Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking (Hardcover)

~ Fergus Henderson (Author), Anthony Bourdain (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A fantastic book, wonderful stories with nostalgic and inspiring recipes -an essential book for honest cooks' Jamie Oliver 'His cooking and recipes are a joy' Nigel Slater 'A cult masterpiece' Anthony Bourdain 'Nose to Tail Eating is a book I've raided so many times as a chef. Every recipe is wonderful, and it's one of the most concisely humorous cookbooks that I've ever come across. Fergus has a sense of humour and an ability to self-edit that I'm as envious of as I am his cooking skills. And Jason Lowe is one of my favourite food photographers' Tom Norrington-Davies

Product Description

Fergus Henderson caused something of a sensation when he opened his restaurant St John in London in 1995. Set in a former smokehouse near Smithfield meat market, its striking, high-ceilinged white interior provides a dramatic setting for food of dazzling boldness and simplicity. As signalled by the restaurant's logo of a pig (reproduced on the cover of "Nose to Tail Eating") and appropriately given the location, at St John the emphasis is firmly on meat. And not the noisettes, fillets, magrets and so forth of standard restaurant portion-control, all piled up into little towers in the middle of the plate: Henderson serves up the inner organs of beasts and fowls in big, exhilarating dishes that combine high sophistication with peasant roughness."Nose to Tail Eating" is a collection of these recipes, celebrating, as the title implies, the thrifty rural British tradition of making a delicious virtue of using every part of the animal. This new edition, beautifully redesigned, comes with an introduction by Anthony Bourdain.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (September 6, 2004)
• ISBN-10: 0747572577
• ISBN-13: 978-0747572572
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #291,629 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best British Food Writer Since Elizabeth David, June 14, 2008

By	William K. Halliwell (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Architecture's loss was the UK food scene's greatest win in nearly 60 years when Fergus Henderson became a cook. Now chef at St Johns restaurant in London, Nose To Tail Eating is a truly ground breaking work of exquisite simplicity, just as every dish in the book is in itself.
Having lived and worked in the UK, I, as a former cook, was of the opinion that modern British cooking left much to be desired. How wrong I was. Fergus takes the now rare simplicities of basic English cooking to amazing heights. His roasted quail dish couldn't be simpler: quail, salt, pepper, good oil and a hot oven for around 20 minutes. If you begin with good quail you will, I PROMISE YOU, have one of the best dining experiences of your life. I've cooked this dish for other chefs who refused to believe me when I said it was his recipe and that it only contained those four ingredients. His roasted marrow bone, in-bone, is exceptional and astounding in its simplicity and quality. He cares naught for precise measurements or detailed recipes. How can any cook book writer KNOW what YOUR oven is like, or what your skill levels are... a great and ignored flaw in all cook books. Fergus sweeps all this trivia aside and presents basic elements and instructions and leaves the rest to you... if you love food as much as he, obviously does, then the rest is up to you. How else can it be. This is what makes this cook book (guide) so special. There are some recipes that may be daunting or downright off-putting, like pig's head or cheek. But so well was this book written that, even after 25 years of commercial cooking, I was so inspired that I went out and got myself a whole pig's head and gave it a go. It was scary, but in the end result... heavenly!
Fergus Henderson, along with Tony Bourdain is one of my 'cooking gods'. I'm in Tasmania and probably will never, sadly, get to his St Johns but I've got the next best thing; his book and the inspriation Nose To Tail gave me.
I urge you to buy this book. (No, I'm not Fergus Henderson) I just wish I was.
William Kenneth Halliwell
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia