The Plonker Club

With locations in London and New York City, Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant focuses on quality ingredients, imaginative flavor combinations, and simple preservations. The dishes are served in small portions, enabling patrons to savor a wide variety of tastes in one visit. This cookbook gives readers the opportunity to cook the Maze way. But it is more than a collection of the restaurant’s best recipes. The book explains how each dish would be served in the restaurant, following which additional recipes are offered using the same ingredients. Each signature dish — for example, Braised Shin of Veal with Pea Risotto and Butter-Roasted Cod with Silky Mash and Spiced Lentils — is followed by two additional recipes using the same ingredients and geared to the home cook. Covering starters, entrees, and desserts, Gordon Ramsay’s Maze shows how to make meals both artful and delicious, all highlighted by Ditte Isager’s gorgeous photographs.

The book will be released in October of this year, published by Key Porter Books – Pre order your cop now by clicking on the above links.

We’ll have more information on the specifics of the cookbook as they are released!

Chief Plonker
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com

The Plonker Club is running a new competition to celebrate the opening of our forums as well as the upcoming series of Hell’s Kitchen on US television.

The cookbook is Gordon Ramsay’s latest top seler – Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food and was autographed by him at the Sydney Good Food and Wine Festival in July.

All you need to do is pick the winner of season 6 of Hell’s Kitchen before episode two aires on June 28. Even if you can’t watch the show (or download it) you can still have a punt.

Head to the forum at this link for details and enter now!

Chief Plonker

The Plonker Club

The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite

www.theplonkerclub.com

4.0 out of 5 stars What’s that all about?, 31 Oct 2008
By Discrepancy (Oxford, UK)

I am usually not impressed by Gordon’s “rushed” which he calls “high-energy” approach to cooking. Nevertheless his recipes are usually easy to follow and as tasty as it gets – if that’s what you are looking for you won’t be disappointed. Cooking books do not need anything else than that – so why have I rated it as 4 stars only? The simple answer is I do not like his non-cooking, not recipe related introductions and the title. On one occasion he’s ranting about Delia’s “cheat approach” which led him to donate all his Delia cooking books to a charity shop. My second “favourite” is the revelation that his wife has started to cook something vegetarian for the kids once a week. These statements are not only unnecessary they distract from the subject which is food. I do love cooking and great food but hey in the end it’s food not world peace so stop ranting, argueing and self-praise. In my humble opinion the only absolute in the world of cooking is to COOK YOURSELF and avoid fast food/ ready meals. So it does not matter if you are using cheats and cheap ingredients if this creates the basic conditions to make you cook.

The other annoying point is the title. Nothing in this book relates to “cooking for friends”, it’s just a selection of recipes, which are suitable everyday and anytime.

To summarise: A decent cookbook with a misleading title but a good selection of very nice recipes written by a chef with an attitude.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gordon Ramsey: Cooking for Friends, 10 Oct 2008
By Cook book Addict “GC” (London)

I have all Gordon Ramsey’s books and this one is ideal for people who think everything he creates is expensive
This book deals with things like Oxtail soup which is a simple recipe and easy to make
I really recommend this title for everyday cooking with the Ramsey touch

David Driscoll
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com

3.0 out of 5 stars Cooking for Friends, 30 Dec 2008
By Mr. G. Kania (UK)

I concur with other reviewers here who have said that there are rather too many mugshots of the Grand Cuisiner himself. It IS offputting to try and cook, for example, Artichokes Braised with Onions and Lardons, with the lardon himself staring out at you rather than a picture of the dish itself.

In addition I was somewhat disappointed when I decided to try out his method of making shortcrust pastry for some mini-quiches. Referring to the ‘basics’ section at the back he mentions the ingredients – butter flour, beaten egg and water etc, but in the method omits to tell you what to do with the beaten egg ! What a contrast with the cookbook I normally use – Julia Child’s classic where she has gone to the trouble of six pages of instructions with line drawings and NO mug shots.

However, this book is in a different league and is aimed at doing things simply and straighforwardly. His recipes give inspiration, are simple enough to follow, and as he says, they are but a guide. It’s a useful addition to my library – but I shan’t be watching his TV show.

4.0 out of 5 stars er…. is this a Gordon Ramsay authored book?, 9 Dec 2008
By S. Hampton (London, UK)

Firstly the recipies in this book are excellent and I’ve really enjoyed those that I have cooked so far.

However, the 1st page of text reads:

Food: Mark Sargeant
Text: Emily Quah
Photographer: Ditte Isager
Stylist: Christine Rudolph
Art Director: Patrick Budge
Publisher: Harper Collins

This begs the question what exactly did Gordon Ramsay do for this book? I think it has been mis-sold as a Gordon Ramsay book. There are indeed pictures of him in the book, perhaps an addition to the above should read:

Photographer’s Model: Gordon Ramsay

I do recommend buying this book as the recipes are great, it is a shame that it seems to me to be mis-sold.

5.0 out of 5 stars I love everything about this book, 16 Nov 2008
By Gayle Hartley “Orce Serrano Hams” (Andalucia)

This book is full of inspiring and easy to follow recipes, delicious photography and lots of personal touches and anecdotes which make it a ‘real’ book. I like the way the dishes are made using accessible ingredients as sometimes celebrity cook books are full of ingredients which are difficult to come by or expensive. In fact I love the old fashioned and ‘simple food’ element, but above all the recipes are for ‘proper’ good food, ideal for family meals and social gatherings without days of worry and preparation beforehand.

A must have for everyone who loves to cook good food with simple, quality ingredients.

David Driscoll
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com

Here’s the blurb from the official press release – 2 days until release – Gordon Ramsay ‘s latest cookbook – Great British Pub Food.

‘Keep it simple and make it tasty’, that’s the mantra behind Gordon Ramsay’s pubs designed to give the public great tasting British food, served alongside a good pint, that won’t break the bank. In his new cookbook, GORDON RAMSAY’S GREAT BRITISH PUB FOOD, Ramsay teams up with fellow chef Mark Sargeant to help you recreate some of the classic pub dishes at home.

GORDON RAMSAY’S GREAT BRITISH PUB FOOD features over 120 recipes based on the dishes served at Gordon Ramsay’s own critically acclaimed pubs – classic British dishes that have stood the test of time. All the recipes are simple but delicious and range from the traditional such as Crab Cakes, Venison Stew and Treacle Tart to more unusual dishes such as Potato, Bacon and Oyster Soup, Citrus Spatchcocked Quail with Sautéed Potatoes and Pimms Jellies.

GREAT BRITISH PUB FOOD’s simple and user-friendly format makes it both accessible and a pleasure to read. Chapters are split into pub favourites including Bar Food, Soups and Broths, Catch of the Day, Comfort Food and Puddings, the latter containing as wonderful a selection of dishes as you would expect from a nation famous for its hearty desserts, including Sussex Pond Pudding, Jam Roly Poly and Gypsy Tart.

The book encourages the use of easily sourced and traditional ingredients, as well as some economical cuts of meat, to create a range of affordable and tasty British dishes. Crowd pleasers such as Toad-in-the-Hole, Steak and Kidney Pie and Hake in Beer Batter with Mushy Peas are included in the book, alongside Potted Hough (shin of beef), Fried Sprats and Rabbit Hot Pot.

Beautifully illustrated with Emma Lee’s stunning photography, all shot in natural light and revealing the simplicity of each dish, GORDON RAMSAY’S GREAT BRITISH PUB FOOD is the perfect book for anyone seeking relaxed, homely and comforting cooking at its best.

About the authors:

Gordon Ramsay, Michelin starred chef, global restaurateur, best-selling author and television star, is one of the UK’s most recognizable personalities. Since launching his eponymous restaurant in Chelsea, which currently holds 3 Michelin stars, Gordon has established a world-renowned culinary empire. During Gordon Ramsay’s 17-year career he has published eleven bestselling recipe books and has starred in hugely successful television series including Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, The F Word and Cookalong Live.

Mark Sargeant first worked with Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine before spending three years as Sous Chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea. He left to open the highly acclaimed Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s where he is Executive Chef. Most recently, Mark has overseen the opening of Gordon Ramsay’s London pubs, The Narrow, The Devonshire and The Warrington.

David Driscoll
Chief Plonker at The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com