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Cook España Drink España - ReviewJohn Radford & Mario Sandoval - Cookery & Wine Book
Cook España Drink España! A culinary journey around the food and drink of Spain - A review.
Cook España, Drink España! - The BookThe hottest young chef from Spain, Mario Sandoval, Michelin star winner at only 27, takes us on a whirlwind gastronomic tour of the country as a celebration of the diverse food and wine of Spain. The book travels through the autonomous regions of Spain, all seventeen of them with an introduction to each area by John Radford an award-winning journalist and member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros de Vino an honor for an Englishman. Somewhere in the planning details of this book, a core element has been mislaid. It has great information, nice photographs and famous names but it’s as if two books were amalgamated at the last moment and one rather unfocused book is the result. It is a good read, but it’s obviously not aimed at the new to Spanish Gastronomy group, as it is not detailed enough. If its target audience is the more understanding cook or wine connoisseur then some further details are lacking. Around Spain with Food and WineTravelling from Andalucia in the south to the northern coast of Galicia and from the harsh lands of Extremadura on Portuguese border to the Mediterranean Coast of Valencia, Sandoval and Radford share their knowledge and expertise. Each one of the chapters has an introduction, four dishes from traditional with a Sandoval twist and modern to avant-garde . A lot of the ingredients of the recipes would not be freely available outside Spain which rather renders some of the recipes useless to the gourmet home cook. Others such as a white-bean stew with black pudding and chorizo are the very basic sustenance of country dwellers and as such are very unappealing even Sandoval’s version and a profesional photographer at hand! John Radford's choice of three wines to go with each dish, offers no reason at all for the pairing. Not even any tasting notes or alternatives. It seems that the book was planned for English ex-pats who live in Spain. The Wine Tips suggest a cheap wine, a Sunday lunch wine and a more pricey special ocasion wine. Cocido Madrileño or Chickpea stew with vegetables and assorted meats as a Special Occasion meal with a mega-expensive wine - not in this household! It would have been nice to see explanations on why a particular wine had been chosen to go with a particular dish, a few sentences on taste, texture etc. And something about that individual choice that the expert says must go with each dish. Slightly enjoyable in parts and very disappointing in others - a real shame.
The copyright of the article Cook España Drink España - Review in Spanish Food is owned by Rachel L. Webb. Permission to republish Cook España Drink España - Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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