Simon Hopkinson: Second Helpings of Roast Chicken

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The Economist explores what cookbooks really teach us in an article on the essential differences between the American approach to cookbooks and the British approach called "Pluck a Flamingo". It opens: Nigel Slater dislikes recipes. In his cookbook "Appetite" he compares them to a straitjacket and a pair of too-tight cycling shorts." (p. 140) Whether or not you are inspired by a recipe in the British camp, or want to follow it by the letter with the Americans, the point is that cookbooks are not really about teaching people to cook a decent meal, but about domestic harmony. It goes on to outline the history of cookbooks in the Western world from Apicius to Elizabeth David and Julia Child, underlining why one country's super star never truly penetrated the other: This cultural divide persists. American cookbooks still tend towards the plain and encyclopedic, while British cookbooks have become increasingly conversational and evocative. As a result, each country has its household names. (p. 142) Are things about to change? The big blockbuster, or lap-buster cookbooks of this year, those tomes that weigh too much and are difficult to wield, may give way to a slim volume of well thought out recipes and even more well thought out text. Simon Holpkinson's Second Helpings of Roast Chicken (Hyperion 2008) follows his superb Roast Chicken and Other Stories (1994, 2006), which was voted the "Most Useful Cookbook of All Time" by Waitrose (See Super Chef's article). These two books are beautiful to hold: they have thick paper, illustrations of ingredients by Flo Bayley, and uncrowded pages of well-reasoned text. Each chapter examines a different ingredient (in alphabetical order), considering Simon's personal relationship to it, and how best to cook and serve it. These are the chapters that make him a cook, that explain his ideas, or tell his stories, and amuse us. The first is on Almonds and the last on Vinegar. From Almonds: Naturally, I hadn't the faintest idea how they grew, where they came from, or that they were full of fragrantly rich oil when pressed for it. But the greatest revelation of all occurred many years later while shopping for this and that in the market of Arles in the Provence region of southern France, where I was alerted to this extraordinary pile of furry green lozenges: fresh almonds. Nobody had ever told me they start out as beautiful as this. (p. 2) There is nothing on the page to make a reader feel any condescension. We are invited to join Simon in his wonder and delight in different ingredients and to share his best recipes, in this case, Almond and Blueberry Sponge Cake (p. 3) and Pommes Amandines (p. 6). The Lobster chapter (p. 130) is all about an argument Simon has had with an American food writer about which kind of lobster was best, American or European. I smiled, but at the same time also felt very sad for this preposterous person who, having over one short evening almost reduced me to tears with his pomposity and ignorance, would never be able to site down to a plate of one of our very own hot-buttered lobsters or freshly boiled langoustines. Surely, he wouldn't even be able to look them in the eye, would he? (p. 131) And that, in a nutshell – or lobster shell, is the difference between a British and an American cookbook. Serve up that hot-buttered lobster toSuper Chef. Previous articles: [Cook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef