Passion for Flavour [Paperback]

Gordon Ramsey comes up with great combinations and greater technique. This book is introduced as being not for the beginner but the enthusiast, but for those beginners willing to have a go some very nice meals indeed can be made. My only criticism of the recipes is that he often insists on using hard to come by ingredients, but I guess that what makes them special. More indication of the time required would be useful, as some of the preparation seems to take ages. Note that if you do get all of Gordon's books you end up with some duplication of recipes and if you're only going to buy one I'd have to recommend "A Chef for All Seasons" before "Passion for Flavour". He goes into slightly more detail, provides more explanation of how to do things, and the seasonal ingredients make shopping that much easier.

more for those who find cooking a pleasure and wish to improve on their skills and share my ideas.'

'Passion for Flavour' presents a stunning range of over 100 recipes, which radiate an ethereal lightness and outstanding intensity of flavour.
Using only the freshest of ingredients, the minimum of butter and cream and the cleanest, deepest flavoured stocks as a base, GR conjures up sublime dishes, which never fail to excite the palate.
Many of his most renowned recipes, including `Cappuccino of Roasted Langoustine and Lentils', `Tortellini of Ratatouille with Sauce Gazpacho' and 'Crème Brulée with Roasted Rhubarb', have been adapted for the domestic kitchen and are here presented in easy-to-follow stages.

The secret of 'cuisine légère`, or 'light cuisine', relies on four essential techniques or building blocks:-

stocks, sauces, pasta and pastry.

Once mastered, the domestic cook can then approach Ramsay's fantastic repertoire with complete confidence.'

192 high quality shiny pages, split over 10 chapters:-

Building blocks
Soups
Starters
Pasta and risotto
Vegetables
Fish and seafood
Meat, game and poultry
Desserts
Ice-creams and sorbets
Finishing touches - `simple, yet effective ways of decorating a dish with an impressive flourish that is well within the reach of the home cook.'

plus a foreword from Guy Savoy, an introduction, a glossary, a list of specialist suppliers and a full index.

From the introduction:-
'Using this book
I do assume that those who buy this book to try the recipes have the skill of an enthusiast. It is not a book for the novice cook.
Rather it is intended for those who find cooking a pleasure and wish to improve on their skills and share my ideas.

Most of the recipes are composed of a number of elements, mirroring the way we cook in the restaurant kitchen, so do read the recipes carefully in advance, and get your own `mise en place' ready.
For example, do you need stock before making the Velouté or the Confit for the garnish?
The basic elements are easy to prepare in advance then store in the refrigerator.
As all my dishes are put together freshly just before serving to maximize on the flavour, I suggest you do the same, tasting at every stage.
You my also find it helpful to read the glossary, so as to become familiar with some of the terms we use in the restaurant kitchen.
For example, we use the term `roast` to mean exposure to intense heat on top of the stove, to brown and caramelize meat, fish or other foods.....'

Each chapter opens with a page of narrative.
Each recipe is clearly laid out with a list of ingredients, a method and a relevant opening paragraph - see the recipe for `Hot Chocolate Fondant`, below for an example.

Stunning photography of the main dishes, but not of every single recipe, which may prove a little negative to those cooks who like to see what they are aiming for, e.g. `Confit of tuna in a red wine sauce`.

A taste of the recipes within:-

Red mullet soup
Terrine of foie gras with canard confit
Tomato and basil tarts
Ravioli of lobster with its own vinaigrette
Tomato purée
Fillet of beef with braised oxtail
Venison with chocolate sauce
Rump of lamb Niçoise
Barbary duck with glazed peaches
Tatin of pears
Terrine of pink grapefruit, orange and passion fruit
Crème anglaise
Banana parfait
Apple tuiles

and the most delicious of all:-

Hot chocolate fondant
'An impressive finale to any meal, these small, soufflé-like fondants can be enjoyed hot, fresh from the oven. They can be frozen uncooked, then baked from frozen, so it is worth making up a batch, even if you can't eat them all at one sitting. Comforting on a cold winter's day, we serve these with a scoop of `Ginger Ice Cream' (page 172) garnished with `Candied Orange Peel' (page 187).'

When the Nick Nairn trilogy is becoming too easy, slip up a gear into the big league with this one.

Nothing at all is simple and straight forward but the results are well worth it. The intro gives a brief introduction to his 'building blocks' which are essential to achieving the final result. Top prize has to go to the steak dish which takes 2 days to prepare!! However, that was back in the old days when you were allowed to buy oxtail from the butchers.

In short this is essentially a restaurant manual as opposed to a home cookbook and not for the beginner home chef. However, as Mr Ramsey states 'there are no short cuts to taste' and if you are prepared to go to the lengths it takes the results are (most of the time) worth it.