Book Review
It's back on the shelves again - and not a moment too soon. Nose to Tail Eating, first published in 1999, has been out of print for far too long. Written by legendary chef Fergus Henderson, whose St John restaurant in Clerkenwell, London, was its source of inspiration, it's one of the nicest cookbooks I picked up last year. But then, my copy of the first edition is still one of my most treasured possessions.
This new version has all the original recipes from the 1999 edition, but is augmented with some atmospheric black and white photographs taken by Jason Love.
The photos capture fantastically the humorous side of Henderson's writing, as well as the very carnivorous nature of the recipes. There's various bits of offal, naturally, given St John's reputation for putting out dishes centred around it: we're talking tongue, pig's ears, that sort of thing.
Actually, the book is so beautifully bound you can feel the quality even before you open it. And there's the bonus, in this latest incarnation, of a foreword written by Anthony Bourdain of Kitchen Confidential fame. He goes on record to say that St John is his favourite restaurant in the world, and talks of how his original copy of Nose to Tail Eating is a treasured book in his kitchen. Henderson's food is his kind of thing - gutsy, butch, tasty.
The recipes in Nose to Tail Eating are fantastically simple, but informative in different ways. Take the way Henderson goes into brining and preserving - skills which have sadly become redundant and forgotten in our convenience-driven world.
I've used lots of recipes from his book over the years, and they have always inspired me to cook offal in different ways. But I think my favourite recipes would have to be the marinated herrings, lamb shanks Eben's way, and devilled crab.
They're all sure-fire winners whenever we have them on a menu. I've also got a soft spot for roast veal bone marrow, a dish for which St John is justly famous.
The book is chock-a-block with recipes - and not only for offal dishes. And I'd say the aoli recipe brings this dip to a different level of garlicness. There are some nice desserts in there, too; Tom's sherry trifle, for instance. And there's even a recipe for chocolate ice-cream with a phone number to ring if you can find a better one!
The great thing about this book, though, is that its recipes (like St John itself) use lots of cuts of meat that most chefs wouldn't dream of looking at but which are worthy of a place on any menu. One of my favourite quotes is: "Don't be afraid of cooking as your ingredients will know and misbehave." It's so true.
This is a wonderful, wonderful book - go and buy it, take it home and love it, caress it and care for it like a family member. And don't forget to take it out and cook from it, because if you do, the book and its food will love you back.
Peter Robinson, chef-proprietor, King's Arms, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire
Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking (reprint)
Fergus Henderson
Bloomsbury,
£16.99
ISBN 0-7475-7257-7
