Until it was gutted by fire at the end of August, the Havelock Tavern was an icon on the London gastropub scene, serving real modern-day food to the greedy masses.
Sadly, this book is at present the only way to sample the Havelock's popular food - simple, seasonal recipes with real pub style presentation. This book is a reflection of chef Jonny Haughton's style, with recipes for mashed potato, chips and a great chicken and bacon pie sitting comfortably alongside black bean chilli and goats' cheese lasagne.
A section on curries shows us just what modern-day English pub food is all about, and, along with a handful of innovative soup recipes, and some big fat winter puds, they're probably the most personal Havelock recipes.
The recipes flit through various cuisines, techniques and nods to numerous styles, much like the best pub menus; as long as it's good food, it's on the menu. If you want to give your pub menu a bit of a lift, there's sure to be something you could sell here.
But at this time of year, with the market flooded with cookery books, I wonder if Haughton's book has enough unique appeal for aspiring cooks. Some of the photos could have had more appeal if they had featured some of the more interesting dishes. We all know what a dish of mussels looks like, so why use that shot instead of, say, the tortilla with chorizo and red wine or the chicken and Parma ham terrine? I would have loved to hear more of Haughton's thoughts on what makes great English pub food. But it is after all a recipe book, and they are all simple, the ingredients easily sourced and the methods live up to the title.
Cooking without fuss - it's what pub food's all about.
Richard Hughes, chef-proprietor, the Lavender House, Brundall, Norfolk
Cooking Without Fuss
Jonny Haughton
Pavilion, 20
ISBN 1-86205-699-4