“It's probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.”
The Luxury Book Collection from Adam Handling gives readers a unique insight into everything that Adam and his restaurant and bar teams have learned and developed over the years.
The collection, which features Adam’s three books Frog by Adam Handling, Why Waste?, and Perfect, Three Cherries - highlights everything from his recipes and ingredients, to his approach to sustainability, as well as an honest look behind the scenes, developing some of the most respected food and drink venues in the country.
Discussing the books, Adam admitted: “It didn’t really begin as a collection. I started off with one book and then as I was writing it, another book popped into it and then another one as well.”
Highlighting each book’s different themes Adam explained that he didn’t want it to be just a run-of-the-mill cookbook but instead wanted to make something more significant for the modern chef, looking to make their mark in the world of British dining.
"I didn’t want to just create a cookbook which has all the beautiful pictures and great recipes in it, but also a book to use the waste from what you're making as well. I think that is very important, especially when younger chefs or people want to be more sustainable or use food waste in a luxury fashion,” explained Adam.
Alongside recipes and personal memories, the books are filled with stunning imagery, ingredient and produce maps of Britain and personal photos from Adam’s own family collection.
Each of the collection’s three books feature beautiful illustrations with every aspect of the books thoughtfully designed by Adam himself.
“It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” admitted Adam.
Describing the process in more detail, he explained: "That whole ‘put it down on paper’ scenario is difficult but also trying to make sure it's completely factually correct is also super hard. So, the research that went into making sure that my knowledge was correct was really crazy. The book took years to make - it wasn't one that just quickly wrote itself.”
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE COLLECTION?
Frog by Adam Handling is based on Adam’s Michelin-starred flagship restaurant, and features in the region of 100 dishes from all his London kitchens, including Adam’s very first independent restaurant.
Focusing on ‘British food, inspired by London’, it takes the reader on a journey across the British Isles, showcasing exceptional homegrown produce, the incredible suppliers whose ingredients feature in his dishes, and foraging and seasonality guides.
Revealing his favourite themes of the book, Adam said: "The story elements of why these dishes were created for our Restaurant Group; for example, The Sturgeon dish, with the waffle, the cream, caviar, and maple syrup. That's a dish which has already inspired some people's menus I've already seen as of the other day, which is really quite nice and is one of the personal stories of what built The Frog.”
The second book, Why Waste? demonstrates Adam’s passion for sustainability and looks at the ways we can all utilise commonly wasted ingredients and transform them into spectacular dishes, illustrating that there should simply be no such thing as food waste.
Describing what readers can take away from the book, Adam explained: "Why Waste? is more on the educational side of utilising what we always throw away in professional kitchens and just letting people think outside the box to create their own sustainable dishes."
Why Waste? isn’t just a collection of sustainable, zero-waste recipes, but also a comprehensive guide to sustainability and using seasonal produce; featuring detailed foraging and produce guides to the British Isles, great recipes, smart techniques, practical advice and tips for chefs and home cooks.
Taking its name from Adam’s favourite cocktail, the third book in the collection Perfect Three Cherries, is the chef’s cocktail book, featuring a raft of recipes that are sustainable takes on the classics. To Adam, creating a cocktail is just as much an art as designing a plate of food, and this book contains recipes, cocktail histories, drink styles, glassware, techniques, lab equipment, different types of ice – everything he’s learned since launching his own bars.
With forewords and contributions from some of the most respected leaders of the food and drink industry including Gareth Ward, Alex Dilling, Pierre Koffman, Ben Elliot, Charlotte Hill OBE, Mike Robinson, Agostino Perrone, Erik Lorincz, Mark Sansom and Anna Sebastian, each of the books within the collection represent important resources for professional chefs from across country.
Commenting on what it was like to have this recognition from some of hospitality’s biggest names, Adam said: "It makes it really humbling for me that they thought that it was worth putting their name attached to the book."
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