Hot Chefs Hip Cuisine

This new book of who's who in the chef world scores on three fronts. Not only is it a good read, it also brings to your attention chefs from different parts of the world who you might not otherwise know - from Singapore to Rio de Janeiro, even Hiroshima. Third, all the chefs in the book, plus the publisher, have donated the revenue the book creates to a worthy cause - UNICEF.

The book features 34 chefs from around the globe but only one from the UK. Yes, you've guessed - a certain Gordon Ramsay, who runs a very good restaurant in Chelsea, apparently. He, like all the chefs in the book, has a chapter to himself, which includes two well-presented recipes and some very good photography.

On the whole, the recipes are easy to follow and are quite achievable for most people. Just stay away from the El Bulli page, where you need a science degree to even contemplate the recipes. I would say, though, that Hot Chefs Hip Cuisine is more useful as a reference book of what is happening globally in the chef world rather than as a straightforward cookery book.

In fact, it's a must for all budding chefs, as it's an inspirational read on the backgrounds of everyone featured - particularly on how they made it to the top of their chosen profession. Incidentally, I was happy to read about Jo‰l AtunŠs, who's based in Atlanta now, but whom most people in the UK will remember from his days as head chef at Les Saveurs in London in the early 1990s, when he was turning out some of the best food in the city.

The book also features one of Spain's most exciting young chefs of the moment, Sergi Arola, of La Broche in Madrid, who is one of Ferran Adrià's best pupils and is doing some very interesting things (read the book).

Hot Chefs Hip Cuisine is not expensive, and since the money goes to a good cause, I'd recommend it as essential reading for chefs and restaurant staff.

Jason Atherton, executive chef, Dubai Hilton Creek

Hot Chefs Hip Cuisine
Edited by Melisa Teo and Sandi Butchkiss
Editions Didier Millet, €30 (£21.45)
ISBN 981-4068-36-5