Gary Rhodes' Cookery Year: Autumn into Winter Book

With Autumn into Winter Gary Rhodes continues and concludes his cookery cycle with another very generous selection of seasonal recipes. There is a section for each season dealing with vegetables, fish, meat and fruit and puddings where seasonal ingredients are carefully tracked as they approach their best, peak and decline. Rhodes' well-known fondness for traditional British foods means that in many ways he is at his best in the colder part of the year--with root vegetables, brassicas, game and the more comforting kinds of pudding. There are some arresting combinations here, as you might expect from this source: Sautéed Cep Mushrooms and Cox's Apples on Walnut Toasts, Parsnip Fritters with Blue Cheese Walnut Whip, or Rabbit and Pork Pot with Rhubarb and Mustard Soured Cream, for example. Rhodes also does interesting things with fruit in combination with meat or seafood, such as Roast Duck with Braised Onions and Buttered Pears, or Scallops with Puréed Shallots and Black-Peppered Tangerines, some of which may raise a traditionalist eyebrow or two. Rhodes is above all a restaurant chef (two Michelin-starred establishments in London)--a fact that makes itself strongly apparent. There is a proprietorial air hanging about the recipes: they are his, they represent his own individual take on (and, implicitly, improvement of) tradition, which may not be to all tastes for several reasons. Tradition, of course, must be renewed to keep it alive, but Rhodes' endless tinkering can seem relentless. Moreover, the recipes are presented prescriptively, as though he were teaching them to his kitchen brigade. Essentially restaurant dishes in concept (though not in execution), in most cases the main element is served complete with garnish and there's not much room for individual inspiration. Nor is there anything here that you might rustle up for a quick supper. There's something take-it-or-leave-it about this--and he isn't especially generous in suggesting alternatives if you don't fancy, for example, the Savoury Fig Tarts that accompany Roast Loin of Venison, or the Sharp Rhubarb Sticks to go with Seared Peppered Tuna Fish--though there's no reason why you shouldn't. But one cannot fault Rhodes' skill and confidence, and can only applaud him for attempting to lead British cooks into territory at once so familiar and so adventurous. --Robin DavidsonRead More