Unlikely Idea.

"Spotted Dick S'il Vous Plait" An English Restaurant in France-Tom Higgins

Lyon is considered the gastronomic capital of gastro-centric France. Numerous Michelin three star establishments are but a short drive away It takes some doing to open a restaurant in the city. With so much to chose from one really has to find a way to stand out in the crowd. In 1986 a man with very little culinary experience decided to do just that. As an expat he wanted to cook the food of his home land. The was certainly a niche market as until then there was not much call for English food. None the less Tom Higgins persevered and eventually opened just such a restaurant.

While English food is currently riding high thanks to the visibility of chefs such as Ramsay and White. Perhaps it has even gained some respect in France. This however was not the case when Higgens undertook his project. The feat was documented in his book "Spotted Dick S'il Vous Plait" An English Restaurant in France.

At times one really feels for Higgins and the troubles he has in dealing with French perceptions (not entirely unfounded) about English cooking, and the everyday bureaucracy found in France. Yet it is with a warmth and humor as well as an appreciation for his adopted home town that he tells his story and that of 'Mr Higgins'-his restaurant.

(Several of his most popular recipes are included in the back of the book.)

Devil in the Kitchen

Devil in the Kitchen-Marco Pierre White + James Steen

As far as ‘tell all’ autobiographies go this one seems to tell more that most. There are no groundbreaking revelations. But it is nice to have a celebrity/author talk openly about events from his past without trying to gloss over things. In this case White gives the reader a ‘right or wrong this was the way it was’ point of view. No justification forth coming.

White’s career is legendary, the perfect culinary storm. He was a young dynamic English chef cooking French food in a small out of the way restaurant. The myth was enhanced with the publication of his first cookbook White Heat and the iconic black and white photographs within further added to his mystique. White would go on and become the first British born chef to win three Michelin stars. His personal life became tabloid fodder.

With the publication of this book white talks openly about the his childhood. About what it was like being in the middle of that storm that was his ascent. He freely admits that sometimes things did get out of hand and even explains why it was so. All the while the reader does not feel a sense of someone playing the victim. Instead with White's own eloquence the reader gets the feeling that if anything it has been an interesting and enjoyable ride.