http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com collaborative book reviews about all things food and wine Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:32:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6197_apples-sara-paston-williams-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6197_apples-sara-paston-williams-2009-uk#comments Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:59:13 +0000 Duncan Markham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=6197 The National Trust's (UK) book on apples is probably everything a good British gardener would need to develop an orchard of delicious lesser-known apple varieties. One of a series of useful little books, this volume covers some history of the apple, culinary and cultural, the supposed health benefits, origins of various cultivars old and new, and horticultural tips for growing trees in various settings. This is a valuable and charming book for British readers and for curious fruit growers and apple lovers in other places.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/6197_apples-sara-paston-williams-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5527_the-modern-cafe-francisco-migoya-2010-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5527_the-modern-cafe-francisco-migoya-2010-us#comments Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:45:08 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5527 The Modern Café is an excellent guide and inspiration for culinary professionals and those aspiring to have a great café. Beautiful photographs and informative side boxes generously fill the pages. The knowledge is invaluable, the recipes are fresh and exciting, and the business acumen could move you from failed restaurant to the star of your community. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5527_the-modern-cafe-francisco-migoya-2010-us/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5200_adventures-with-chocolate-paul-a-young-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5200_adventures-with-chocolate-paul-a-young-2009-uk#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:01:40 +0000 Helen Parkins http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5200 An exciting new book by a renowned and pioneering master chocolatier for anyone serious about their chocolate, filled with innovative and unusual recipes that will challenge, intrigue, and delight the tastebuds in equal measure. ]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5200_adventures-with-chocolate-paul-a-young-2009-uk/feed 1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5083_how-to-eat-nigella-lawson-1999-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5083_how-to-eat-nigella-lawson-1999-uk#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:07:15 +0000 Daniel Chan http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=5083 In the world of the celebrity chef, where books are churned out every year along with the television show and the newly endorsed kitchen products, it can be easy to forget that at some point there was a reason why these people became famous in the first place. Nigella Lawson is a case in point – the same flirtatious looks to the television camera, the coquettishness of her manner, and the double entendre laden words. The constant mining of a new angle – quick food, summer food, baking, this fashion, that trend – a battle to keep the personality fresh and the profits flowing. Lawson started her career in food as a columnist, and the quality of her work led to her writing a book. “How To Eat” was first published in 1998 and it became a bestseller. The two keys to its success were the high quality of Lawson’s writing and the common sense she offers about cooking. The first sign of a practical mind is the way she arranged this book. Chapters devoted to cooking for one or two, weekend lunches, and feeding babies and small children, shows someone who understands modern life. The recipes she provides use ingredients that are easy to find and use reasonably straightforward techniques. Ten years down the track and “How To Eat” is as joyful a read as ever. I suspect that in fifty years' time, people will still be reading it.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/5083_how-to-eat-nigella-lawson-1999-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4947_tartine-elisabeth-m-prueitt-2006-us http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4947_tartine-elisabeth-m-prueitt-2006-us#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:00:57 +0000 Mark Manguerra http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4947 Tartine is a remarkable book that allows the home baker to recreate breakfast pastries, tarts, cakes, and puddings from the renowned California bakery. The authors didn't hold back anything in making the book, taking from most of their entire menu, yet the recipes are mostly accessible and the skill level required ranges from beginner to intermediate. Most importantly, many of the desserts from the book have a rustic charm but are still delicious and beautiful enough to be showstoppers. The photography of the book, taken behind the scenes at the Tartine Bakery, captures the dream-like quality of the desserts and the remarkable skill of the artisans who make them.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4947_tartine-elisabeth-m-prueitt-2006-us/feed 2 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:30:05 +0000 Gfron1 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4031 Heston Blumenthal is known as a gastro-wizard. Not only does he helm the Fat Duck, once considered the top restaurant in the world, but he also has popular notoriety through his In Search of Perfection television series on the BBC. In Search of Total Perfection is the culmination of the TV series put in print (combining his two previous books from the series into one volume), and offers not only the recipes and exploratory work leading to the recipes, but also the behind-the-scenes tales from the studio. And whereas a movie can drop a book’s plot, story lines and even characters to help the story fit into a two-hour reel, this book flips a page and gathers all of the information presented in the series and expands on the shows with useful and fun details. The reader is left as plump and saturated as Blumenthal’s roast chicken. And that’s where we’ll peck away at this book – roast chicken.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4031_in-search-of-total-perfection-heston-blumenthal-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4256_sauces-michel-roux-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4256_sauces-michel-roux-2009-uk#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:28:57 +0000 Helen Parkins http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4256 A meal isn't complete without a sauce - and this is just the book to help any aspiring cook with the preparation of a huge variety of sauces, including all the classics. Michel Roux makes it as simple as possible with clear, step-by-step instructions which are illustrated throughout with beautiful photographs. With this book to hand, you'll be able to transform your meals into something altogether more magical, whether you've made sauces before or whether you're a complete beginner.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4256_sauces-michel-roux-2009-uk/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4199_white-heat-marco-pierre-white-2005-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4199_white-heat-marco-pierre-white-2005-uk#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:21:04 +0000 Daniel Chan http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=4199 Marco Pierre White’s publishers took advantage of his re-emergence on television in the mid-2000s by reprinting “White Heat”. First published in 1990, this book proved that the public had an interest in recipes that were not intended to be made in a home kitchen. “White Heat” has been a book sought by collectors, professionals and foodies since its original release. Justin North, the owner/chef of Sydney’s Becasse restaurant commented recently that “This changed the way I saw food. I was an apprentice in New Zealand and it gave me an insight to the manic life of a chef; it made me hungry for knowledge about Michelin chefs.” Its impact in terms of kitchen skills, as a source of inspiration for chefs and cooks, and on the design of cookbooks, is still being felt twenty years later. “White Heat” also set standards in other areas. The stark black and white photographs are so integral to the feel of the book that the photographer, Bob Carlos Clarke, received a prominent credit on the cover. The layout with its blocks of white space and oversized quotes by White owes more to cutting edge magazines like “The Face” than to the cookbooks of years gone by. Finally, there is the no-holds-barred commentary by White about the many aspects of the life of a chef. “White Heat” was an extraordinary book in its time, and it remains so today.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/4199_white-heat-marco-pierre-white-2005-uk/feed 2 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/3625_spring-in-sicily-manuela-darling-gansser-2009-au http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/3625_spring-in-sicily-manuela-darling-gansser-2009-au#comments Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:51:28 +0000 JudithM http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=3625 Spring in Sicily, the fourth book in Manuela Darling-Gansser's series of seasonal recipe books, is a medium-sized hardback book of 260 pages filled with recipes, photographs, commentary, brief chats with chefs, market stall holders, bakers and café owners, fishermen, artisan makers of cheese and wine, and a brief overview of the rich history of Sicily and some of the nearby islands. The text is brief, informative and a pleasure to read, while the recipes are simple but different enough from the more usual regional Southern/Northern Italian cooking of mainland Italy to be interesting.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/3625_spring-in-sicily-manuela-darling-gansser-2009-au/feed 0 http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/3193_sicilian-food-mary-taylor-simeti-2009-uk http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/3193_sicilian-food-mary-taylor-simeti-2009-uk#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:50:08 +0000 Duncan Markham http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/?p=3193 A buzz of joy courses through some readers when they discover certain books of special note. Sicilian Food by Mary Taylor Simeti had this effect on me. The author’s prose has that rather stiff, knowledgeable and cheekily irreverent prose familiar in parts from writers like Elizabeth David or MFK Fisher. From discussion of the probable diets of different classes of people in classical times to descriptions of contemporary foodsellers to notes about making your own tomato extract, Simeti captures the culinary atmosphere, context, attitudes and flavours of deepest, hottest Sicily.]]> http://www.thegastronomersbookshelf.com/3193_sicilian-food-mary-taylor-simeti-2009-uk/feed 0