Book review – A Boy After The Sea 2

A Boy After The Sea 2By Kevin SnookSnook Publishing, £35ISBN 978-0-9563106-1-3

For the second time within a space of a year, Kevin Snook has successfully captured the imagination with a stunning collection of recipes from some of the world's leading chefs. His first book, A Boy After The Sea, was deservedly named Best in the World for the fish and seafood category at the 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Like the first book, all the proceeds for this one will go to the Dan Snook Trust Foundation, in memory of Kevin's late son, to provide help and support for troubled youths to make a better life for themselves. Dan, who died at 19, loved to fish and cook.

Not only does it look beautiful, with stunning photography of dishes from 26 chefs across its 232 pages, it is also thought-provoking. Intertwined among the recipes are a short essays written by Kevin's brother, Raymond, a former naval officer, highlighting the depletion of some of the globe's most popular fish varieties and the damage being done, as a result of man's ignorance, to the fragile ecosystem of our oceans.

Hence, all the seafood and fish that appear in A Boy After The Sea 2 are from sustainable sources. Kevin, who works as a private caterer between England, Canada and the Caribbean, has done a remarkable job in bringing together some truly creative dishes from some of the globe's culinary stars

There is shrimp with lemon and cranberry with vanilla fragrance from Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago; tender young squid with ink pearls, red mushrooms enokis and onion broth from Juan Mar and his daughter Elena Arzak of Spain's three-Michelin-starred Arzak; and oven-baked sea bass with green asparagus and lemon confit vinaigrette from twins Laurent and Jacques Pourcel of Jardin des Sens in Montpellier.

As well as a foreword by Heston Blumenthal, British-based chefs represented in the book include Claude Bosi, Andrew Fairlie, Ashley Palmer-Watts, Clare Smyth and Marcus Wareing.

There is much that is inspirational about A Boy After The Sea 2 - the calibre of the contributors, the recipes, the powerful images, the ecological message, and most importantly, the tribute of a father to a beloved son through his extraordinary efforts to self-publish two books which are helping to provide a positive future for youngsters who have lost their way.

Caterer readers can purchase A Boy After The Sea 2 for the special price of £25. To order a copy, e-mail http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2010/03/12/332822/a-boy-after-the-sea-book-review.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">denise@privatelabelww.com](mailto:denise@privatelabelww.com), quoting ref: CH

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