Sardines on toast, grilled pork chop, apple pies - simple recipes from Jeremy Lee's new cookbook
When Jeremy Lee received the very first copy of his new cookbook from his publishers, he immediately tossed it in a drawer and then cycled from his home in the east of London to continue his day at Soho's Quo Vadis, where he is chef-patron. The book, Cooking: Simply And Well, For One or Many, was the result of many years of on-and-off work, and it was not quite ready to face its reality.
Beloved by the London foodie world since making his mark at Terence Conran's Blueprint Cafe, it seems like an oversight that Lee hasn't published a cookbook so far. “I had hesitated, I guess, mainly because I thought everything had been done. God knows this kind of thing rests on the shoulders of the great and the many,” he says, pointing to the shelves all over the walls of his house. They are filled with books on food, from new cuisine pioneer Michel Guérard to current London patisserie sensation Ravneet Gill. And of course, the holy trinity of Elizabeth David, Julia Child and Jane Grigson. But Lee had long sensed that a volume of his own work was simmering, and when he was approached by Fourth Estate around 2016, he knew it was time to make it happen, finally.
"It was a great adventure, but I completely underestimated what it would take," he admits . The pressure of writing daily menus and working in a busy kitchen meant that structuring an entire book seemed overwhelming. Lee is quick to add that at least it didn't take 20 years to set it up, like Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food.
The book is arranged with a chef's eye for ingredients and favorite things to eat throughout the seasons, rather than dishes or meals. A chapter on blood oranges can be found between Biscuits a...
When Jeremy Lee received the very first copy of his new cookbook from his publishers, he immediately tossed it in a drawer and then cycled from his home in the east of London to continue his day at Soho's Quo Vadis, where he is chef-patron. The book, Cooking: Simply And Well, For One or Many, was the result of many years of on-and-off work, and it was not quite ready to face its reality.
Beloved by the London foodie world since making his mark at Terence Conran's Blueprint Cafe, it seems like an oversight that Lee hasn't published a cookbook so far. “I had hesitated, I guess, mainly because I thought everything had been done. God knows this kind of thing rests on the shoulders of the great and the many,” he says, pointing to the shelves all over the walls of his house. They are filled with books on food, from new cuisine pioneer Michel Guérard to current London patisserie sensation Ravneet Gill. And of course, the holy trinity of Elizabeth David, Julia Child and Jane Grigson. But Lee had long sensed that a volume of his own work was simmering, and when he was approached by Fourth Estate around 2016, he knew it was time to make it happen, finally.
"It was a great adventure, but I completely underestimated what it would take," he admits . The pressure of writing daily menus and working in a busy kitchen meant that structuring an entire book seemed overwhelming. Lee is quick to add that at least it didn't take 20 years to set it up, like Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food.
The book is arranged with a chef's eye for ingredients and favorite things to eat throughout the seasons, rather than dishes or meals. A chapter on blood oranges can be found between Biscuits a...
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