What’s the USP?
Cook-at-home recipes from a Michelin-starred chef that cover everything from breakfasts and weeknight pasta dishes to show-stoppers including an elaborate version of toad in the hole.
Who’s the author?
With his wife Emma, chef and restaurateur Paul Ainsworth runs The Ainsworth Collection in Padstow, Cornwall which includes the Michelin-starred Paul Ainsworth at No 6, CiCi’s Bar, Caffe Rojano, The Padstow Townhouse boutique hotel and The Mariners pub in nearby Rock. He is a regular on TV programmes such as James Martin’s Saturday Morning and co-presented Next Level Chef with Gordon Ramsay. For the Love of Food is his debut cookbook
Is it good bedtime reading?
In a lengthy introduction, Ainsworth recounts his life and career in food, from helping out at his parent’s B&B in Southampton to winning a Michelin star and building a restaurant group. In between came work experience at a local 3-star high street hotel and catering college, then working for Gary Rhodes, Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing before making his decisive move to Cornwall.
In addition, there’s a forward by Gordon Ramsay, introductions to each of the chapters (‘Beach Breakfast and Brunch’, ‘Snacks and Sharers’, ‘ For the Love of Sandwiches’, ‘From the Sea’, ‘Pasta Favourites’, ‘From the Land’, ‘Veg Heroes’ and ‘…&Custard’) and recipe introductions. It’s fair to say that Ainsworth has put his back into the book. It’s hardly surprising when you read that his work ethic is so developed that by the age of twelve, he was working four paper rounds plus an evening job at a local grocer and carrying out commission-based work selling door-to-door.
How much difficulty will I have getting hold of the ingredients?
You will have no problem finding most of the ingredients in a supermarket. Exceptions may include smoked cod’s roe for ‘The Mariner’s Taramasalata on Toast’, squid for ‘Squid and Scraps with Hot Sweet Chilli Mayonnaise’, a whole turbot for ‘Traditional Roast Dinner (But With Turbot)’, scallops in the shell to serve with Cafe de Paris butter, fresh mussels to serve in a coconut, chilli and lemongrass broth, featherblade for a ragu to serve with pappardelle and chimichurri, black truffle paste for truffle mayonnaise. A few items then, but nothing a good fishmonger, butcher or deli couldn’t supply or that you couldn’t find online very easily.
How annoyingly vague are the recipes?
There are ‘pinches’ of this and ‘drops’ of that here and there but otherwise the ingredients are precisely specified and methods are well-written and easy to follow.
How often will I cook from the book?
This is the Michelin-starred chef cookbook that will spend more time in your kitchen than on the shelf. It’s an all day dining, every day of the week, all occasions sort of a book with delicious ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks inbetween. There are a few special occasion dishes that will take time and effort like ‘Toad in the Ainsworth-style’ (no really - it’s a sort of sausage Wellington inspried by the French pastry Galettes des Rois) and ‘Traditional Roast Dinner (But With Turbot)’, but the majority of recipes are very doable. If you buy the book and at least one of the dishes in the ‘Pasta Favourites’ chapter doesn’t become a regular part of your repetoire I’ll refund you myself (terms and conditions apply- mainly that that is a complete lie, I won’t give you back the money myself but you get the sentiment).
Killer recipes?
‘Wicked Garlic Dough Balls’, ‘Sticky PX-Glazed Chicken Wings and Pickled Salad’, ‘The Meatball Marinanra Panuozzo’ ‘Caffe Rojano’s Sobrasada Tagliatelle’, ‘Tuscan Pressure Pot Broth with Wild Garlic Pesto’, ‘Caffe Rojano Chken Strozzapreti’ ‘Cider-Cured Salmon Fishcakes with Madras Curry Mayonnaise’ ‘The Dog’s Pollock’ (a fishy version of a hot dog), ‘Dave’s Mum’s Chicken Lasagne’, ‘My Chicken Gyros’, ‘Bread and Butter Pudding’ and many others.
What will I love?
Ainsworth says that For the Love of Food has been ‘eighteen years in the making’. He he means that metaphorically (I hope) but it really does feel like you are getting two decades of great ideas. It doesn’t seem as though any of the recipes have been generated in order to fill a page or too. Rather, the impression is that Ainsworth has sifted through an enormous pile of dishes he’s developed over the years and chosen the best and most suitable for the home cook.
I love the use of colour throughout the book and the illustrations by Jessie Bayliss (also illustrates the menus at Paul Ainsworth at No. 6) are lovely and really add to the pleasure of cooking from the book. Food photography by Issy Croker is great, the pictures are not too overstyled and you can see how each of the dishes should look so they are as useful for reference as they are good look at.
What won’t I love so much?
There are a few multi-element recipes with daunting ingredient lists like the ‘Rogan John’ curry but even they are not that complicated once you’ve read them through and got a handle on them. You can always pick and choose which parts of a recipe you want to make - maybe buying in flatbreads rather than making them or using shop-bought mayo rather than making your own.
Should I buy it?
For the Love of Food is one of the best cookbooks of 2024 so far. It offers a fresh and distinctive take on homecooking. These are not recipes you will have seen in other chef’s books. If you are looking for inspiration for your weekly repetiore then you really need not look any futher. A highly recommended must-buy.
Cuisine: Modern British
Suitable for: Confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
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For the Love of Food by Paul Ainsworth
£26, Pavillion Books