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Product Description
Product Description
One of the world's most renowned chefs, Heston Blumenthal has made his name creating such original - and some might say bizarre - dishes as Snail Porridge and Nitrogen Scrambled Egg & Bacon Ice Cream at his internationally acclaimed restaurant, The Fat Duck. Heston decided, though, that it was time to go back to both his and our roots and to focus his creative talent on reinventing some of our most well-known and abused dishes. In order to do this he travelled around the world in search of 'perfect' versions of eight dishes which represent the essence of our culinary heritage: Roast Chicken & Roast Potatoes Pizza Bangers & Mash Steak Spaghetti Bolognese Fish & Chips Black Forest Gateau Treacle Tart & Ice Cream Everybody's idea of 'perfection' is different, and so Heston, drawing on interviews with experts and cooks as well as using his own culinary and scientific research, sets out to discover what makes these standards so great. He explores the origins of each dish, how to find the best ingredients, and of course the many different ways - and whys - of cooking them to perfection. He reveals priceless culinary tips along the way: everything from how to cut potatoes for flawless frying, to what makes the choicest beef, to the secret ingredients in the perfect spaghetti Bolognese, to capturing the essence of a fish and chip shop in a perfume bottle, to making aerated chocolate bars at home with a vacuum cleaner. In Search of Perfection examines the role of food in our lives and memories and is a completely original, inspiring and fascinating exploration of these kitchen classics.
About the Author
Chef Heston Blumenthal has been described as a culinary alchemist for his innovative style of cuisine. His work researches the molecular compounds of dishes so as to enable a greater understanding of taste and flavour. His restaurant The Fat Duck, in Bray, Berkshire, was awarded three Michelin stars in 2004, and voted the Best Restaurant in the World by an international panel of 500 culinary experts in Restaurant Magazine's The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2005 awards. He also owns the Hinds Head Hotel, a village pub in Bray. Heston Blumenthal lives in Berkshire with his wife and three children.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a book that is long overdue in that it tells you how to cook dishes that people actually want to eat! Unlike many of the modern chefs it is a relief to come across someone who is happy to cook real food for real people.
There are some good stories in the book and the photography is fantastic. I could hardly believe the time and effort that someone could spend on making a pizza but the finished product certainly looks nice.
I have to take issue with a couple of the recipes though. My favourite meal is steak with Black Forest gateaux and these are the two dishes I have tried to make but be warned - it is not easy.
It tells you to cook the steak with a blowtorch and then put it in the oven for 18 hours (true!). This just did not work for me and the steak ended up far too black and chewy. To be fair, the recipe did say to trim off any burnt bits but if I had done that we would not have had much left. As for the gateaux, this turned out very nice (although not as good as the photograph) but do be careful when using the vacuum cleaner on the chocolate because it is very hard to clean afterwards. Apart from this it is a great book and I recommend it.
There are some good stories in the book and the photography is fantastic. I could hardly believe the time and effort that someone could spend on making a pizza but the finished product certainly looks nice.
I have to take issue with a couple of the recipes though. My favourite meal is steak with Black Forest gateaux and these are the two dishes I have tried to make but be warned - it is not easy.
It tells you to cook the steak with a blowtorch and then put it in the oven for 18 hours (true!). This just did not work for me and the steak ended up far too black and chewy. To be fair, the recipe did say to trim off any burnt bits but if I had done that we would not have had much left. As for the gateaux, this turned out very nice (although not as good as the photograph) but do be careful when using the vacuum cleaner on the chocolate because it is very hard to clean afterwards. Apart from this it is a great book and I recommend it.
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is perhaps one of the most audacious cookery books you will read... Heston has taken 8 everyday classic dishes and sought out how to make it as good as it can possibly be by seeking out master chefs and carrying out in-depth testing in the research kitchens of his restaurant (The Fat Duck, named the best restaurant in the world last year) then by learning about the ingredients he found to be the best by visiting the artisans who create them.
What makes it so special is that each dish is assessed both culturally and scientifically in the quest to make the recipe perfect, looking at how tradition and memory shape the food, and at the chemical processes involved in the preparation, assessing things such as how variations in temperature, ingredient quality and methods and timings of preparation may influence the final outcome.
At the end of each chapter Heston presents his recipe which often draw on novel and unusual methods of preparation which overcome the limitations you may face in the home (for example you are not likely to have a dewar of liquid nitrogen for making ice cream or an oven than can hit 500 degrees Centigrade for making pizza, but he finds a way to get close to these).
These recipes will be quite expensive to prepare with the special equipment you may need to buy and the use of the best ingredients possible - though Heston does suggest to use the best you can afford, and I plan to use good ordinary ingredients for a couple of dry runs (not yet being a three Michelin starred chef who has cooked up several hundred practice versions in a well-equipped research kitchen I think this may be sensible!) Also most of these recipes require a lot of time to prepare and may not leave much change out of a weekend.
I believe everyone who reads this book will feel inspired enough to want to pick up their vacuum cleaner and paint gun and have a go at these recipes themselves, knowing that the time, money and effort invested in making these dishes will give great satisfaction both in preparing something resembling perfection and in the understanding of the food that it will give you.
One last note - this book was prepared as a companion to a BBC TV series; having seen the first episode I would suggest don't let the poor quality of the TV series affect your judgement - it is evident that a lot of the material has been omitted or cut down to cram each recipe into a 15 minute slot, whereas three or four times this would have been more fitting.
What makes it so special is that each dish is assessed both culturally and scientifically in the quest to make the recipe perfect, looking at how tradition and memory shape the food, and at the chemical processes involved in the preparation, assessing things such as how variations in temperature, ingredient quality and methods and timings of preparation may influence the final outcome.
At the end of each chapter Heston presents his recipe which often draw on novel and unusual methods of preparation which overcome the limitations you may face in the home (for example you are not likely to have a dewar of liquid nitrogen for making ice cream or an oven than can hit 500 degrees Centigrade for making pizza, but he finds a way to get close to these).
These recipes will be quite expensive to prepare with the special equipment you may need to buy and the use of the best ingredients possible - though Heston does suggest to use the best you can afford, and I plan to use good ordinary ingredients for a couple of dry runs (not yet being a three Michelin starred chef who has cooked up several hundred practice versions in a well-equipped research kitchen I think this may be sensible!) Also most of these recipes require a lot of time to prepare and may not leave much change out of a weekend.
I believe everyone who reads this book will feel inspired enough to want to pick up their vacuum cleaner and paint gun and have a go at these recipes themselves, knowing that the time, money and effort invested in making these dishes will give great satisfaction both in preparing something resembling perfection and in the understanding of the food that it will give you.
One last note - this book was prepared as a companion to a BBC TV series; having seen the first episode I would suggest don't let the poor quality of the TV series affect your judgement - it is evident that a lot of the material has been omitted or cut down to cram each recipe into a 15 minute slot, whereas three or four times this would have been more fitting.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have seen Heston Blumenthal's 'In Search of Perfection' television series and his feasts and have always been fascinated!
This book is truly an adventure! Each recipe requires a significant amount of time (up to 10 hours), but the results are WELL WORTH IT!!!!!
What is amazing is that all of the recipes are designed for the home cook, and while they do take dedication, they are all do-able!!
So far, I have attempted the "Perfect Chicken" and the results were incredible! The most amazing flavor, texture, juiciness, everything!! Just note that the first time making any of the recipes will take longer than suspected-- yet the subsequent times will definitely run more smoothly!!
Give these recipes a chance and the experience gained is amazing!
Plus, the stories are great as well!!
A 'perfect' book!
This book is truly an adventure! Each recipe requires a significant amount of time (up to 10 hours), but the results are WELL WORTH IT!!!!!
What is amazing is that all of the recipes are designed for the home cook, and while they do take dedication, they are all do-able!!
So far, I have attempted the "Perfect Chicken" and the results were incredible! The most amazing flavor, texture, juiciness, everything!! Just note that the first time making any of the recipes will take longer than suspected-- yet the subsequent times will definitely run more smoothly!!
Give these recipes a chance and the experience gained is amazing!
Plus, the stories are great as well!!
A 'perfect' book!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
In search of perfection
This is a very good cookery book, tells you just how to do things from basics, and they come out tasting really good, would recomend it
Published 3 months ago by christie
Fun but impractical.
This book is great to read . It contains a fair bit of interesting food history on the classic dishes we all enjoy. Read more
Published 21 months ago by D. McAllister
Too few reciepes
Too few reciepes for such a good chef. A lot of history on each of the methods to cook, but not enough on what to cook
dissappointing
dissappointing
Published 22 months ago by LBQ
Absorbing!
I bought 2 copies of this book to give as birthday gifts to 2 young men. I like Heston, but he'd seemed to have gone a bit off the wall lately. Read more
Published on 27 May 2010 by Ms. L. C. Gillatt
interesting reading even if you don't make a single recipe
Blumenthal re-invents the British Classics in an albeit complex manner. His descriptions of his search for perfection makes interesting reading even if you don't attempt a single... Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2010 by Jonathan Haskell
Food of the Gods
This book is an amazing read. The way Blumenthal goes through all the processes, and talks about how the ingredients used in the recipes are procured and processed. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2009 by S. J. Turner
Borat in the Kitchen
Heard a snippet of a radio interview with Blumenthal a couple of months ago, so put his book on my Christmas wish list. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2009 by Jakkals
Perfect!
Beyond the search for the perfect dish, it is the journey that is fascinating here.
Heston's approach to identifying what is the perfect steak, the perfect chip, or the... Read more
Heston's approach to identifying what is the perfect steak, the perfect chip, or the... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2008 by LMB
Interesting, but unattainable perfection
I enjoyed reading this book and picked up a few interesting tips, but, even though I'm a keen cook, the lengths to which Heston Blumenthal goes to to achieve perfection are largely... Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2008 by Bluebell
Contextualising Kitchen Classics.
Reading this book, it is difficult not to get caught up in Blumenthal's obsessive quest. Whether seeking the perfect chocolate, steak or potato, he writes engagingly about produce... Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2008 by Ms. F. Ford
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