Pages: 320

Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 01-06-2009

Elizabeth David's books belong in the libraries of everyone who loves to read and prepare food and this one is generally regarded as her best; her passion and knowledge comes through on every page She was one of the foremost writers on food in the latter half of the 20th century and this book has her most celebrated writing. French Provincial Cooking should be approached and read as a series of short stories, as well written and evocative as the best literature. The voice is highly personal and opinionated, sometimes sharp but always true and always entertaining. Here is a long essay on French cuisine, offering background stories and sketches of recipes more than the slavishly didactic type of recipes that most modern readers might be used to today. For many Elizabeth David was the first to introduce us to the French notion of la cuisine terroir, sometimes interpreted as `what grows together goes together'. For David, this is the heart of regional cooking, and the thing which most distinguishes it from cooking in haute cuisine restaurants where diners arrive at any time or any season and expect to be able to order any well known French speciality. One of the passages which best characterizes David's approach to a lot of cooking is her opening statement on the perfect omelette: `As everybody knows, there is only one infallible recipe for the perfect omelette: your own.' The book starts with a short essay on each of the major culinary regions of France, starting perhaps not surprisingly with Provence which is blessed with an abundance of produce. The largest portion of the book consists of chapters on cuisine by type of dish: Sauces, Hors-D'oeuvres and Salads, Soups, Eggs and Cheese, Pates and Terrines, Vegetables, Fish, Shellfish, Meat, Composite Meat Dishes, Poultry and Game and Sweet dishes. The book is all the more valuable in that it paints a picture of a cooking style which existed before modern equipment such as the food processor. Most importantly, the recipes work if your aim is to produce the most excellent food imaginable. What initially may seem to be annoying details (e.g., for omelettes, eggs 'should not really be beaten at all, but stirred,' whereas for scrambled eggs, they should be 'very well beaten') are actually secrets to be treasured, that elevate a good dish to a superb one. The lesson is that good food should be done simply, but it takes care, attention to detail, and frequently, time. A hardback edition of French Provincial Cooking has been unavailable for many years and Grub Street is re-issuing it because of overwhelming demand. It should become as popular an edition as the best-selling Elizabeth David Classics.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 528

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Jane Grigson wrote of Italian Food `Basil was no more than the name of bachelor uncles, courgette was printed in italics as an alien word, and few of us knew how to eat spaghetti or pick a globe artichoke to pieces. ... Then came Elizabeth David like sunshine, writing with brief elegance about good food, that is, about food well contrived, well cooked. She made us understand that we could do better with what we had.' Published in 1954 the importance of this book, which required a full year's research in Italy, can only be appreciated when you realise that she was working in a post-rationing England which regarded Italian cuisine as nothing more than variations on pasta and veal. What she discovered was an enormous wealth of regional diversity in ingredients, methods, and even language, where the same pasta shape can be called three or four names in different parts of the country. She understood that all Italian cooking is regional; there is no 'national' cuisine and so there are eight recipes for aubergines, fourteen for artichokes, five for fennel and seven for lentils, all from different regions. But if such descriptions seem to today's reader overly thorough it is because many of her 1950's audience would have never heard of risotto, gorgonzola, prosciutto or even olive oil, let alone been able to purchase them. This is a critical and analytical look at Italian food - her personality and point of view come out on almost every page - organised by type of dish rather than by region and is full of details of kitchens and cooking by painters from the 14th, 15th and 18th centuries. The book is filled with asides and quotes from Italian writers and thinkers and as confirmation that this is more a work of scholarship than a simple book on cookery, there are appendices of bibliographies and notes on wine. If you want to explore the authentic regional roots of the Italian kitchen, Elizabeth David's masterpiece is the place to start. And the joy and relevance of this book today is that recipes that could only be read 60 years ago can now be cooked and savoured. Elizabeth David's acclaimed writings are often cited as an inspiration by many of today's leading chefs, as well as home cooks, and are essential to any serious cookery book collection.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 406

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 31-05-2019

This anthology of Elizabeth David’s work, originally published in hardback in 2000, is a direct sequel to An Omelette and a Glass of Wine. It again contains a selection of her journalistic and occasional work from four decades. Much of it she had chosen herself for reprinting in this more accessible form. In addition there is a considerable amount of unpublished material found in her own files, or contributed by friends to whom she had given recipes, or to whom she had sent letters, either with notes in answer to queries or giving details of current research.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 336

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 20-04-2016

Pages: 208

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 19-06-2011

Pages: 234

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 01-06-2011

Features a collection of over 200 recipes that is organised around courses and ingredients such as eggs and cheese, fish and shellfish, meat, poultry and game, vegetables, pasta, pulses and grains, sauces, sweet dishes and cakes, preserves, and bread.

Pages: 400

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 29-10-2010

First published in 1977, and winning its author the coveted Glenfiddich Writer of the Year Award, this universally acclaimed book is regarded by many as simply the best book ever written about the making of bread. It covers all aspects of flour-milling, yeast, bread ovens and the different types of bread and flour available. It contains an exhaustive collection of recipes, everything from plain brown wholemeal or saffron cake to drop scones and croissants; all described with her typical elegance and unrivalled knowledge. Even how to make your own yeast and keep it. But more than just a list of recipes, it is an insight into an interesting and informative home-baker. Enquire within on any point connected with baking and Miss David has the answer. Nor does it omit the history of bread making from the Exodus onwards, the iniquities of sliced bread and uncovers the dubious practices of some flour millers and bread manufacturers in the UK and elsewhere with amusing anecdotes and personal observations throughout. The writing style of this book has aged well and adds greatly to its charm. This is a book that should be included in every food lover's collection. Not just for those who love to cook but those who enjoy reading about food and its history, and of course it is an absolute must for keen bakers.

Pages: 624

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 01-09-2010

In this book, Elizabeth David presents English recipes notable for their use of spices, salt and aromatics. As is usual in her writing she mixes instruction with information, explaining the origins and uses of ingredients such as nutmeg, cardamom and juniper. She stresses the influence of centuries of oriental trade on the English kitchen, where spices and Indian curries, kebabs and yoghurt are now perfectly at home, along with dishes such as risotto and paella. This stimulating book, captures what Elizabeth David herself described as 'the English love affair with Eastern food and Arabian Nights ingredients.' It is full of recipes for briskets and spiced beef, smoked fish, cured pork and sweet fruit pickles. It examines the English preoccupation with the spices, the fruit, the flavourings, sauces and condiments of the orient near and far.

Pages: 279

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 01-07-2010

In 1965 Elizabeth David opened a shop in Pimlico, London, where she sold Le Creuset pans and other hard-to-get-hold-of kitchen utensils. The store, with its marvellous window displays, was as influential as her books would eventually be, pioneering a new generation of shops devoted exclusively to kitchenware. Rosi Hanson, who worked in David’s shop for two years says, ‘She was good fun, and the shop was magical. She rather loved being a shopkeeper, perhaps because it gave her a rest from writing. If someone wanted some very specific piece of equipment, I often heard her say: ;If you could come back, I think I may have one at home. On evenings when we stayed late to do the windows, she would make a picnic for us all to eat: terrine, things in jelly.’ While she was still involved with the shop which bore her name, Elizabeth David Ltd, she produced a series of four little booklets: The Baking of an English Loaf, Dried Herbs, Aromatics and Condiments, English Potted Meats and Fish Pastes and Syllabubs and Fruit Fools which were sold exclusively in the shop. They were simple black and white productions which have now become rare, highly sought-after and very expensive collector’s items. So Grub Street is delighted to have acquired the rights to these booklets from the David Estate and we are redesigning them as four hardback books in a slip case with specially commissioned beautiful artwork making them the perfect gift item. So for the first time in over 50 years these charming works will be available once again. Individual Titles: The Baking of an English Loaf Dried Herbs, Aromatics and Condiments English Potted Meats and Fish Pastes Syllabubs and Fruit Fools Elizabeth David’s books are all still in print today and they keep selling in quantities to each new generation of cooks who discover her and fall under her spell. And you can see her influence in the cooking of chefs such as Jeremy Lee, Shaun Hill and Rowley Leigh.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 144

Dimensions: 120 x 150 mm

Publication Date: 20-09-2023