New Cookbook Serves Up Comfortable Fresh

New Zealand-born chef Justin North’s new book Family Cooking has “an appealing selection of recipes”, reviewer Michelle Rowe writes for The Australian. “[Sydney-based] North is the latest in a conga line of chefs to reveal in print what they and their families eat at home … but [North’s] saving grace is his talent for creating fresh, fabulous dishes, with a focus on quality local ingredients.”

“North has the chops, having served under Raymond Blanc at the acclaimed Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford, and later under Liam Tomlin at the influential Banc in Sydney’s CBD. When North’s much-awarded Bécasse restaurant and other outlets in his business portfolio fell victim to rapid expansion and the vagaries of the restaurant industry last year, it left a sizeable hole in Sydney’s fine-dining landscape.

“[The] recipes accompanied by photos by the talented Anson Smart – a salad of caramelised fennel and zucchini with goat’s curd, walnuts and muscatels; slow-roasted aromatic leg of baby lamb with butternut pumpkin; and chocolate, Earl Grey and citrus tart – should go some way towards quelling any hunger pangs.”