From the Shelf: Polpo by Russell Norman – Lamb Chump with Caponata

Venice isn’t just Harry’s Bar. The real spirit lives in the backstreets, in the bàcari where cicchetti (Venetian tapas) line the counters — simple, sharp, stripped-back flavours.

Russell Norman captured that in Polpo (published by Bloomsbury, 2012), a cookbook that reads like a love letter to the lagoon. The recipes? No fuss. Four or five ingredients, maybe less. All about what you can take away and still hold the essence.

The standout this week: Lamb chump with caponata (page reference varies). Caponata — that sweet-sour Sicilian vegetable mix — is a dish that moves around the plate. Pair it with lamb, with fish, with cheese. At Mezzo on Waldorf Street, the first restaurant I worked in, we ran our own version with goat’s cheese. Clean plates, every time.

This book earns its place on the shelf. And that dish still earns its place on the table.

Venice isn’t just Harry’s Bar. The real spirit lives in the backstreets, in the bàcari where cicchetti (Venetian tapas) line the counters — simple, sharp, stripped-back flavours.

Russell Norman captured that in Polpo (published by Bloomsbury, 2012), a cookbook that reads like a love letter to the lagoon. The recipes? No fuss. Four or five ingredients, maybe less. All about what you can take away and still hold the essence.

The standout this week: Lamb chump with caponata (page reference varies). Caponata — that sweet-sour Sicilian vegetable mix — is a dish that moves around the plate. Pair it with lamb, with fish, with cheese. At Mezzo on Waldorf Street, the first restaurant I worked in, we ran our own version with goat’s cheese. Clean plates, every time.

This book earns its place on the shelf. And that dish still earns its place on the table.

From the Shelf: In Search of Perfection by Heston Blumenthal

Heston Blumenthal’s In Search of Perfection (Bloomsbury) dives into eight recipes rebuilt from the ground up. From the truth behind spaghetti bolognese to a simple star anise trick with onions — it’s obsession on a plate.

Why This Book Still Matters

This week’s book I’ve pulled down from the shelf is In Search of Perfection by Heston Blumenthal, published by Bloomsbury.

This one isn’t a “stick it on the shelf and forget it” kind of book. It’s a solid dive. Eight recipes in total — but when I say recipes, don’t think quick dinners. Each one is pulled apart until you see how far you can push a dish. History, culture, memory, method. Nothing left untouched.

That’s what makes it special: the way Heston dissects food, showing you that what we take for granted on the plate has a whole story and a thousand details behind it.

Spaghetti Bolognese — Or Is It?

The recipe that’s always stuck with me is what we like to call spaghetti bolognese.

Except here’s the kicker: bolognese as a sauce doesn’t even exist. It’s another one of those made-up British names that took root. Go to Bologna, and you’ll find ragù — slow, rich, deep — and it’s nothing like the stuff we grew up calling “spag bol.”

“Bolognese as a sauce doesn’t even exist. What you find in Bologna is ragù — and it’s a whole different approach.”

Heston does what he does best: pulls it apart, layer by layer. He rebuilds the dish from the ground up, chasing depth of flavour, looking at technique, even questioning the ingredients we think belong there.

It’s not about speed. It’s not about convenience. It’s about obsession. A chef refusing to accept the default version of anything.

Chef’s Tip from the Book

💡 Sweat onions with a whole star anise.
It gives a richer, meatier umami hit. Works in any onion dish — a small move that changes everything.

What It Teaches You

That’s why this book has never left my shelf.

Every dish inside is a lesson: how to push further, how to respect detail, how to never stop asking “what if?” Eight recipes, yes — but each one is a masterclass in going beyond the ordinary.

Pick it up, and you’ll never look at something as simple as shepherd’s pie, roast chicken, or bolognese the same way again.

From the Shelf: For the Love of Food by Dennis Cotter

A curveball this week: Dennis Cotter’s For the Love of Food. Pure vegetarian cooking that makes you forget there’s no meat or fish — standout recipe: maple chilli roasted beetroot with glazed pecans.

From the Shelf: For the Love of Food by Dennis Cotter

This week’s pick is a curveball. A book that feels different the moment you read it. You get halfway through before you realise — there’s no meat, no fish, nothing. It’s vegetarian from start to finish. And you don’t miss it for a second.

The book is For the Love of Food by Dennis Cotter. For three decades he ran Paradiso in Cork, long before vegetarian cooking was fashionable. The Guardian once called him the best vegetarian chef in the British Isles. Back when I started cooking, the “veg option” on most menus was a tomato tart or a mushroom risotto. Some restaurants still haven’t moved past that. Dennis went further. He made vegetables worth the main stage.

This book’s also personal to me. The food styling was done by an old friend and colleague, chef Fergal Conolly. Respect, brother. That makes this one extra special.

The Standout Recipe

The dish that grabs me here: maple chilli roasted beetroot with glazed pecans, wild rice, butter greens and orange yoghurt. Sweetness, spice, crunch, freshness — everything working in balance.

It’s straightforward to make. Roast the beets with maple and chilli, glaze the pecans, cook the rice, stir through greens, and bring it all together with a sharp orange yoghurt. Some parts can be prepped in advance, then finished when you’re ready to serve. It’s the kind of dish you can put in the middle of the table and everyone — kids, family, guests — will dig in.

Why It Earns Shelf Space

Vegetables here aren’t an afterthought. They’re treated with the same respect as any cut of meat or fish. That’s the point. Cotter shows just how much can be done when you let produce lead the way. That’s why this book stays on my shelf.

Save it. Cook it. Pass it on.

Links: Paradiso Restaurant · Dennis Cotter in The Guardian · About Royal Nyborg Smokehouse