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Cooking with Armagnac

by Andrew on March 22, 2013 in Books For Cooks with No comments

cooking with armagnacTo celebrate its 180th anniversary, the Armagnac house of CASTAREDE has just released a new book, ‘Cooking with Armagnac’ written by Florence Castarède and her father Jean. Castarède is the oldest Armagnac house in France.

The first of its kind, ‘Cooking with Armagnac’ is 68 pages dedicated to this little known brandy and how to use it in a multitude of recipes including a chapter on cocktails.

The authors introduce us to this ‘very individual spirit’ as they call it, with a little history and romance added by the famous Gascon musketeer D’Artagnan, who was an adept of Armagnac, introducing it to the court of Louis XIV. The reader will learn how to drink this fine digestive, the rituals associated with it and the reasons why it is so adapted to its use in cooking.

A clear and simple, no-nonsense presentation, interspersed with full colour mouth watering photographs, lays out chapters starting with a line up of tapas and leading on to starters, sauces, seafood and fish, meat and poultry, desserts and fruits with a finale of recipes from professional chefs.

Recipes such as the traditional Gascon Garbure, a hearty cabbage soup with duck pieces, pigeon and Armagnac casserole, roast partridge with grapes and armagnac, duck with apples, vanilla and Armagnac custard, apple or pear clafoutis with armagnac and even a delicious sweet Armagnac omelette traditionally served as a dessert in the region.

Several more complicated recipes from renowned chefs such as Michel Guérard from Eugénie-les-Bains who presents his tipsy turkey recipe, sushi of sturgeon with Aquitaine caviar by Florence Cathiard in Bordeaux or Armagnac Babas from Nicolas Berger, the head pastry chef at Alain Ducasse’s Plaza Athénée in Paris.

Cooking with Armagnac is priced at €7 + €5 postage and packaging (UK) and is available from Armagnac CASTAREDE, 140 Boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris. Contact Florence Castarede on Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 05 15 81 or email [email protected]


Too Many Chiefs Only One Indian named ‘Best in the World’

by Andrew on February 28, 2013 in Books For Cooks with No comments

Too Many Chiefs Only One Indian

Too Many Chiefs Only One Indian

Too Many Chiefs Only One Indian, published by Face Publications, has won the title of ‘Best Cookbook Design’ at the 2013 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris.

The debut cookbook from the Nottingham-based two-Michelin-starred chef features a behind-the-scenes account of a chef at the cutting edge of modern cuisine who won a Roux Scholarship in 1999 and now runs one of the world’s most compelling and applauded restaurants. It has 68 inspirational recipes, a foreword by Heston Blumenthal and anecdotal contributions from 36 of the world’s greatest chefs.

A total of 171 countries participated in in the 18th prestigious Gourmand Awards, which were held at Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

Too Many Chiefs Only One Indian is packaged in its own hardback slipcase and mailing carton and is limited to 10,000 numbered copies. It’s an imaginative coffee table book appealing to anybody with a passion for food.

Sat Bains said:

“It’s been overwhelming and an amazing journey. We set out to create a book that would stand the test of time and be testament to exactly what’s going on in the industry right now – and we nailed it.”

This is the fourth book published by Face to be recognised at the Gourmand Awards. The debut cookbook from James Mackenzie of East Yorkshire’s Michelin-starred Pipe and Glass Inn, On The Menu, was also recognised at the 2013 awards as ‘Best First Cookbook’ in the UK. And in previous years, two books by Andrew Pern from North Yorkshire’s Star Inn at Harome, Black Pudding & Foie Gras, and Loose Birds & Game, have both won Gourmand awards.

Too Many Chiefs Only One Indian by Sat Bains is currently listed by Amazon.co.uk for £63.75.

[A full list of the 2013 Gourmand winners and nominees]

The London Cheese & Wine Guide

by Andrew on October 25, 2012 in Books For Cooks with No comments

The London Cheese & Wine Guide is the first ever guide to London’s top cheese and wine venues and reflects the increasing popularity of artisan cheese and quality wine in London.

London has an exceptional variety of cheese and wine venues to suit every occasion and budget. The London Cheese & Wine Guide features the best of these places and provides all the information you need to enjoy cheese and wine. This is the perfect book for any foodie or wine lover.
Editor of The London Cheese & Wine Guide, Lucy Gregory, says the aim of the Guide is to make cheese and wine accessible to everyone.

“We want to shake off the traditional image of snobbery that tends to accompany cheese and wine in the UK”, Lucy said. “You don’t need to spend a fortune or be an expert to appreciate good cheese and wine. You just need to know where to look and be confident in asking for specialist advice.”

Esteemed wine writer Matthew Jukes says “when it comes to cheese and wine in London, the sheer amount of choice can be daunting. This means good advice is essential. The experts behind this book have the peerless knowledge to lead you around the capital with unerring accuracy and into the arms of the finest purveyors of cheese and wine.”

The London Cheese & Wine Guide is available at www.londoncheesewineguide.com and from Amazon, featured venues and all good bookstores.

Time Out London Eating & Drinking Awards 2012

by Andrew on October 22, 2012 in Books For Cooks, Eating Out with 1 Comment

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2013Time Out London today announces the winners of its annual Time Out London Eating & Drinking Awards 2012, which recognises the best new bars, destination restaurants, and casual dining venues in the capital. The Delaunay, which takes inspiration from the ’Grand Cafés’ of the Continent, takes the accolade of Best New Restaurant.

All this year’s categories and shortlists reflect a busy year in fast-moving food and drink trends, from street trucks morphing into fully-fledged restaurants, to the boom in brewpubs and barbecue joints.
The Time Out London Eating & Drinking Awards draw on the expertise of the weekly magazine’s reviewers, using their up-to-date industry knowledge to celebrate the best new venues in London. The judges then anonymously visit all of the shortlisted venues to choose the winners.

The winners of Time Out London Eating & Drinking Awards 2012:

• Best New Restaurant – The Delaunay, Aldwych, WC2B
• Best New Cheap Eats – Boqueria Tapas, Brixton, SW2
• Best New Design – Mari Vanna, Knightsbridge, SW1X
• Best New Local Restaurant – Abbeville Kitchen, Clapham, SW4
• Best New No Bookings Restaurant – 10 Greek Street, Soho, W1D
• Best New Meat Restaurant – Tramshed, Shoreditch, EC2A
• Best New Latin American Restaurant – Lima London, Fitzrovia, W1T
• Best New Beer Bar – Crown & Anchor, Brixton, SW9

With a lively bar and culinary scene, the results indicate that Brixton has become destination for casual dining and drinking. The area is home to two winners this year, the Crown & Anchor, which has been awarded Best New Beer Bar, and to Boqueria Tapas, which has won the Best New Cheap Eats category.

Guy Dimond, Food & Drink Editor of Time Out London, comments, “London’s hospitality industry seems to be laughing in the face of recession. Restaurateurs have adapted to changed circumstances by creating no-bookings restaurants, which have faster turnover; with a trend for simpler restaurant food, exemplified by the explosion of meat and barbecue joints; and by embracing more casual drinking venues but with no compromise on the thrill of the drinks offered, which you find in the new craft beer bars. It’s been a great year for going out.”

Tim Arthur, Editor-in-Chief of Time Out London comments, “The capital is brimming with new venues and emerging trends, but 2012 really has been the year of the meat restaurant, with simple menus pleasing hungry diners. The chicken and steak menu at Mark Hix’s Tramshed took the crown in this category this year. We’ve also seen the rise of Peruvian food as Latin American restaurants pop up over the capital. The unusual ceviche dishes at the winning Lima London should not be missed.”

For the full list of this year’s awards, to book restaurants and to get the best eating and drinking recommendations from Time Out’s critics, visit timeout.com/awards2012.

The Time Out London Eating and Drinking 2013 (Time Out London Eating & Drinking) is available from Amazon for a pre=released price of £11.15.

Sud De France: The Food and Cooking of the Languedoc

by Andrew on October 16, 2012 in Books For Cooks with No comments

Sud De France: The Food and Cooking of the LanguedocIn Sud de France, Caroline Conran explores the food and cookery of the Languedoc, that province bounded by the Rhone, the Massif Central, the Pyrenees and the Garonne. The food is as rich and variegated as the history, the architecture, the landscape and the climate.

“There are warm, sustaining dishes to fuel a strenuous day in the winter’s cold, the dishes that reflect the influence of the Arabs, the Catalans, the French and later the Italian immigrants to the ports of Sete or Agde, the dishes that are as Mediterranean as can be or which look over the mountains north and south to other countries and other cultures”.

A book packed with recipes and background details. Few illustrations, no glossy full coloured food-porn here, but easy to follow, relativly simple recipes each accompanied by a little anecdote or two. Poulet aux Pyrenees (Chicken with Almonds and Pine Nuts) is a simple dish, cooked in one pot that returns a tasty, winter-warming dish expecially when accompanied with Pommes paillasson a l’ail (Doormat Potatoes with Garlic). Follow this perhaps with a Tarte au Chocolate, rich, lightly baked chocolate on a puff pastry base… delicious.

Next up to try from Sud De France: The Food and Cooking of the Languedoc is Magrets de Canard Aux Pommes (Duck Breasts with Fried Apples) and a Tarte aux Chataignes (Chestnut Tart) for a true taste of autumnal France.

“This is not polite France, this is ‘in your face’ France; it’s history buried amidst the Crusades and Cathars, its towns and cities - Nimes, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Narbonne, Perpignan, Montpellier, Beziers - making up a fiecely independent region. Its people are passionate about rugby, about hunting and foraging, with a cuisine of their own, more Southern, simpler, more earthy, and less influence by the Michelin style of cooking than the rest of France. There will be information on the particular specialities such as chestnuts, sweet onions, Bouzigues mussels and oysters, salt cod, poufres (baby octopus), charcuterie, salades sauvages (salads of wild plants), the rose-coloured garlic of Lautrec, wild asparagus and local mushrooms. There are descriptions of places where oysters, truffles chestnuts or calcots - a giant spring onion, eaten roasted on a fire of vine-prunings - are the obsession of everyone in the community.”

Sud De France: The Food and Cooking of the Languedoc is currently available from Amazon for £19.

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