River Cafe Italian Kitchen: All the Recipes from the Television Series [Paperback]

There is something very seductive about food inspired by the seasons, and Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers have made a phenomenal success of their inspirations at the River Café restaurant in London. A hugely dedicated following has purchased The River Café Cookbook and River Café Cookbook Two, and this looks set to be repeated with the latest offering, River Café Italian Kitchen, which accompanied a TV series.

Italian food is "the food we love most" according to Gray and Rogers, and they share this love through a selection of mouthwatering recipes from a simple spring dish such as spaghetti with lemon, through to summer specials like crab bruschetta, rich autumn feasts of roast pheasant with quince and sage, and the winter pièce de resistance of almond, orange, lemon and whisky cake. Accompanying the recipes are evocative black- and-white photographs "of the people who make the parmesan, find the truffles, produce the wine, and press the olives", which is an attractive, understated touch.

Dip into River Café Italian Kitchen and you're transported to a smoky autumn wood in Piedmont, with the prospect of some freshly unearthed white truffles mixed with taglietelle for your supper; or grilled monkfish with salsa verde; or roast guinea fowl stuffed with pomegranate and thyme--luxurious dishes, but very straightforward to make. With its clear, uncomplicated recipes and low price, this is a book to return to again and again. --Catherine Taylor

Specially created tie-in to the primetime cookery series on Channel 4.

The RIVER CAFE COOKBOOKS are a publishing phenomenon, with over a quarter of a million sold. Following a successful pilot on BBC, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers were asked by Channel 4 to make a series in which they showed how to make some of their fantastic dishes and explained why they cook how they do. This unique book, which is photographed at both the River Cafe and in Italy, complements the existing cookbooks, contains all the recipes shown in the series 1 and 2 of ITALIAN KITCHEN and provides a platform for the authors to explain the philosophy behind their food with passion and verve. (19981001)

‘A quiet and dignified display of the expertise they’ve gleaned from their years at the River Cafe … promoting good food, beautifully cooked’ London Standard Rose and Ruth express the philosophy behind their restaurant and their cookbooks like this: ‘The River Cafe opened in 1987. It was inspired and influenced by our experience of living and cooking in Italy. Both of us spent long periods in Tuscany, with family and friends, and learned an enormous amount by watching, tasting and experimenting as we went. ‘In Italy we learned about the importance of seasonality, robust flavours, the structure of a meal and the natural connection between a region’s wine and its food. All this influenced the way we cooked and we transferred this knowledge and our enthusiasm directly to the restaurant. ‘We feel that our recipes are accessible to anyone cooking at home. We took our Italian knowledge and recipes from the domestic kitchen to the restaurant; our book now returns them there.’ There are now four River Cafe cook books – this one, plus River Cafe Cook Book, River Cafe Cook Book Two, and River Cafe Cook Book Green – which have so far sold more than half a million copies.