesecakes), Pies, Brownies and Bars, Muffins and Cookies.
Spooning with Rosie
Stand aside The Naked Chef! Sassy, savvy, and with her finger firmly on the food pulse, Rosie is the fresh new face of city cooking. Five years ago Rosie Lovell opened her deli in the heart of Brixton market. Nestled among the salted fish, yams and sounds of reggae it has become an intimate, eclectic place full of welcoming people, good music and food made with love. Everyone knows everyone at Rosie's. Spooning With Rosie teems with favourite recipes and stories from Rosie's life: meals cooked for her family and friends, in the deli and at home. Culinary inspiration comes from the people closest to her, from food encountered on travels, and importantly from her fellow shopkeepers and their wares that jostle for space outside her deli: the piles of peppers and plum tomatoes; the Borlotti beans stacked up outside the Portuguese store; the reams of ackee in the window of the Jamaican shop next door. With her own unique feisty elan, Rosie shows how to experiment with food and to have fun while doing it. Recipes are never absolute, but something to be perfected and adapted with time. Similarly, methods are never complicated - just thrifty, good food perfect for the occasion. Food that depends on who you are with, how you are feeling, and what's in the fridge. There are recipes for the dawn chorus: food for the first wave of a hangover, or just to start the day with a bang. Recipes for simple dinner parties, made full of care, but easy to throw together mid-week, from warm roasted chicken with lemons accompanied by penne tzatziki style, to daddy's Jamaican ackee and salt fish with fried plantain and coconut coleslaw. There are also individual dishes of soulful grub to comfort and soothe; dishes for clandestine last-minute dates to fall in love over; recipes for casual summer get-togethers and elaborate feasts to feed flocks of hungry friends. Feisty and fresh, Spooning With Rosie, is a book about friends, a vibrant local community and the joy of good food shared together.

In Features
- Grist for the Mill by Chris Womersley
- Stephen Kelman
- Samantha Harvey
- Courtney Sullivan
- Lucy Caldwell
- Padgett Powell
- Umberto Eco
- Prizing Asian Literature by David Parker
- Dag Solstad
- Ellen Feldman
In Fiction
- The Suicide Room by Adam Ross
- Management by Luiza Sauma
- In the Cave by Tessa Hadley
- All Fall Down by SJ Butler
- Professor Andersen by Dag Solstad
- Kate Minola by Marius Brill
- Two Ways of Leaving by Alois Hotschnig
- A Tender Meditation by Lucy Beresford
- SOME TIME AFTER BY CHARLOTTE BEESTON
- Jenna by Andrew Kaufman
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