Amazon.co.uk Review
Never mind the b*****ks, here are the true gems that place Gordon Ramsay at the apogee of contemporary British cuisine. In
Kitchen Heaven, Gordon's a man with a mission: to give back to the industry that has given him so much. And if he can impose his excellence into our home kitchens, so much the better.
His beautifully illustrated book includes many of the recipes he uses in his TV series, Kitchen Nightmares, to replace tired and misguided fancy food with hearty fare focused more on local produce and fresh, good-quality ingredients simply presented. Don't be intimidated by Ramsay's reputation for three Michelin star perfection. The man whose previous book, Gordon Ramsay's Just Desserts, includes a recipe for a roasted rhubarb and apple crumble (an easy and warming comfort pudding), is surprisingly accessible as a creator of cookbooks for anyone's kitchen. He is a master of great classics such as bouillabaisse, fish pie, Caesar salad and a stuffed loin of roast suckling pig with crispy crackling that you'll be calling your mum about. Aware that any kitchen needs to be aware of the bottom line, he revels in the possibilities of a rich, intensely-flavoured braised oxtail in beef tomatoes and a braised shank of lamb that falls off the bone onto a soft parsnip purée. In kitchen heaven, kids are always first to the table to enjoy friendly and healthy fare such as lamb stew with parsley dumplings and young carrots, or for a more grown-up palette, pheasant baked with ceps. And the aforementioned crumble may have to make way for calvados rice pudding with caramelised apples, while his reinvigoration of black forest gateau will spoon away any bad memories you have of the sweet trolley. For the unbelievers, he even builds bridges between himself and vegetarians, demonstrating how seriously he takes vegetarian food with recipes such as baked asparagus and parmesan loaf and braised lentils and Swiss chard, turnips and parsley ravioli.
Ramsay's tips on how to create ambience and write a good menu is all fantastically useful whether you are running a restaurant or having a dinner party, with interesting insights on the techniques, processes and personalities that have contributed to his success. If the horror stories turn your stomach, Kitchen Heaven is divine intervention indeed. --Fiona Buckland
Product Description
Each week in the television series Cutting the Mustard, a struggling restaurant receives the Gordon Ramsay treatment. His personality is forceful, to say the least. His reputation for explosive outbursts and sharp-tongued confrontations is matched only by his ability to create truly spectacular food in his restaurants. With only a couple of weeks to turn around a restaurant's flagging fortunes, nothing is sacred. There’s no time for polite small talk as Gordon reveals a few home truths to the exhausted, emotional restaurant owner or manager and embarks upon his mission to turn things around. Cutting the Mustard is a unique combination of practical insight and compelling entertainment. It offers an intriguing look at the ins and outs of the restaurant business, using the troubleshooting format to explore the secrets of success for running a profitable eatery. By turns exciting, moving, surprising and inspiring, this is a series that explodes the myths surrounding personal and professional ambition, success and motivation whilst revealing that even the most disastrous situation can be turned around with a bit of imagination and a lot of elbow grease.
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