Well now, a few weeks spent away from blogging and it seems like I’ve been gone forever. Still, my town came off reasonably well by local standards in the floods. Water water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink..
Hands up if you live in the UK but didn’t catch at least one episode of the recent series of “Great British Menu”. You know the formula; chefs from around the UK represent their county by cooking something symbolically local and British, and are voted out by a panel of 3 judges at the end of each show. This book collects up those recipes and dishes them up to us in a shiny patriotic package.
Firstly, I’m happy to admit that I’m becoming a little sick of cookbooks existing only as an “accompaniment to the TV series”. If a cookbook is good within it’s own right, it doesn’t need the TV series to justify its existence, does it? That said, my consistent exception to the rule is the great Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, who has yet to put a foot wrong with his books (bring on the Fish and Mushroom books later this year, I say!).
So, the book needs to give something from its own merits to be highly regarded in my eyes, and this one manages to bring the ever important subject of local and regional food to the forefront - despite never really going into any detail why. This one lets the recipes do the talking.
Now on to those recipes. How does the interesting combination of Rabbit and Crayfish Stargazy Pie tickle you? Or perhaps a smoked eel mousse? The recipes here truly combine the most contemporary of British cuisine with underlying tones of nostalgic “Britishness”. What else would you expect from some of the UK’s most popular chefs, such as the two Michelin starred Marcus Wareing?
Despite the fact that this book contains such flawless recipes, it is unfortunately destined to cut just short of being a classic (which seems to be a theme amongst recent cook books anyway), in this case purely because of the fact it doesn’t bring a truly original theme and instead serves just to back up a (great) television series.
Still, this great little collection of recipes is a corker, coming complete with a Resource Directory and short guide to seasonal produce; it is well deserving of a place on the shelve of anyone that wants to take their talents and knowledge of British cuisine to the next level.
Jeanne
Y
Lil
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
peabody
Katie
Coffee and Vanilla
We Are Never Full
Kalyn
mycookinghut
July 7th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
I do occasionally catch that show and really enjoy it!
Some of the things, I will admit, are a bit strange to my Midwestern U.S. background….but I absolutely love the names!
July 7th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
this is not a cookbook that immediately would have grabbed my attention, but a copy ended up on my lounge table and i leaved through it and boy-oh-boy - so many things i’d like to try! it’s not your average bangers-and-mash and toad-in-a-hole cookbook, this is serious cookery by very inventive chefs: and it goes to show that we DO have great food here in Britain, no matter what the French (or just about anybody) say
July 8th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Katie: Maybe that’ll make it all the more interesting? I remember trying to teach an ex-girlfriends American parents how to make “English” style tea in a pot and that was great fun
johanna: Absolutely, we DO have great food. The issue is just trying to find it :p
July 8th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
I’ve been thinking about getting this book, although havent done so yet! Maybe I’ll go and get it now!
July 16th, 2007 at 6:14 am
hi scott, good to hear that your town has been doing pretty well in light of recent flooding, and looking forward to you back in action a bit more
July 22nd, 2007 at 7:01 pm
dianne: It’s a great little book - well worth it.
Lil: Just back from a holiday myself, so I’ll be glad to get back into action too!
August 9th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
[...] seems to be something of a theme lately amongst cookbooks; first was the Great British Menu Cookbook, and now there’s this - the Great British Village Show Cookbook. You’ll probably be [...]
August 29th, 2007 at 1:37 am
Scott - Though I have not yet seen a copy of the book, I watched the series on telly recently (showing in the US on the BBC America channel). I am saddened that Angela Hartnett didn’t get further along, but I was glad to see her and chefs Richard Corrigan and Galton Blackiston at work (I have read quite a bit about them over the years). I will be sure to pick this book up soon, but I will have to wait for now as the shelves of the Grand Bookcase are overburdened.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Shaun: Ah, wish mine was a “grand bookcase” - as opposed to a corner of the room with a huge pile of books I just can’t bear to get rid of!