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Essence: Recipes from Le Champignon Sauvage [Hardcover]

David Everitt-Matthias
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
RRP: £25.00
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Book Description

21 Sep 2006
David Everitt-Matthias, one of just a few highly respected chefs in Britain to have gained two Michelin stars, has been developing his unique cuisine over the past 18 years in a small restaurant in Cheltenham. He has established himself as the 'chef's chef' whose dishes attract the attention of fellow professionals. His passion for wild food, which he searches out in the countryside near his home, adds a very singular and appealing dimension to his food gives his book a very special flavour. It includes a foreword by Gordon Ramsay.

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Essence: Recipes from Le Champignon Sauvage + Dessert: Dessert Recipes from Le Champignon Sauvage + Beyond Essence: New Recipes from Le Champignon Sauvage
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Absolute Press (21 Sep 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1904573525
  • ISBN-13: 978-1904573524
  • Product Dimensions: 25.4 x 25.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 36,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"Of all the chefs' books this season Essence is the one...great
recipes, great descriptions." -- The Guardian, 25th November, 2006

'The Rolls-Royce of recipe books. It is breathtaking.' -- The Shropshire Star, October 2006

'This is a book, unlike many, that will get well thumbed over the
years.' -- Caterer and Hotelkeeper, October 2006

'This is a very special book and a good recommendation for the
serious cook.' -- The Bookseller, July 2006

About the Author

David Everitt-Matthias was awarded two Michelin stars before the age of forty.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 82 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - wonderful recipes 4 Nov 2006
By David Jenkins VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
In his Foreword Gordon Ramsay says, "It is a genuine pleasure to have been asked to write the foreword to David Everitt-Matthias' insightful book, Essence." I have to say it was a genuine pleasure for me just to read through this book from cover to cover . . . mind you I did get so hungry that I had to stop for an early lunch.

Is this just another Michelin star chef cashing in on his prestigious awards or is it something more? You could be forgiven for thinking so, having randomly opened the book and seen a recipe for 'Cannelloni of veal breast and burdock with celeriac cream, horseradish froth and wood sorrel'. Frightening, and you could be forgiven for thinking this book is for professional chefs. However, you would be wrong!

This has to be one of the most exciting and interesting books about food and cooking I have read in a long time. David Everitt-Matthias is no celebrity chef writing a book to fulfil his media commitments or to cash in on TV fame. This is a delightful introduction to the cooking of a great chef and in such a way that you or me can understand the recipes . . . and cook them! None of the recipes are include for show, they are all working recipes included with the intention that anyone should feel capable of cooking them with success.

All right, if you have trouble cooking an egg then perhaps this book is not for you. But if you enjoy your food and you enjoy cooking then this books is very much one to add to your collection. There are some truly wonderful recipes throughout but the book is a great read in itself for how it explains so much about the food and what is involved in the preparation and cooking of each dish.

Essence opens with a brief Introduction followed by advice entitled 'storecupboard', described as ". . . some of the standbys we use in the restaurant kitchen. It certainly makes life easier to have them on hand and you'll find they appear in a lot of the recipes in this book." This is followed by 'foundations' - "Good cooking depends on good foundation recipes - for stocks, pasta dough, pastry an so on." Armed with your basics the main section of the book is recipes from le champignon sauvage - starters, mains and desserts.

This is one chef who knows how to write a recipe so that his readers can understand it and, because each one is broken down into its individual components is not at all daunting. Each recipe has its own introduction which explains the dish and how its flavours work together and at the same time provides alternatives to those often difficult to find ingredients. The recipes are then broken down, both for ingredients and method, into the component parts of the dish making the whole thing easy to follow. To really understand how simplified the author has made the recipes you need to have a look at one or two.

Something David Everitt-Matthias is very keen to use in his cooking when the opportunity presents itself is wild ingredients - wild garlic, nettles, ground elder and many more - and the book closes with a wild food glossary, plus photographs, which describes many of the plants and mushrooms used.

Would I recommend the book? Definitely. There are some amazing recipes but also there are so many elements to each dish and so many different techniques explained that you cannot fail to learn something new and benefit from this book whether you are a relative beginner or an experienced hand in the kitchen.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it- you will love it. 5 Dec 2010
Format:Hardcover
I love this book. It looks great, but more than anything, the recipes are fabulous-utterly delicious and yet easy to follow. Yes there are some unusual and probably hard to get ingredients unless you go foraging in hedgerows, but almost always there are easily obtained alternatives suggested and many recipes are beautifully simple. So often celebrity chefs just want to show you how clever they are, but what comes across here is a chef who actually wants you to cook his food, and when you have? Well, it is sublime.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Something special 4 Nov 2006
By David Jenkins VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
You know that this book has to be something special for Gordon Ramsay to have written the Foreword . . . or perhaps it puts you off, making you think the publishers are using his name to sell a book that does not have the qualities needed to succeed on its own merits!

Well, you can rest assured that this book does not let Gordon Ramsay or its author, David Everitt-Matthias, down. It is an excellent and very good book, in fact amongst all the food, recipe and cooking books that are published every year this stands out as one of the gems.

In his Foreword Gordon Ramsay says, "It is a genuine pleasure to have been asked to write the foreword to David Everitt-Matthias' insightful book, Essence." I have to say it was a genuine pleasure for me just to read through this book from cover to cover . . . mind you I did get so hungry that I had to stop for an early lunch.

Essence confirmed my worst fears . . . another missed opportunity. I lived in Cheltenham for several years, in fact I moved there the year le champignon sauvage was awarded its first Michelin Star, but somehow or another I never got the time or the opportunity to eat there. Having read the book I now know what I missed!

Is this just another Michelin star chef cashing in on his prestigious awards or is it something more? You could be forgiven for thinking so, having randomly opened the book and seen a recipe for 'Cannelloni of veal breast and burdock with celeriac cream, horseradish froth and wood sorrel'. Frightening, and you might even be thinking this book is for professional chefs only. However, you would be wrong!

David Everitt-MatthiasThis has to be one of the most exciting and interesting books about food and cooking I have read in a long time. David Everitt-Matthias is no celebrity chef writing a book to fulfil his media commitments or to cash in on TV fame. This is a delightful introduction to the cooking of a great chef and in such a way that you or me can understand the recipes . . . and cook them! None of the recipes are included for show, they are all working recipes included with the intention that anyone should feel capable of cooking them with success.

All right, if you have trouble cooking an egg then perhaps this book is not for you. But if you enjoy your food and you enjoy cooking then this book is very much one to add to your collection. There are some truly wonderful recipes throughout, but the book is a great read in itself. It explains so much about the food and what is involved in the preparation and cooking of each dish.

Essence opens with a brief Introduction followed by advice entitled 'storecupboard', described as:

". . . some of the standbys we use in the restaurant kitchen. It certainly makes life easier to have them on hand and you'll find they appear in a lot of the recipes in this book."

This is followed by 'foundations':

"Good cooking depends on good foundation recipes - for stocks, pasta dough, pastry and so on."

Armed with your basics the main section of the book is recipes from le champignon sauvage - starters, mains and desserts.

This is one chef who knows how to write a recipe so that his readers can understand it and, because each one is broken down into its individual components, is not at all daunting. Each recipe has its own introduction which explains the dish and how its flavours work together and at the same time provides alternatives to those often difficult to find ingredients. The recipes are then broken down, both for ingredients and method, into the component parts of the dish making the whole thing easy to follow. To really understand how simplified the author has made the recipes you need to have a look at one or two.

Something David Everitt-Matthias is very keen to use in his cooking when the opportunity presents itself is wild ingredients - wild garlic, nettles, ground elder and many more - and the book closes with a wild food glossary, plus photographs, which describes many of the plants and mushrooms used, finishing with a beautiful photograph of David with his two Boxer dogs and one of his chefs foraging in the woodland. (I was bound to like that photograph having three Boxers of my own!)

Would I recommend the book? Definitely. There are some amazing recipes - you cannot fail to learn something new and benefit from this book whether you are a relative beginner or an experienced hand in the kitchen.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Lovely book but not for me.
Lovely book, would have liked a few more pictures of recipes. I am a weekend cook at home, bought this book with dinner party recipes in mind, I am afraid I will not be able to do... Read more
Published 15 months ago by claire
5.0 out of 5 stars A world away from the comfiness of Nigel Slater
I was living in Dubai when I purchased this publication on a trip back to Old Bleighty.
Having enjoyed a few excellent evenings eating at Davids first class establishment... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Danny Marbella
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
The person I bought this book for, a chef, liked it so much he went straight out and bought the dessert book. Highly recommended!
Published 17 months ago by It's me!
4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the amatuer !
I`m delighted I purchased this book, not because it will constantly be opened, but because it is very well written and explained. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Peter H
5.0 out of 5 stars Reccomended for Any Enthusiastic Cook
A fabulous book with the intention to inspire. It has a very down to earth basis but will bring your cooking level up a notch with elegance and style. Read more
Published on 23 Nov 2010 by Polly
3.0 out of 5 stars for novice
For novice cooks or advanced housewives. There are interesting things. But 5 points too well. For professionals too weak. David only 3
Published on 6 Dec 2009 by J. Semeljova
5.0 out of 5 stars mr smiths evaluation
this is by fare one of the best cookbooks in ever growing collection it is a testament to the author and his restaurant. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2009 by Mr. Matthew Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars awe inspiring
A truly great must have book for every aspiring cook. Precise instruction makes it easy to follow for any cook with an average skill. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2009 by Ian Howorth
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book from a fantastic restaurant
This isn't a cookbook for the faint-hearted. It is a genuine restaurant book that gives you the precise recipes for some of David's most famous dishes. Read more
Published on 16 July 2008 by Dr. A. Nicholls
2.0 out of 5 stars Strange ingredients
Let me start by saying I am a great fan of David and Helen and some of the best meals of my life have been eaten at Le Champignon Sauvage. I am also a reasonably accomplished cook. Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2008 by Kitchen fiend
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