The problem with being a genius in the kitchen is that, whatever you do, there will always be a high level of expectation - one could even say an expectation of perfection. Does Gordon Ramsay's new book achieve this?
The first point to make is that I couldn't put the book down. This, in itself, is quite an achievement, as recipe books usually bore the pants off me. It was a bit like the time I picked up Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt - the book was a damned good read.
Second, I particularly liked the way the book was set out. The categories are plain and simple. Sections such as Eggs, Fruit, Flour and Vegetables make the book really easy to find your way around. Not forgetting, of course, that eggs are in desserts as well as savoury dishes, this in itself is a rare approach.
Then there are the introductions at the beginning of each section, which give the reader a rare insight into what makes the man tick.
The short anecdotes and chef's secrets with each recipe are a great help to the novice, too. Hints about choosing the correct pans, tips about how to handle the ingredients and how to achieve the best results all make this more than just a recipe book. In fact, I'm willing to bet that there are many secrets and chef's tips in the book that quite a few chefs probably don't know.
I gave the recipe for sp„tzle to one of my chefs to try out. The recipe, he reported, was easy to follow and was made even simpler because of the self-explanatory photographs. For anyone who hasn't made sp„tzle before, it shows how to push the dough through the sp„tzle plate, step by step. The finished product, however, was not really top-notch sp„tzle - it was a bit heavy, but nevertheless OK.
We also tried the ice-creams and some of the fruit recipes, which all worked extremely well without being too complicated to execute. The fish dishes, too, work particularly well, and the methods are all completely idiot-proof.
Ramsay has come up with a winning formula. I think this book will achieve what is usually impossible and appeal to both the domestic and commercial markets. It's different in its presentation, very upbeat, but without being gimmicky.
Overall, the message that came through was that here was a man who respected the raw ingredients. His love of cooking and passion for the industry are written between the lines on every page. The only time I found he hit a wrong note, so to speak, was when the language became a bit too flowery. It didn't suit the image of the book "to impart a delicate flavour", for instance, but I suspect that this was more down to a certain amount of artistic licence in the editing rather than the words of Ramsay himself.
In the introduction, Ramsay says that if you work your way through the recipes, you should greatly improve your culinary knowledge and skill. I can only agree with him.
Germain Schwab is chef-proprietor of Winteringham Fields, Winteringham, Lincolnshire
Gordon Ramsay's Secrets
Gordon Ramsay
Quadrille, £25
ISBN 1-84400-037-0