Books five chefs keep on their shelf
Atmospheric lemons from France and food festival cooking
Hello Lemonistas,
A bonus edition for you, dear reader, with some reading suggestions from a lively panel discussion at the Tunbridge Wells Literary Festival in southern England. The second half of the newsletter is dedicated to the selection of atmospheric photographs from Fiona Leishman, a supporter of The Lemon Grove. Fiona lives in France and is a keen photographer of her environment, sharing images in colour and monochrome.
Best wishes
Bruce
Time spent at literary festivals is time well spent. Last weekend a group of chefs from west Kent gathered for a panel discussion at the annual Tunbridge Wells Literary Festival. Gathered on stage were chef and Green Michelin star award holder Will Devlin. Will is chef-owner of Acre, a family of restaurants in Kent and Sussex, including The Small Holding and Birchwood.
PODCAST: Will Devlin of The Small Holding describes how he makes a popular dish at the restaurant made with asparagus, cookbook writing hopes.
He runs the business with his brother, Matt, who heads up operations and front of house. Alongside Will sat Atul Kochhar, Michelin-starred chef and author who recently published his latest book Curry Everyday and runs Essence, a popular restaurant in the iconic Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells; author and broadcaster Rosemary Shrager; Patrick Hill from Thackeray’s restaurant in Tunbridge Wells; and Robin Read, chef/ owner of The Counter, a newly opened restaurant serving local and seasonal produce through ‘a love classical cookery and a curious mind for new techniques.’
During the Q&A session, I asked the panel which cookbook they drew inspiration from and reached for when they needed technique tips or inspiration. Here is their virtual library:
Rosemary Shrager: Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 1 & 2
Atul Kochhar: Madhur Jaffrey’s A Taste of India
Will Devlin: Larousse Gastronomique
Patrick Hill: Philip Howard’s The Square Vol 1 (Savoury) and Vol 2 (Sweet)
Robin Read: Albert & Michel Roux’s The Roux Brothers On Patisserie.
Lighting lemons in Provence
Citrus and lemons have long attracted the eye of the artist, particularly still-life Dutch masters and painters working in the 17th Century. The lemon was often painted with a twist of peel, symbols of luxury, wealth and power. However, with their sour and bitter-tasting notes, lemons are also suggestive of disappointment. Bittersweet in taste, its external beauty is opposite to its internal notes. Reproducing a lemon in oils also showed the painter’s skill and artistic competence.
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BRUCE & THE LEMON GROVE'S EVENTS DIARY
Travel planning for 2024 is in the works for Seville, Menton, Turin (Slow Food’s Terra Madre), Liguria, and Barcelona, to name just a few!
Hosting & Cooking on the Demonstration Stage at:
Tonbridge Farmers Market (every second Sunday of the month, 9.30am - 1.30pm)
Next market in Tonbridge, Kent is on Sunday, June 9.
Aylesford Farmers Market (every third Sunday of the month, 9.30am - 1.30pm)
Next market in Aylesford, Kent is on Sunday, June 16.
Tonbridge Food Festival, Saturday, May 25 and Sunday May 26, 11am - 6pm.
I’ll be on stage throughout the two days, interviewing chefs and stallholders and cooking up a storm with local Kent ingredients. I'll share recipe ideas using food from the farmers market and interview many great local growers and producers who make wine, bread, jams, marmalade, and much more. Follow Tonbridge Farmers Market for updates.
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Bruce McMichael
Writer, Podcaster, Event Host & Cook, Lemonista
Website: www.thelemongrove.net
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Instagram: LemonGrovePics