To Die For - Stephen Downes (Murdoch Books, £12.99)
It's a question that I'm sure most of us have asked ourselves at one time or another - what would we choose for our last supper?
Over the past three decades, respected Australian food writer Stephen Downes has obviously thought long and hard on this.
His new book, To Die For, is subtitled 100 gastronomic
experiences to have before you die and it's basically a guide to what he describes as "the world's essential eating
experiences".
For Downes, the ultimate gastronomic moments aren't necessarily the most expensive, obscure or downright strange, although one chapter is devoted to sea cucumber and sharks' lips braised in carrot oil and others include fruitbat stew and 1,000-year-old eggs.
Drawn from his culinary adventures as a well travelled
food writer and restaurant critic, many of his choices involve simple dishes, often based on recipes handed down from generation to generation.
The book is broken down into four sections - Eating
Out, Eating In, Worth The Effort and Perfect 10s - and each is packed with fascinating, beautifully written essays.
Humorous and passionate, Downes writes as eloquently and
knowledgeably about something as simple as broad beans and artichokes eaten in a Greek restaurant in Melbourne as he does when describing the sheer pleasure of Joel Robuchon's mashed potato ("it was snowy white, had the consistency of finishing plaster yet an unbelievable richness - those of us who mashed potatoes regularly in home kitchens wondered how he did it").
Although the book doesn't include recipes per se, the Eating In section brings together instructions and observations on a number of kitchen essentials, gleaned from watching chefs
and cooks in action. These include "proper vinaigrette", "proper mayonnaise" and "fresh home-made pasta" ("Simply put, it's flour and eggs pole dancing. If you like sex, you'll love fresh pasta. It's terribly naughty stuff…").
The Worth The Effort and Perfect 10 sections concentrate more on dishes that either need a degree of kitchen know-how (quails steamed in gin), good sourcing (a freshly opened Pacific oyster) or simply a very strong stomach (Pierre-
Yves' brochettes of blackbirds and thrushes).
To Die For is an entertaining, often quirky read and is full of sound advice on simple cooking, classic techniques and careful ingredient-buying. Aspirational and inspiring, it belongs on the kitchen shelf of armchair foodies and serious
chefs alike.
Mark Taylor