St John is one of those staple London restaurants beloved of the public and fellow chefs for the quality of its food and also the sometimes uncompromising simplicity of that offering. In the epilogue Trevor Gulliver explains that the food at St John is based on common sense and generosity and why they don't offer salmon or scallops . . . 'they have no magic. It is the magic that keeps St. JOHN alive.'

The partnership of Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver could be labour divided in that what Fergus puts on the pate, Trevor puts in the glass. The restaurant - housed in Clerkenwell in what was a derelict building when they took it on, houses a bar and bakery as well as the restaurant and this book marks twenty five years since they first opened.

The book includes recipes for some of the dishes for which St John has developed regard: Roast bone marrow and parsley salad, devilled kidneys, seed cake and madeira but also includes paeans to some of the ingredients that are key to the food: curly parsley, capers and trotter gear. Trotter gear is referred to as the grouting that keeps it all together 'your gastronomic friend, your culinary therapist and e very essence of unctuous potential.'

As good a read rom front to back as it is recipe book.

Hardback. 320 pages.

Measurements:

19.6cm x 25.2cm x 3cm