Book Review: The Gilbert Scott Book of British Food

The Gilbert Scott Book of British Food
By Marcus Wareing and Chantelle Nicholson
Bantam Press, £20

The Gilbert Scott Book of British Food is the fourth cookbook from two-Michelin-starred chef and 2003 Catey Chef Award winner Marcus Wareing, whose eponymous restaurant is at the Berkeley.

Written jointly by Wareing and former Acorn Award winner Chantelle Nicholson, general manager of his celebrated restaurant the Gilbert Scott, the book is a tribute to the traditional British dishes served in his restaurant, located at the St Pancras Renaissance London hotel.

It begins with a short history of the hotel, starting in 1865 when the Midland Railway company held a competition to design a hotel with the brief that it needed to "add lustre" to its soon-to-be-completed St Pancras station. Several architects submitted plans, but it was leading Gothic revivalist George Gilbert Scott's remarkable 300-bedroom design that was declared the winner.

In the run-up to the opening of the Gilbert Scott in 2011, Nicholson and Wareing spent many hours poring over books and archives selecting dishes and recipes to be served in their brasserie and, having done such extensive research, it seems only resourceful that their hard work is recognised with the publication of a book.

The Gilbert Scott Book of British Food is based on the menu at the Gilbert Scott restaurant and bar, which, in turn, pay homage to the historic charm of the 19th century building.

Split into seven chapters, it begins with a selection of cocktails from the Gilbert Scott's opulent bar and is followed by smaller dishes (‘To begin'), which can be served either as a starter or as a lunchtime meal with bread or salad. Recipes in this section include ubiquitous British dishes such as prawn cocktail, pork pie, English asparagus with burnt butter Hollandaise, and potted shrimps.

'Kitchen table' includes a selection of recipes suitable for sharing boards and precedes 'Puddings', which includes the expected - spotted dick, Eton mess and treacle tart - and the unexpected, such as lemon cream ice with salted caramel popcorn.

With stunning pictures by Brazilian photographer Sergio Coimbra, The Gilbert Scott Book of British Food is a valuable cookbook for any lovers of all things local, and it wouldn't look terribly out of place on a coffee table, either.

By Amanda Afiya

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