WHAT CHEFS READ
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There are an estimated 171 million cookbooks gathering dust on our bookshelves. A recent survey revealed that the majority were just for show rather than practical use. So are cookbooks just lifestyle accessories and expensive food porn? Or are we just reading the wrong ones? Rawena Russell tracks down ten professional chefs and asks them what recipe book they find indispensable.
Nick Nairn was Scotland's youngest chef to be awarded a Michelin star, has pubnshed several books and runs a cookery schoolnear Lake Menteith in the Trossachs.
“As a self taught
."s n (l :1: i- f: iii-r Int 3 ii? 35 Simon hopkinson ulthlinduy bum
cook a lot of my inspiration came from two
sources. The first was cookbooks and the second was eating out.
As you move through your culinary education. the books that inspire you change. There are two ; or three books that have remained a constant
throughout. The Roux brothers published their
first cookbook and that was very influential. And then Raymond Blanc published Le Manoir
(Little. Brown) cookbook. Suddenly. the great 3 chefs in this country were writing books and
opening up to people. These were all influential
books: very much high end cooking, very
aspirational. But the books I have drawn most
inspiration from have been people like Simon Hopkinson. whose first book Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Press) is just a brilliant collection of recipes. There's nothing to pad it
out: every single recipe has a reason for being there. And I like the way he grouped them all
into ingredients.
(Ebury). written by David and Hilary Brown. I actually have my inscribed copy in front of me. And that's a very battered looking book — it's had a lot of use. Her book has reinforced a lot of
things I believe in; most of our cooking I would
20 THE LIST 11—25 May 2006
define as produce—based cooking. It's about getting great produce and cooking it properly. combining ingredients that get on well together.‘
Richard Logan is head chef of Home Bistro in Edinburgh. ‘For me. Slow Cooking (Whitecap Books) by Joanne Glynn is unbeatable. A lot of it is just simple things like moussaka. lasagne or slow cooked chilli or chicken but the recipes are an absolute dream and the results are really fantastic. It‘s a really nice book if you are into real comfort food.~ Cracknell and RJ
\. '4 r _ 7 t ' Kaufmann (Thomson
‘ l I ‘- " ‘ Leaming) is essential ' j i ' for basic stocks, sauces and everything.
It is influential just
by the practicality of the dishes — that particular
As head chef for both Oloroso and Roti, Tony Singh has set new standards for food in the capital.
‘Practit‘al ijessiorwl
Cooker-v by HL
way of doing things. That’s what people forget Another book is La Potiniere and Friends ’
about cooking. just the basics. I still go back to it. I did this moming in fact. Most impressively. it's useful for complete beginners and experienced chefs alike. The main thing you look at cookbooks for is pictures. for inspiration. The rest you build up over time.‘
Alan Burns is head chef at Milngavie restaurant, The Wild Bergamot, which picked up The Llst’s Best Restaurant in Glasgow, 2006 award. ‘Larousse Gastronomique Recipe (‘ollection (Hamlyn) by Librarie Larousse is probably the most important one for me. It‘s basically a chef‘s bible to be honest. It tells you about the old classic dishes. I am continually buying books: it helps keeping you up to date. I also like and to C ulinun' Artistry (John Wilic & Sons) by Andrew Dorenburg. Charlie Trotter‘s books and Michele Brass. Of the ones that really make it easy for readers. Gordon Ramsay‘s is top of the list. Culinary Artistry helps you with flavour matching. We all know certain things work extremely well together and then there’s other things you can get a backnote with. It helps give you ideas for something different and it's easily readable for beginners.‘
Paul Steward is chef and owner of The Boat House in South Queensferry. ‘I always try and go back n) Practical Professional Cookery by HI. Cracknell and RJ Kaufmann. It‘s the one they used at college. What inspires me is that you look at the pictures and think ‘wow’ . then look at the basic content and take hits out of that. more in terms of style of food than how you cook it.
Rick Stein's books are very good because he tends to keep it fairly simple. He still remembers he's got a fish on the plate!‘