Raymond Blanc (1) (1949–)

I like Raymond Blanc, and I particularly enjoy his television show, The Restaurant. I respect his views on food and service very much. I had heard good things about his book and was looking forward to reading it. By and large I wasn't disappointed, and I liked learning about his early life in France, and how he came to end up making his life and business in Oxford. However, there's a lot of technical information about food and cookery in this book. I enjoy reading about food and cooking, but I did find myself wanting more about Raymond's life, and less about the technique.

Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable book, and one which I would recommend to anybody who likes Monsieur Blanc and cookery, or is interested in learning more about the restaurant trade.… (mais)

I was lucky enough to meet Raymond Blanc (very briefly) last year. All in the room found him completely charming and his passion for food was totally infectious. He gossiped about his TV series 'The restaurant', asked the children there what they liked to cook, all the while encouraging us to come for lunch at Le Manoir - he has long had a policy to keep lunch an affordable treat!

This book is just like he is in person; combining episodes from his life, with stories from the trade and lots of thoughts on food and eating; and interspersed amongst the chapters are many recipes to try.

For a totally untrained chef, he is a complete natural in the kitchen. He is a real champion of quality produce and seasonal food. All this comes through in the stories of growing up helping his beloved Maman, through getting a glimpse of being a chef whilst waiting tables, and then grasping the mettle of cheffing for real when he moved to England in the 1970s where finding good produce was a problem. Luckily for us - he stayed.… (mais)