While in Australia, this book received a lot less press to launch than his last cookbook, Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy (maybe because it wasn’t Xmas?), it certainly should have. Anyone who is partial to some of the food cooked on the UK incarnation of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares will be familiar with some of these dishes, with things as simple as Yorkshire Pudding right through to
According to Amazon – Foodies Magazine described Great British Pub Food as ”Relaxed, homely and comforting’.
Heat magazine also highly recommended the cookbook with the following description With purse-friendly ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes, this is perfect for anyone trying to eat in more.’
‘It is an undeniably British creation, with nearly every recipe a dish of our heritage cleaned up and presented for the 21st century pub, with a quirky and colourful vibe.’ was the review by Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine
The basic description of Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food is as follows; Gordon Ramsay teams up with Mark Sargeant to showcase the best of British cooking. Packed full of sumptuous and hearty traditional recipes, Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food is perfect for relaxed, homely and comforting cooking.
Pubs were once a place where you could always guarantee good, simple, cheap food and a great Sunday roast, but when the steak houses and fast food chains arrived the good home cooking from the pub kitchens was replaced with tasteless, defrosted meals. Then came the gastropubs, which weren’t much better, serving mediocre food at restaurant prices. That’s why when Gordon Ramsay and Mark Sargeant set up the Gordon Ramsay pubs in London they wanted to produce the sort of simple but delicious British classics that warm the cockles of your heart and to serve them at affordable pub prices.
Dishes like rich, hearty Chicken and Smoked Bacon Pie, mouth-watering Gloucestershire Sausages with Grainy Mustard Mash and Red Onion Marmalade and indulgent Treacle Tart – classics that have stood the test of time. Now Gordon has gathered his favourite British recipes into one sumptuous collection so you can invite your friends round, serve some good, English ale and cook the best in traditional pub food classics in your own home.
For those people who have been living in a non-Ramsay alternate universe, the authors are introduced as;
Gordon Ramsay’s radical career change at 17 years old led him to London and to huge success as chef, restaurant-empire-builder and TV star. Gordon has published ten bestselling recipe books and has starred in the hugely successful television series Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, The F Word and Gordon Ramsay’s Cookalong Live. In 2006 he was appointed OBE.
Mark Sargeant first worked with Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine before spending three years as Sous Chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea. He left there to open the highly acclaimed Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s where he is Head Chef. Most recently, Mark has been overseeing the opening of Gordon Ramsay’s pubs The Narrow, The Devonshire and The Warrington, which opened to excellent reviews and press coverage.
The Book has numerous customer reviews with the overwhelming majority voting it 4 or 5 out of 5, here are a sample of those reviews.
“This is a fantastic book of British favourites with the Ramsay touch. It has easy to follow recipes for everything from crisps & pork scratchings (Michelin starred pork scratchings???) to roasts, with tradional comfort food like hotpot etc, steak in ale pie, pates etc. I’ve only had the chance to try one recipe so far in my first 24 hours but it has turned out wonderfully.”
“I have quite a few Ramsay cookbooks and would reccomend this one to anyone. Whereas some (like 3 * chef) are almost “food porn” – looks great but little chance of doing it at home, this is easy to follow with everyday ingredients, no special equipment but great wholesome food.”
“The print is clear, some great photos of the food and of Ramsay & Sarge, a nice retro feel to some of them too.”
“I don’t have a Ramsay pub within about 100 miles so this is the next best thing. Buy it, read it, use it to make something to impress your family and friends, you and they will be glad you did.”
“Love Gordon and love this new book. There are some real classics here which I’d sort of forgotten about but never should have. It’s a real celebration of good, honest, simple food which is what any good pub should focus on. Good bangers and mash will beat hand-massaged Iranian goose burgers with a side of organic kale roasted by monks any day of the week.”
“After all the hype, controversy and media frenzy that has surrounded the release of this, Ramsay’s seventeenth thriller, I was eager to get my hands on a copy. I had no intention of reading it, but as soon I opened the book I was hooked. The story focuses on the main character, 6oz Butter, and throughout the book we see him land himself in a variety of scrapes and predicaments often with hilarious results. 6oz Butter is not alone in this strange world which Ramsay creates, and is joined by some of his friends: Apinch O Salt features heavily, as do the lovable duo Bangers and Mash and the evil Garlic Cloves.
The book reads at a good steady pace and it is split nicely into three sub storys. In ‘Starters’ we are first introduced to our hero 6oz, as he does battle with the hot and seductive mistress Chicken Wings, before falling foul of the villainous Frenchman ‘Soup de Jour’. The second section of the book is where things really start to hot up and is entitled rather charmingly ‘Main Courses and Meat Dishes’. ‘Desserts and Puddings’ is the grand finale and 6oz Butter meets a sticky end when he comes face to face with half a dozen pancakes.
I really enjoyed Gordans sci-fi thriller, but the only criticism I would have is that I didn’t like reading the characters names at the beginning of each chapter and would have prefered it if we were left to stumble across them as we read. That said it is a cracking read, beautifully illustrated and I will be the first in line to see the movie version at the cinema, when it is released tomorrow.
Top marks Gordie Pie.”
“Great book of simple recipes. Some of his previous books have been complex and for the more ambitious home cook, but this is great traditional stuff, much more akin to the accessible Jamie Oliver style. Nice to see him celebrating British recipes too, given his classical French training, though of course the depth of his skill informs everything he does. I’ve bought a shoulder of lamb for the weekend…”
“I have really enjoyed reading through this and trying some of the excellent recipes. The book covers a large number of dishes most cooks will already make my their version off, but don’t take that as a bad thing. Instead I think of it a bit like the Cook Off’s on the F-Word where Gordon shows the celebs his take on their signature dish, mainly resulting in a really good alternative.”
“I have tried the bangers and mash and the chicken and bacon pie to great success. I am sure the others will be just as easy. Compared to Jamie Oliver’s random mutterings on a page that sometimes leave vital decisions to the imagination, Gordon’s recipes are easy top read and follow. For a nice change these ones are very realistic midweek home fayre too. You don’t have to throw a dinner party, scour oriental supermarkets or any of the other nonsense many cookbooks result in. Instead the vast majority of recipes are best serviced by a herb garden, a trip to the butcher, the greengrocers and some store cupboard essentials, my kind of cooking.”
“My only wish with this book is that some of the bloomin awful pubs around my house go buy this and take on some of the recipes. It is near impossible to name one that provides what I class as good pub food, instead it is either carveries or menus so big there isn’t a cat in hells chance of anything being fresh. A simple mixture of some nice grill basics and 4-6 specials for the week should be enough for any of them.”
“I love all of Gordon Ramsay’s books but this is the one that I am having the most fun with. Easy good solid food that impresses everyone and basically does what it says on the tin. Every recipe has worked as it should and everyone who has eaten what I have cooked has really enjoyed it – even my in-laws! Great stuff.”
“Having already bought several Gordon Ramsey books, I did wonder if this one would really provide anything new but I’m not disappointed! The recipes are a real mix of traditional and original with some really quick and tasty ideas. Can really recommend the London Particular soup – intrigued by the name, we gave it a try and were rewarded with a cheap, easy-to-make and hearty soup that I’l definitely be making again.”
“Gordon Ramsey delivers exactly what it says on the tin with Great British Food.
The recipies are easy to follow and use good honest ingredients to enable even the most inexperienced of cooks to produce wonderful dishes of a robust British pub food style in their own kitchens – another Masterpiece from a Master Chef.”
“A good cook book for cooking good traditional British pub food in your own home, without having to travel to the British Isle.”
With endorsements like that, you should be asking yourself why you don’t own a copy yourself!
The book is sold out in the US, so unless you feel like waiting until September 17 for the softcover and risk missing out or grab it from amazon.co.uk
You can also pre-order the softcover in the UK
Chief Plonker
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com
