The Clatter of Forks and Spoons

Richard Corrigan is one of Britain's most distingushed chefs. He has been a key pioneer in the rehabilitation of British food' a champion of small producers and' above all' the creator of a highly personal repertoire of innovative dishes utilising ingredients that once formed the basis of a a vibrant native cuisine but which had been largely ignored by fashionable chefs in recent decades.

Corrigan's food is based' to a large extent' on Curnonsky's dictum that 'everything should taste intensely of itself'. Never a slave to fashion' his approach to food reflects his down-to-earth' countryman's celebration of endemic foodstuffs' and his Michelin-starred Lindsay House restaurant in Soho is all about rediscovering and reinterpreting the traditional foodstuffs of these islands' from offal to native fruit' horseradish to lady's smock flowers' oysters to artichokes.

This book comprises recipes adapted carefully for the home kitchen but retaining the distinctive Corrigan imprint' and arranged by key ingredient. It includes an account of the suppliers Richard has come to know and trust' and who are responsible for every item that comes into the kitchen at Lindsay House: farmers' fishermen' gardeners' wine merchants' hunters' foragers and many more. The book is also a memoir of a great chef' telling the story of his move from rural Ireland to the kitchen of one of the world's leading kicthens' the experiences gathered along the way' and the evolution of his philosophy of food.

Michel Roux once famously commented that if Richard Corrigan were to cook an old boot' he would be happy to eat it. Corrigan's natural earthiness' defttness in the kitchen' instinctive passion about real food without fripperies and ruthless honesty marks him out as an important new voice in British food.