Heston Blumenthal's book, Family Food

[enthusiast]

i ordered this from amazon in june. they said 5-8 weeks delivery. i waited. last week they told me another 3-5 weeks. i went to a bookshop. they had it on the computer but they had never stocked it. i believe it came out last novemeber in time for christmas and this large bookshop in the City (with fair sized cookery section) had never had a single copy.

does it exist?

if it does, is it worth waiting for?

[Gary Marshall]

i've flicked through a copy in watestones in leeds if that's any help but as i don't have kids (to my knowledge) i only gave it a cursory glance. it's more a cook with your kids book than any to to do with fat duckery from memory

gary

[Jon Tseng]

Yes, have seen it in the shops

Would agree with Gary, didn't feel an urgent need to buy it at the time

cheerio

J

[GC++]

Have a look here:

http://www.fatduck.co.uk/book.html

and there:

http://www.penguin.co.uk/Book/BookFrame/0,...l?id=0718144368

Good luck,

GC++

Edited August 27, 2003 by GC++ (log)

[jackal10]

I have it. I did not have any particular problems getting it. However it looks like it is being reprinted, and a paperback version is due in February 2004.

It is what it says, mostly devoted to cooking for or with the family.

I think his Guardian newspaper articles (available on the web) are much more interesting. I wish he would publish a collection of those.

[enthusiast]

thanks for the comments. i wanted it precisely because it was for cooking with children (i have 5!).

with my new love affair with eGullett i'm not sure i can start a relationship with the Guardian as well...

[Andy Lynes]

We should have a review of this book online quite soon. I read it and really liked it.

It was reviewed by chef Bruce Poole for Caterer & Hotelkeeper and is online here.

[Jonathan Day]

I owe Andy and the UK group an apology on this review. I was given a review copy of Family Food, and have drafted a review but not finished it. This despite Andy's patient prompting and my repeated promises to get the thing done.

The essence of the review is that the editorial strategy for this book seems to have become confused along the way. It is almost two books in one. The first is an exposition of Heston's explorations of "molecular gastronomy". The second is a discussion of food within the context of a family, food as something that parents prepare and enjoy with children, and so on.

You can imagine a nervous editor saying, "Heston, we can't possibly publish recipes for snail porridge -- that would turn people off." And a subsequent change of direction, steering the book away from molecular gastronomy and toward family themes. It's possible that this mixture of two themes started before the book was assembled, whilst Heston wrote the Guardian columns from which the book is heavily drawn.

However it happened, Family Food is an interesting combination of the familiar (roast potatoes) and the not-so-familiar, with many illustrations of how new techniques make ordinary foods (macaroni cheese) taste even better. Like the combination of red cabbage gaspacho and mustard ice cream, this blend of molecular gastronomy and family cooking seems odd but ultimately works.

More to come when this is ready for TDG. Meanwhile, the book is well worth reading.

[Trashers mum]

I love this book it has some brilliant ideas - simple dessert toasts beat cheese on toast any day.I would suggest that it is it is for grown ups in spite of a good sprinkling of excellent children's tips e.g. wash potatoes before children peel them - blindingly obvious but a great saving on the laundry bill. The lay out is not child friendly and I do wonder if grown ups who aren't keen cooks might not find it a wee bit heavy going but to be fair the chemical/ techinical bits are part of his charm.I heard Heston Blumenthal prepare recipes from the book with his family on Woman's Hour; his wife confessed that his mashed potatoes tasted wonderful but preparation was time consuming...see p218 of Family Food. Excellent value and far more than a cookery lesson.

[Janice]

I think I saw a copy in Waterstones in Islington relatively recently - might be worth a phone call if you still want to track one down

[Hookster]

I was given a copy when it first came out and I, like you Jonathon, agree that it is almost two books in one. Despite the objective of writing a book for children (well, the family at least), there is far too much endless prose and techinical detail with few diagrams and pretty pictures - and that's what I wanted, not just what I thought would be useful for children.

However, it is a good read and the sort of book that you need to read all the way through, twice! Ignoring the minor contradictions, it does present some really convincing arguements on low temperature slow cooking and has, as a consequence, completely changed the way I now cook meat.

What I am really looking forward to, is a comprehensive and detailed book on molecular gastronomy with stuff like formulas to calculate exact cooking temperatures and times for any given food stuff. I'm sure we won't have to wait too long!