Bentley Contemporary Cuisine - Brent Savage
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Book Review by Franz Scheurer
It's hardly a secret that I love Bentley
Restaurant & Bar. I love the food, the atmosphere, the service and Nick
Hildebrandt's brilliant wine matches. I love the sense of adventure and
culinary frivolity that just 'happens' every time I dine there. Now chef Brent
Savage has released his book, Contemporary Cuisine, we can all read how the
food is created and plated. It's a wonderful book and it speaks to home cook
and professional chef. Although this would make a terrific table-top book (it's
absolutely stunning to look at) it would be a pity if it was only ever used
this way. it's far too informative not to find a spot in the kitchen, become
fat-splattered with pages being pawed at by cooks hungry for something new,
thirsting for knowledge.
Brent Savage is a particularly gifted cook and
his food, although cutting edge, is food I want to eat. So when the book came
out I welcomed it, no longer having to pester chef with endless questions, but
being able to read up on a dish in the comfort of my own home. It's a brilliant
book and obviously comes from the heart.
It steps you through techniques, e.g. hot
smoking, de-hydrating, etc. - all processes that you will need to successfully
produce one of Brent's dishes. I was always wondering exactly how Brent
made the 'Smoked Eel Parfait with White Soy Dressing and Seaweed'. Now, opening
the book on page 48 I can read it, step by step and the photograph on pages
50/51 helps me visualize how it is meant to be plated. It seems everyone of my
favourite dishes are in the book, from 'Almond Gazpacho with Milk Crisp and Oyster'
to 'Liquid Pineapple with Soft Chocolate and Pineapple Sorbet'. There is also a
terrific section on Drinks and a lovely explanation on how Nick Hildebrandt
arrives at his drink/food matches on page 247. Congratulations, too, to the
photographer Luke Burgess who really captured every aspect of Bentley
Restaurant & Bar and its crew, as I know and understand it.
This is a fabulous book and it's one book that
is 'must have'.
Published by Murdoch Books