The life - and life behind the scenes - of one of Britain's best-known chefs. The Roux family is the most influential family associated with food in Britain. Through their various restaurants (Le Gavroche, Waterside Inn, Brasserie Roux) and catering services they have trained many of Britain's top chefs. Albert and Michel Sr brought French high cuisine to Britain in the sixties, much of the produce being brought twice weekly from France by Michel's mother in the family car. Michel grew up in an environment of respect for fine food and ingredients, of never settling for second best, and of traditional French family excursions to find wild food. He tells the story of what it was like to grow up as part of this close-knit family. He left school at 16 to start his first apprenticeship with Maitre Patissier Hellegourarche in Paris. He then worked with Alain Chapel at Mionnay before doing his mililtary service at the Elysee Palace cooking for Presidents Giscard d'Estaing and Francois Mitterand. After a stint cooking at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong and catering in London, he took over the running of Le Gavroche in 1994.

In this very personal book, Michel Roux distills a lifetime's knowledge into this definitive work on French food and cooking. Based around 100 classic recipes that have stood the test of time, this lavishly illustrated book explores the diversity of French cuisine, which for centuries has influenced so many other styles of cooking around the world. Michel gives modern interpretations of classic dishes, with his favorite variations and accompaniments. He provides expert guidance on classic techniques as well as fascinating stories about the origins of recipes, ingredients and regional culinary traditions.

This new edition of a bookshelf staple is a beautifully illustrated compilation of the best 100 egg recipes. Each chapter focuses on a way to cook eggs, from boiling, frying, poaching to baking and scrambling, and illustrates how to make the perfect omelette, mousse, soufflé and custard. Classic egg recipes are given a modern twist such as Hollandaise Sauce, Eggs Benedict, Lemon Soufflé, Crème Caramel and Pavlova with Summer Fruits. Exciting dishes boast new combinations of flavours or showcase a lighter, simpler style of cooking such as Soft Boiled Duck Egg with Asparagus Spears, Poached Egg Caesar Salad and Pistachio Crème Brulée.

A slice of culinary history. Classic French from leading London restaurant Le Gavroche, created and run by the Roux family, now in its 50th year. Le Gavroche opened its doors in 1967 under Michel and Albert Roux. Half a century later, the Roux family is a name synonymous with quality French cooking and the highest standard of service. Michel Roux Jr, who has been chef de cuisine at Le Gavroche for over 25 years now, selects 200 of the most popular classic recipes from its kitchens. Michel Roux Jr worked with many of France's top chefs and as a personal chef to the President of France before taking over at Le Gavroche. This edition of his first book marks the restaurant's 50th year anniversary, showing how to create the atmosphere and cuisine of Le Gavroche at home, with advice on dining French style and how to select what to drink, from aperitif to sweet wine.

Michel Roux Jr's delicious collection of French recipes for the modern home cook. Michel Roux Jr is one of the best-known and most loved French chefs in Britain. He runs the renowned two-Michelin star restaurant Le Gavroche in London, as well as a number of other restaurants, and has presented many popular food programmes on TV. In The French Revolution, Michel revisits the classic dishes from his traditional French upbringing, but takes a modern approach that adapts his favourite recipes to suit home cooks today who are looking for light, healthy and easy-to-make options. Gone are the very rich creamy sauces, heavy meat dishes and complicated cooking techniques, as Michel replaces these with recipes that delight the palate without threatening the waistline. For instance, a delicate pea tart with filo-like brik pastry, a new hollandaise sauce containig hardly any butter and lots of clever low-calorie dressings. Michel also features recipes that can be made in one pot for speed and convenience, such as the delicious Poulet Basquaise - a fragrant, simple stew of chicken, peppers and spices. Other dishes can be put together from store cupboard ingredients for a quick mid-week supper - such as Chickpea and harissa soup, to be served alongside one of his many simple salads, tempting vegetable dishes or speedy desserts. These are not restaurant dishes - this is the food that Michel and his family cook and eat at home. In his beautiful new book, Michel brings the great cuisine of his native land into the 21st century - truly a French food revolution!

Pastry dispels the myth that pastry-making is complicated and beyond the reach of many cooks. Designed in an easy-to-follow format, this chunky compilation presents all the classic pastries in the simplest possible way, along with an inspiring collection of original recipes. Trained in the classic French style, and with more than thirty years experience as a top chef, Michel Roux has a wealth of culinary expertise to offer on this subject. Each chapter is based on a particular dough and starts with a step-by-step technique spread. The recipes that follow use the basic pastry in a variety of ways - both sweet and savoury. Recipes range from great classics, such as quiche lorraine, pecan pie and lemon tart, to contemporary ideas for canapés, seafood pastries and filo croustades. Classics are given a modern twist, while innovative recipes offer new flavour combinations or a lighter style of cooking. Superbly illustrated throughout, this cookbook is destined to become the new authoritative guide to pastry-making.