Beyond Fusion – Rainer Zinngrebe

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I'm still trying to master European cooking, let alone fusion, so the idea of going beyond fusion has me reaching for a respirator. Still, maybe this is the chance I need to try to get to grips with this modish style, particularly as this book comes from Malaysia, one of the stopovers on the path to enlightenment. First impressions first. This is a slimmish volume, square, with an orange dust cover, faintly printed with the outlines of a sieve and a colander. Hmm. Endpapers - purple and orange. Testimonials from Mosimann and Koffmann. A few pages on the Fullerton hotel in Singapore, where the author worked as executive chef, written in slightly inflated, PR style, leading to a series of bled-to-the-edge double spreads of market scenes, some carrying the three chapter headings - "The inspiration" (produce and markets), "The interpretation" (I'm glad about that bit) and "The magic" (containing the recipes) - and finally a few details about the author, his sous chef and the photographer. The last is important, because there are 119 pages of photographs. Those of the food are very good: appetising, well lit, not arty; but as there are only 57 - yes, 57 - recipes, that's just as well. The other pictures - of market scenes, produce still lifes in close-up, or the Fullerton kitchen - are unremarkable. Beyond fusion, it seems, is where Chef Zinngrebe pursues his own vision of the "culinary crossover", inspired by the great diversity of Asian produce. The recipes themselves are attractively laid out and clearly written, although the number of servings is not indicated. One recipe requires 16 prawns, 16 scallops and 16 red snapper fillets! Most of the ingredients would be hard to find in the UK, even in London. There's certainly not much ginger flower or brown bean paste in Herefordshire, although I might find some lily bulbs in one of my neighbours' ponds. I tried one of the less exotic recipes - Indian spiced sea bass on curried lentil hash - and with a bit of ingredient fudging it worked well enough. I suspect that this book is a covert PR vehicle for the Fullerton. Some hotel chefs in the Far East may find the recipes beguiling, but at a cover price of S$130 (£49.81) it's hardly good value. Stephen Bull, chef-proprietor, Lough Pool Inn, Sellack, Herefordshire. Beyond Fusion - Rainer Zinngrebe. Flame of the Forest Publishing £40 (including p&p, from www.flameoftheforest.com>). ISBN 981-3056-45-2