When I first flicked through Edouard Loubet's book A Chef in Provence, it pissed me off. Why? Because I thought it was a typical herb and flower-filled book from which some chefs of less understanding than its author would try to re-create the dishes illustrated - with little thought about why certain flavours are married with others. My concern was that just so long as the dishes looked pretty, chefs wouldn't worry about the reasoning behind them. So I looked at the book briefly, threw it to one side and dismissed it as being rubbish.
But it did arrive in the middle of service, and Loubet is the chef-patron of the Moulin de Lourmarin in the valley of the Luberon, southern France - a restaurant with two Michelin stars and 17 out of 20 in the much-lauded Gault-Millau restaurant guide - so I took another look.
Foodies arrive at Moulin de Lourmarin from all over the world to sample Loubet's cooking, in a sort of Michel Bras or Marc Veyrat type of pilgrimage. They come to sample the finest produce from the region cooked by a master chef. It's the use of Luberon produce coupled with the skill and talent of Loubet that creates the restaurant's uniqueness. So what can we learn from his book?
It is difficult, of course, to put to one side his use of produce but, because it's so localised, you cannot find it in local stores or through suppliers in the UK. However, once you overlook this technical detail, the real basis of the recipes shine through.
The level of meat cookery is impressive, as are some of the simpler dishes featured, such as ewes' milk yogurt with thyme flowers. And on each page there is a chef's tip, ranging from what exactly to ask your butcher for to alternative herbs to use should you not be able to find the right one in a given recipe. (This has to be a relief, particularly for home cooks buying the book who will be scouring the supermarket shelves for agastache, only to find that it can be substituted with a mixture of aniseed and mint.)
The photography in the book, by Jacques Guillard, manages to capture both the amazing scenery of the Luberon Valley and Loubet's dishes in fine detail. It's not to my personal taste, though; the dishes all look too staged and beautiful, as though about to parade down the catwalk. But these things sell books. I found the editorial by Catherine Vialard slightly nauseating, too, but perhaps this occurred in translation.
To sum up: this is a lovely book with some great ideas. If you have made the endless journey to Luberon and want to come away with more than a menu, it would be a lovely souvenir. If you are a keen amateur cook, this book will sit pretty on your kitchen shelf and entertain you on the most boring of Saturday afternoons when you're planning your "petite soir‚e". If, like me, you pass every evening in a hot, sweaty kitchen and groan at the sight of another chef climbing through hills and valleys smiling in the sunshine, forget it.
Claude Bosi, chef-proprietor, Hibiscus, Ludlow, Shropshire
A Chef in Provence
Edouard Loubet
Hachette Illustrated
£20
ISBN 1-84430-053-6