A diet that takes you the distance

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This is a book clearly aimed at those who want to be focused on what they eat. I am familiar both with running marathons and with Le Gavroche, and would not normally expect to find the two in the same sentence - unless the latter were being visited as a celebration of the former. Running marathons is immensely challenging and, training apart, the single most significant contributor to performance is diet. *The Marathon Chef* cookbook is not only scientifically informative but outlines some of the key training strategies, and provides a generous repertoire of dishes to cook and enjoy. Michel clearly knows his subject. Anyone expecting Mousseline d'hommard or soufflé Suissesse will be disappointed. The vast majority of his recipes are squeaky-clean and compiled for their nutritional balance as well as flavour. They are mostly French-based recipes, although Eastern flavours do appear. There are some wholesome dishes such as green lentils with warm potatoes and anchovies, or butter beans with chorizo and tomato - both of which not only look delicious but will deal with an appetite that only a runner, after a two-hour run, understands. Others, such as the warm salad of mussels with broad beans and mushrooms, I would hope are aimed for a less active day. Flavours abound - grilled tuna with crushed white beans and pesto tastes utterly delicious. And how nice to have a section on desserts with recipes including some of life's luxuries - ingredients all too often banished from diet/health-orientated cookbooks. The fact remains that an active lifestyle and plenty of hard training makes the body crave a variety of foods, and the book deals with this thoroughly. I do, however, look forward to a trip to Le Gavroche after the London Marathon 2003, in which I intend to beat Michel. It's 1-0 to him at present. Watch out, mate! Philip Howard, chef-proprietor, The Square, London *The Marathon Chef: Food for getting fit by Michel Roux Jnr Weidenfeld and Nicolson, £20 ISBN 0-297-84309-5*