Book review: A Rural Chef
Weighing in at 5kg and standing 36cm tall (good luck getting it on a shelf) Richard Craven’s debut cookbook is not lacking in thud factor. The beginning of the book chronicles the now Michelin-starred chef’s journey to setting up The Royal Oak at Whatcote with his South African-born wife and front-of-house counterpart Solanche in the form of extracts from diaries, emails, newspaper articles and even social media.
The pair met during Craven’s early days as a chef and soon headed to South Africa to work in a number of top restaurants including The Test Kitchen under chef Margot Janse. Upon returning to the UK, the pair oversaw a string of well-received places in and around the Cotswolds including The Chef’s Dozen eventually settling at The Royal Oak in 2017.
A Rural Chef’s recipes are arranged into seasons, with each of the four sections prefaced by a comprehensive listing of what the kitchen is likely to be working with during each three month period. The recipes are faithful to those used within Craven’s own kitchen with highly-detailed methods that split each dish into its constituent parts. The recipe section is rounded off with a basics section that details some of the (actually not that basic) building blocks of Craven’s kitchen including fermented hen of the woods; rabbit and hazelnut emulsion; and beetroot glaze.
Craven’s sauce recipes - including mallard, hogget and a hare bone-based number flavoured with Voatsiperifery peppercorns - are particularly good, with chefs likely to appreciate the significant detail the chef goes into around reduction and passing.
Author: Richard Craven
Number of pages: 320
Standout dishes: Savarin with apricot, lemon verbena ice cream and apricot kernel liqueur
Publisher and price: Away With Media, £65
