Best of Lea Linster Cuisiniere, Léa Linster and Simone van de Voort
Luxembourger Léa Linster was destined to cook. The daughter of a pastry chef and cook, Linster was born in 1955 and from an early age was surrounded by the world of gastronomy.
Having trained in great culinary houses such as that of Fredy Girardet, she returned to the family business, Frisange in Luxembourg, and when her father died she took over the running of the operation. In 1982 she opened her first fine-dining restaurant, L‚a Linster. Five years later she was awarded a Michelin star.
Linster is a very technically aware chef, and no more was this apparent than in 1989 when she became the first and only female chef to have won the highly competitive Bocuse d'Or trophy. Two years later she opened her second restaurant, Kaschthaus, showcasing Luxembourg specialities.
Best of Léa Linster is Linster's second book, and in it she displays cuisine from both her restaurants. It is divided into several sections, starting with bread recipes before moving on to soups, salads, first courses, etc, and through to dessets.
Reading the book, you get the impression that if you went to eat in one of her restaurants, these are the actual dishes that would be served. It feels genuine, not contrived.
Linster's cooking stems from simple, classical French cuisine, with dishes such as chicken aspic with duck and foie gras, and marinated fillets of red snapper with eggplant pur‚e. She adds her own interpretation to classics such as her sole fillets with crayfish and fresh pasta or gazpacho with goats' cheese and mint.
The reader can identify which recipes come from which restaurant. For example, I would imagine that mussels with French fries hails from the Kaschthaus menu, while lobster salad with tarragon sauce would be more obviously at home at her one-star restaurant.
But no matter which restaurant the dishes originate from, each recipe follows the same guidelines of simplicity and quality of ingredients.
Having worked at a presentation with Linster and seen her food, I can say that the pictures in the book are a true representation of her cooking. Unlike most books written by chefs with stars (whose dishes are so technical they have to be written for chefs rather than amateur cooks), Linster has had the skill to deliver to both audiences. Best of Léa Linster is a cookery book for the experienced chef and the enthusiastic amateur.
Although she trained in France, Linster has not forgotten her native roots in such dishes as the starter of Kniddelen Luxembourg-style flour dumplings and Bouneschlupp Luxemburger stew with green beans.
The recipes are the type of food you would love at your local neighbourhood restaurant: light dishes with great flavours, using wonderful produce.
Angela Hartnett is chef-patron of the Connaught, London
Best of Lea Linster Cuisiniere
Léa Linster and Simone van de Voort
Gourmand Books
£55 from Books for Cooks
ISBN 2-9599-85427
