Essence : Recipes from le Champignon Sauvage

David Everitt-Matthias, one of just a few highly respected chefs in Britain to have gained two Michelin stars, has been developing his unique cuisine over the past 25 years in a small restaurant in the Cotswold town of Cheltenham. Where other chefs have been seduced by the lure and bright lights of television and media stardom, David has been cooking relentlessly, not missing a single service since the day the restaurant's doors first opened in 1987. In the ensuing years he has established himself as a superb chef whose every new dish attracts the attention of fellow professionals and foodies alike. Amazingly, all this extraordinary food comes out of a kitchen with a brigade of just three! It is this necessary paring down of process and technique that makes his recipes so approachable for the domestic cook. His passion for wild food, which he searches out in the countryside near his home, adds a very singular and appealing dimension to his food and gives his book, Essence, its very special flavour. Beautiful photography by Lisa Barber completes this very special book. Foreword by Gordon Ramsay. David's follow-up book, Dessert, published in 2009, is also available.