The Richard Corrigan Cookbook: From the Waters and the Wild Book

Richard Corrigan is a young chef who, having grown up in the Irish countryside, has made his reputation in London. His cooking, like the recipes he has published in The Richard Corrigan Cookbook, is strikingly imaginative and stylish, managing to encompass comforting simplicity and bold innovation. His philosophy, if that is the word, is indicated by his subtitle, "From the Waters and the Wild", a Yeatsian phrase emphasising the primacy that Corrigan places on fresh, seasonal produce (but which chef does not?). The book, which is full of intriguing dishes, is accordingly organised seasonally. The flavours are mostly British, with occasional touches of France, Italy, Spain, the Middle East, India, China ... The simpler ideas include winning items such as "Spring Vegetable Soup with Bacon Dumplings", "Young Turnips with Amontillado" or "Sorbet of Charentais Melons with Strawberry Sauce". Conceits requiring more skill and patience would include "Rack of Spring Lamb with Lamb Sweetbreads and Spiced Aubergines", "Sea Bass with Asparagus and Clam Vinaigrette", "Mallard with Pineapple and Pak Choi" or the brilliant "Saddle of Rabbit with Black Pudding, Roast Vegetable and Wild Mushroom Juice". Perhaps the most startling of Corrigan's innovations is the use of sweet tobacco-flavoured syrup (Old Holborn is specified) to accompany a fig tart. There is something very exciting indeed about this. As with so many chef's cookbooks, one has to ask: is this really a practicable set of recipes for the home cook, or is it essentially an extended advertisement for the star's current establishment? The answer in this case appears to be that the majority of recipes are eminently feasible, even the difficult few having the virtue of not requiring an army of sous-chefs to carry out subsidiary tasks. It must also be said that it is ravishing to look at, adorned as it is by Francesca Yorke's beautiful photographs--mouth-watering pictures of food and Irish landscapes and slightly less mouth-watering shots of Corrigan at work in his restaurant kitchen. --Robin DavidsonRead More