Gary Rhodes at the table
by Gary Rhodes
Hardback large format published in 2000 by the BBC to accompany the 2001 television series. Illustrated with colour photographs by Sîan Irvine.
Gary Rhodes (1960-2019) was born in south London and worked abroad and in the UK. He was formally trained, started up and ran various restaurants in England at different times, gaining several Michelin stars, and became one of the new breed of celebrity TV chefs in the 1990s. I am not a TV viewer so have never seen his programmes, but the books that accompany them are a delight. His spiky hair, checked trousers, and white tunic made him a familiar face to his fans. Like Florence White (previous post), Gary was an enthusiast for British cookery, encouraging his readers and viewers to try traditional ingredients presented in new and interesting ways. Gary was an innovative and passionate cook, a businessman but someone who retained his enthusiasm for presenting food with really enticing twists. He died very suddenly and far too young while working in Dubai.
Partiality warning - I really like Gary Rhodes’ cook books. I like leafing through them, reading the recipes with their informative and interesting introductions, drooling over the dishes, and planning menus to cook for friends. His recipes range from simple to really quite complicated and challenging, but they are always tempting and achievable, with care and good organization.
As you flick through the pages of this book, I guarantee you will come across dishes that you will want to try. Each recipe is laid out coherently, with the number of servings, the ingredients, and an introduction giving the background to the recipe and Gary’s thoughts on the ingredients chosen by him and his reasons for his choices. He then deals with the preparation of the dish, setting everything out in a methodical manner. He shows great attention to detail and the lovely photographs provide an illustration of his perfectionism, with the meals plated up beautifully. For anyone who enjoys cooking, Gary’s recipes provide inspiration and a challenge, if one chooses the more complicated dishes. I really think he shows good judgement with his choice of flavour mélanges, I don’t find he is too fancy or trying to be fashionable, but combines ingredients with deftness and delicacy. The book is laid out in a logical way, starting with appetizers and progressing to soups, fish, mains, vegetables, desserts, and savouries, and finishing with basic recipes and suggested menus. Some of the recipes are more complicated, but Gary provides such good instructions that none of them are beyond the determined cook. For everyday cooking, I prefer simple dishes, but occasionally I enjoy the challenge of making something more intricate or elaborate to enjoy with my friends, and this book covers both ends of the spectrum.
So, what would tempt me? A good basic Country Pâté (photo above), including chicken livers, brandy, port, and good seasoning sounds delicious, and Gary suggests a Pumpkin and Date Chutney to eat with it. Pressed Rabbit Terrine with Sweet Sherry, Tea and Prune Dressing sounds interesting, too, and I definitely want to try Smoked Haddock Scotch Eggs with Curried Mayonnaise. Seared Tunafish Benedict with Tartare Butter is a twist on Eggs Benedict, but one I would happily try. Finally, from the Appetizers chapter, he gives a recipe for a Two-onion Two-cheese Potato Tart, a perfect picnic dish, I reckon, blending that wonderful cheese and onion combination.
I love smoked fish so Gary’s Smoked Haddock Soup with Welsh Rarebit Gnocchi sounds mouthwatering, especially with those gnocchi. And then there is the Onion Soup with Steak and Kidney ‘Sausage’ Dumplings (photo below). As a kidney hater (sorry, folks), I would have to adjust the recipe slightly, but I do love a good savoury dumpling.
On to the Fish section, with a delicious sounding Roast Sea Bass with Glazed Crab Mashed Potatoes, followed by Roast Monkfish with Crispy Bacon or Parma Ham (photo below). Monkfish is a lovely, firm, white fish, albeit very expensive, but definitely worth it for a special occasion. There are too many good fish dishes to list here, but, if you like fish, you will be spoilt for choice in this book.
From the Mains section, I like the sound of the Roast Salt and Peppered Duck Breast with Spicy Plums (photo below). The thought of the tangy and spicy plums and sauce with the lovely succulent duck breast is making my mouth water - isn’t that what a good cookery book should do? Make you want to cook a dish and have you salivating in anticipation. Gary was very keen on oxtail, and championed its cooking. I agree with him - it has a lovely savoury meatiness with a very satisfying consistency and should be more popular. He has a lovely, but fiddly, recipe for Boneless Potato Oxtail with Creamy Cabbage, where the oxtail is cooked, then taken off the bone and shaped around a potato ‘bone’, and served with a delicious gravy and cabbage. This is a long-winded recipe and I would only ever prepare it for people who would appreciate it and enjoy it. As with everything, if you spend hours preparing something, which is then bolted in ten minutes, you’re going to feel a bit grumpy!
The Aubergine Charlottes with Ratatouille Dressing (photo below) is a beautiful looking and sounding recipe for vegetarians. The majority of the recipes in this book are for meat and fish eaters, but, where Gary does present a vegetarian dish, he shows the same attention to detail, presentation, and ingredients as he does to the other dishes. Even today, it can be difficult to find tasty and attractive vegetarian dishes (especially in France), so I find Gary’s recipes pleasing, and would happily cook them and dish them out for my vegetarian friends.
But back to carnivores, and I would love to have the occasion to try the Roast Turkey Ballotine with a Ham and Armagnac Stuffing (photo below). Another complicated recipe, but wouldn’t it be a beautiful dish for Christmas, say? I have cooked Gary’s recipe for Pot Roast Chicken in the past, and it was delicious and easy to cook, but I would like to try his Pot-roast Riesling Chicken with Fresh Herbs and Cream Cheese, described in this book. Another tasty recipe is for Hot Cheshire Pork Pies, layering pork, apples, onions, spices and lemon zest and topped with puff pastry. A more traditional dish with a twist is Boiled Gammon and Broad Beans with a Crunchy Mustard and Marjoram Mash. Gary does love mashed potatoes, as do I, and he suggests lots of taste variations which are just so tempting.
Another vegetarian dish to try is the Layered Mushroom and Onion Suet Pudding with ‘Truffle’ Cream Sauce (photo below). I love the occasional stodgy suet pudding - I can’t allow myself to eat them as much as I would like as I would end up looking like one - but this is a delicious sounding savoury pudding for the cold winter months. Gary provides ideas for various vegetables, and I particularly like the look of the Slowly Caramelized Lemon Chicory. Amongst his potato recipes is one for Baked Mashed Potatoes (Pommes Macaire), which involves baking potatoes, then mashing and seasoning the flesh, and finishing off the cooking in a mould. The seasoning can be adapted and, although a little long-winded, it can mostly be prepared in advance, and finished off in the oven, so it is a versatile and useful recipe.
And thence to Puddings. I am not a big pudding person - given the choice, I will usually go for a cheese platter. But, Gary’s recipes are very good. What about Whisky Rice Pudding with Warm Syruped Dried Fruits? I’ve had no success so far with baked rice pudding but Gary’s method involves cooking it on the hob, so I might have better luck with his technique. And how about a Frozen White Chocolate Mousse with Port-wine Figs (photo below)? I’d love to try that.
This Caramelized Dutch Apple Steamed Pudding (photo below) is another dish I would love to try, relatively simple, but using a different approach to produce something delicious but also familiar. Gary also gives a recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Slice, with a beautiful chocolate and almond fudge-like texture - another one to try.
Finally, in his Savouries section, Gary lists a range of savoury nibbles, which could be used for light lunches or suppers. I like the sound of his Twice-Baked Cheese Soufflés, a lovely vegetarian savoury which can be prepared in advance and, again, finished off in the oven at the last minute. This is one of the things I like about this book - Gary is a thoughtful cook, driven to achieve perfection in his business life, but also aware of what a last minute panic can do to an amateur cook. He includes recipes which can be prepared in advance, finished at the last minute, but still look and taste delicious.
At the end of this book, Gary lists suggested meals for different menu compilations. He lists ideas for two course, three course, and even more elaborate meals, advising on different combinations and giving his thoughts on variations and timings. This is an interesting and informative little chapter, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys cooking for friends and wants to improve their techniques and lower their stress levels.
As I warned you at the beginning, I am very partial to Gary Rhodes’ recipes and cooking. I like his clarity and methodical approach, I like his ideas for flavour combinations, and, every time I have cooked a recipe of his, it has worked - which hasn’t always happened with other authors! Using his cook books gives one a very good grounding on techniques, taste combinations, and inspiration for presentation. I recommend his books (I will post about others from my collection at a later date) and hope you are tempted to try some of his recipes. Gary deserves to be remembered. If you would like to read a bit more about him, here is the link to his obituary.