Tom's table - Food and Travel

Tom's table

'I figure there are only so many meals you are going to get to eat in your life,' says chef Tom Kerridge, 'so they might as well be as brilliant as you can make them!'

And this just about sums up this book from the British chef who, in 2005, with his wife Beth opened the Hand & Flowers which went on to become the first pub in Britain to win two Michelin stars. In 2014 he opened The Coach, his second pub, and now he is a well-known TV chef and appears regularly in many food and cooking series.

The recipes in this book are not his show-pieces, no 'cheffy techniques' as he calls them - just favourite ways to 'whack in lots of flavour' and tips and ideas he has developed or picked up along the way.

Like the man himself, the book is friendly, a chat with someone who just downright loves good food. The dishes too are not about showing off. 'They're about pleasure and generosity', he says - which after all is what good cooking is all about.

So what does he find worthy of including to fit all these parameters? Well, there's a boozy date and banana milk shake, ramped up with rum for the adults. There are funnel cakes and a sensational 'go-to' chocolate cake, blueberry muffins and buttermilk scones. And that's just the back of the book.

Up front there are snacks - tostadas and corn dogs and toasties, then more serious food such as crayfish 'popcorn', weekend roast chicken, deep pan meat-feast pizza, mac and cheese - and puddings. Chef Kerridge is proud of his English heritage, and who does a better pud than a Brit? Nutty brioche pudding with chocolate, pecan tart, custard tarts, and German blitz torte are just some of the indulgences.

Clear, easy instructions, beautiful, mouth-watering photography, courtesy of Cristian Barnett, what could possibly go wrong? You can begin immediately to wow yourself, your friends and family.

Tom's Table, by Tom Kerridge, published by Bloomsbury, 2015, hardcover, rrpA$39.99.

- reviewed by Saly Hammond

Add comment

Www.Foodandtravel.Com.Au - Australia

Best Food Travel Website 2021

foodandtravel.com.au has been awarded

Best Antipodean Culinary Travel Expert, 2019

by the prestigious UK-based magazine...

Ready for a taste treat?

Embark on an unforgettable culinary adventure through the vibrant tapestry of Malaysia.

Led by the charismatic Malaysian ex-pat Chef Wanitha Tanasingam, this intimate journey promises to tantalize your taste buds and ignite your senses, sending you home with memories to last a lifetime.

Find out more....

The flipside of travel...

How not all of it is joyous.