Great British Menu - traditional recipes [Hardcover]

I bought this for my wife for her birthday. The book is well written and importantly the recipes are easy to follow and it's well illustrated. It is good to have a cookery book that gives some background to local and regional produce. This is becoming ever more important as we are beginning to worry about how we all source our food. So it's good that this book lists suppliers and resources at the end of the book. It's also nice to have a cookery book that takes recipes from a variety of chefs. The other thing about it of course was that the TV series was aimed at regional specialities so that this book is great fro anyone who wants to explore British cuisine - yes it does exist!

'Discover and enjoy the best of British cuisine, as the cream of the nation's chefs present the superb variety of regional produce and show you how to cook it at home.'

'Accompanying the BBC2 TV series, 'Great British Menu' has over 100 recipes, classic and contemporary, which celebrate the best food from each region.
14 of the nation's finest chefs create original, regionally inspired recipes and pit their culinary wits and skills against each other. Following 8 weeks of intense competition the winning dishes, as voted by the public, form the centrepiece of a special lunch to mark our Queen's 80th birthday.'

224 high quality, matt pages split over main chapters:

1. The South East:
Gary Rhodes
Atul Kochhar

2. The North:
Marcus Wareing
Simon Rimmer

3. WalesP:
Angela Hartnett
Bryn Williams

4. The South West:
John Burton Race
Michael Caines

5. Northern Ireland:
Paul Rankin
Richard Corrigan

6. The Midlands & East Anglia:
Antony Worrall Thompson
Galton Blackiston

7. Scotland:
Tom Lewis
Nick Nairn

with an introduction, a resources directory, a chefs' directory and a concise index.

Old favourites, such as 'Fish and Chips' and 'Eve's Pudding', mingle with the less commonly known, 'Hari Machhi'.
Discover local markets and suppliers of each region and produce which is at its seasonal best.

Each chapter opens with an introduction to the region, and then introduces the two chefs plus their two menus.

The book is interspersed with relevant notes, such as:

Asparagus:
'No food is quite as delicate and fragile as asparagus. The sugar stored in its spears - which gives it its distinctive sweet and grassy flavour - begins to turn to starch as soon as the asparagus is plucked from the earth. Buying locally and seasonally is a must - do not even consider imported varieties.'

Each recipe has a clear ingredient's list and method but although there is some on-location photography, the book is a little light in shots of the actual dishes themselves, which may prove slightly negative for those of us who like to see what we are aiming for, on the plate, e.g. 'MURG KI BIRYANI'.

Some examples of the recipes, in no particular order:

* White Chocolate Mousse with Red Raspberry Coulis
* Seared Red Mullet with Rosemary-Scented Mussels
* Wild Boar Lancashire Hot-Pot
* Salt Duck Salad
* Ham Hock Terrine with Pickled Mushrooms and Apple Compote
* Caramelised Vanilla Egg Custard with Marinated Devon Summer Fruits and a Mint Broth
* Prawn & Avocado `Cocktail'
* Roast Best End of Lamb with Tomato Fondue
* Venison Wellington with Pickled Cabbage
* Slow-Cooked Hereford Oxtail with Stout & Prunes, Horseradish Mash
* Ulster Vegetable Soup with Bacon Dumplings
* Lemon Cream Tart with Fresh Strawberries
* Lobster Macaroni with Rocket & Parmesan
* Casserole of Norfolk Sausage Mash
* Roast Sirloin of Perthshire Highland Beef with Ayrshire Potatoes, Roasted Glamis Asparagus and a Radish Relish
* Lythe Valley Damson Cheesecake
* Welsh Cakes with Roasted Apricots & Welsh Cake Ice Cream
* Crown of English Asparagus
* Peppered Fillet of Beef with Whisky & Mushroom Sauce
* Rhubarb Compote with Mango, Vanilla Ice Cream & Nutmeg

I absolutely loved the Great British Menu series, and was delighted to find a book capturing all those wonderful receipes. Some are a little challenging, but if you're passionate about food, you'll relish the opportunity to stretch (and improve) your skills. Our favourites so far are Nick Nairn's venison and Marcus Wareing's amazing custard tart (our guests gave us a round of applause for that one!!). A marvellous book to compliment a marvellous series.