Cooking in Provence [Hardcover]

ALEX MACKAY is, first and foremost, a brilliant chef. Yet at the same time he's also much more than that. He has a quite rare and very special gift which goes beyond simply creating beautiful dishes. That gift is the ability to teach, inspire and enthuse others who want to learn how to cook creatively. This is something I personally admire a great deal and is why I have asked him to lead the food and wine workshops in the restaurants at my beloved Norwich City Football Club. --Delia Smith's Foreward to Cooking in Provence

I have several excellent books on French cooking but I would swap them all for this one --Kenneth Hodgson, Living France Magazine, May 2003

The perfect insight into French food without any airs and graces --Anthony Worrall Thompson, The Express, July 2008

Just reading through the recipes in this book is enough to make you want to get down to your local farmers' market, snap up the best ingredients on offer and get cooking....great descriptions of the people and scenery in a way that really brings the region to life --Michelle Stanistreet, Sunday Express, April 2008

Alex Mackay shares his passion for the relaxed, rural lifestyle and simple cooking of Provence, with a collection of recipes capturing the French region's unique identity --Food & Travel Magazine, July 2008

'the perfect purchase for any foodie with a love of French cuisine'

A new edition of this classic collection of recipes: Provence's best-loved dishes, accompanied by stunning photography

Alex Mackay is the chef who runs Delia Smith's renowned cookery school in Norwich; a man she has described as having a 'rare and special gift' for cookery. After working with Raymond Blanc, first as a sous-chef at Le Manoir au Quat' Saisions then as Director of Blanc's cookery school, in 2000, Alex and photographer Peter Knab opened Le Baou d'Infer, a cookery school in the heart of the Provencal countryside. Cooking in Provence is a collection of recipes born out of this experience - dishes cooked by Alex and his students and inspired by their love not just of the intoxicating flavours and food of the region, but its way of life. The recipes reflect the changing seasons, from refreshing summer dishes such as Salade Niçoise and Pissaladiere to the warming comfort of Daube en Boeuf and Bouillabaisse, authentically evoking the region's unique identity. Peter Knab's stunning photographs sit alongside Alex's vivid descriptions of the scenery, markets and people. Together they conjure a vision of Provence and the food integral to the region - from the fish caught along its beautiful coastline, to the aromatic herbs and vegetables harvested from its fields and the fruit grown in its orchards. This book provides not just a wonderful collection of mouthwatering dishes, but a slice of the warmth and beauty of Provence itself.

Cooking in Provence is a collection of recipes born out of the experience of running a cookery school in the heart of the Provençal countryside. When talented young chef Alex Mackay and internationally renowned photographer Peter Knab realised their dream of opening a school - Le Baou d'Infer - not far from St Tropez, they were inspired by the intoxicating flavours and food of the region. The recipes offered here reflect the changing seasons - dishes that truly capture the region's unique identity.

From refreshing summer classics such as Salade Niçoise and Pissaladière and the warming comfort of Daube en Boeuf and
Cassoulet, to indulgent puddings such as Tarte aux Pommes and Millefeuille aux Fraises, each recipe is clearly presented and gloriously photographed on location in
Provence.

Accompanying the recipes are vivid descriptions of the scenery, markets and people. Together they conjure a vision of Provence and the food integral to the region - from the fish caught along its breathtaking coastline, to the aromatic herbs and vegetables harvested from its fields and the fruit grown in its orchards. This sumptuous book provides not just a wonderful collection of mouthwatering dishes, but a slice of the warmth and beauty of France's most popular region. It is an indispensable companion for
lovers of good food - and the good life.

Alex Mackay is the talented young chef who runs Delia Smith's renowned cookery workshops in Norwich; a man she has described as having a 'rare and special gift' for cookery. At the age of nineteen Alex left his native New Zealand for France where he worked in three Michelin-starred kitchens.
He visited Provence at every opportunity. In 1992, Alex came to Britain to become the sous-chef at Raymond Blanc's world-famous Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. He subsequently became the director of Le Manoir's cookery school before setting up
Le Baou d'Infer. He went on to head up Delia Smith's cookery workshops and to continue a writing career that has seen him win the Guild of Food Writers' Cookery Journalist of the Year award.

Peter Knab studied photography in Germany, specialising in fashion and advertising. When he and his wife Diana
decided to look for a holiday retreat in France, they discovered Le Baou d'Infer in Provence, originally an old working farmhouse. Peter was the photographer for his lifelong friend Delia Smith's Summer and Winter Collection cookbooks.

Alex Mackay combines a love of food with a passion for teaching. At the age of nineteen he left his native New Zealand for France where he worked in three Michelin-starred kitchens. He visited Provence at every opportunity. In 1992, Alex came to Britain to become the sous-chef at Raymond Blanc's world-famous Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. He subsequently became the director of Le Manoir's cookery school before setting up Le Baou d'Infer and then going on to head up Delia Smith's cookery workshops in Norwich.

Peter Knab studied photography in Germany, specialising in fashion and advertising. When he and his wife Diana decided to look for a holiday retreat in France, they discovered Le Baou d'Infer in Provence, originally an old working farmhouse. Peter was the photographer for his lifelong friend Delia Smith's Summer and Winter Collection cookbooks in the 1990s.