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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3601 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 traditions of making delicious virtue out of using every part of the animal.

Henderson's wonderful signature dish, Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad, is among the starters, along with Grilled, Marinated Calf's Heart and the gruesome-sounding but apparently delicious Rolled Pig's Spleen. He is a great advocate of salting and brining and tends to use saturated animals fats (duck, goose, lard) in quantities that would make a dietician blench. But when the results are dishes of the calibre of Brined Pork Belly, Roasted, Lamb's Tongues, Turnips, Bacon and Salted Duck's Legs, Green Beans, and Cornmeal Dumplings (trust me, they are astounding), who cares? Fish at St John avoids the usual fare--no monkfish or red mullet here; instead herring roes, salt cod, eel, brill and skate. Vegetables are mashed (swede, celeriac) or roasted (pumpkin, tomatoes) and he dares to serve boiled brussels sprouts. The puddings (not desserts) are a starry dream of school dinners: Treacle Tart, St John's Eccles Cakes and a "very nearly perfect" Chocolate Ice Cream. Not perhaps for the faint of heart, but for the adventurous an exciting feast of new and rediscovered flavours and textures. --Robin Davidson

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

About the Author
Fergus Henderson trained as an architect before becoming a chef. He opened the French House Dining Room in 1992 and left it to start St John in 1994. St John Bread and Wine opened in 2003.

Customer Reviews

Written With Great Charm
Fergus Henderson comes across as a lovely soul in this book and I think that's quite important when he's trying to encourage the consumption of some fairly spooky food, you don't need some nippy sweetie making you feel like a hick if you balk at the notion.
Offal isn't so much a matter of taste as it is of texture and for people who haven't eaten offal I don't know how much this comes through.
My only criticism is the lack of additional info about offal, the different types of tripe and liver can't necessarily do the same recipe justice. I had a butcher insisting it WAS calf's liver, it was only 18 months old when it died. Aye maybe but it was well past pan searing/drizzling with fig balsamic, strictly gravy and onions.
A lovely book for those who have the guts (couldn't resist it) to try it out. Try a Chinese supermarket if you're looking for said guts, and if you find a butcher who'll play along, treasure him.

A wonderfully different and refreshing cookbook
Mr. Henderson has a wonderful appreciation of food and its joys. To read his book is a refreshing experience bringing both common sense and pleasure to what is an often overblown and over glossy oeuvre. He undoubtably understands the nature of the produce he uses and brings back memories, real or imagined, of good food, sourced locally and cooked well and often simply. I did manage to track down some bone marrow, his bone marrow and parsley dressing was delicious and I am enjoying working through the other recipes. I have read that Mr. Henderson is celebrated for his offal, the book offers a lot, lot more.

Fantastic
This book is beautifully written and has recipes that you couldn't hope to find elsewhere, which are taken from Fergus Henderson's St John Restaurant in London. Even if you don't fancy cooking tripe or brains there is plenty worth reading. Highly recommended.