365 good reasons to sit down to eat – Stéphane Reynaud

A book review by Franz Scheurer

Stéphane Reynaud first came to my attention with his fabulous book Pork & Sons. He grew up in a family of pig farmers and butchers in a small village in the Ardèche region of France and now runs the Restaurant Villa9trois in Montreuil, just outside Paris. He writes in a way that instantly makes me hungry. I love the way he manages to transmit his passion for food onto the reader and the ability to communicate on this level is indeed rare.

This book is basically a culinary almanac giving you food for a year. It’s both food for thought and very real, achievable recipes spanning the time from breakfast to after dinner snacks and he does it in style. I can easily imagine someone deciding to use this book and cook ever recipe for a year. You might need to go on a substantial diet afterwards but it would be so much fun…

Like me, most of us will be content to dream about this food for everyday fare and cook some of the recipes some of the time.

The book contains an ‘in season’ calendar which unfortunately only works for the northern hemisphere, but you can start substitute January with July etc. and it will give you a fair indication what’s in season.

The recipes span breakfast items, entrées, soups, roasts, braises, salads, one-pan wonders and even cocktails get a look in. The photographs are excellent and informative and the method is clear and if necessary black and white simple illustrations show exactly how to proceed. I love the variety in this book, lean on stories, heavy on recipes. This is a real cooks’ bible and should be in every private kitchen and should be a ‘must read’ for kitchen apprentices. I had a look what he suggests to cook on my birthday, 22^nd May and the recipes for that day are: ‘Mother in Law Roast Veal’ and ‘Gratin Dauphinois’. A happy choice!

Look out for this book, available this month; it’s a gem!

Published by Murdoch Books

RRP $ 79.95

ISBN 978-1741969191

http://www.villa9trois.com/