"Restaurants spend ten, fifteen, twenty years chasing three Michelin stars. For Core to achieve that in under four years is remarkable," writes chef Gordon Ramsay in his foreword to this stunning volume. Core is an intimate look at the renowned London restaurant through the eyes of Clare Smyth, Core's owner and head chef. The restaurant opened in Notting Hill in August 2017 and since then has provided an "extremely well-tuned gastronomical experience," says food writer Kieran Morris in her introduction, adding, "Smyth's food is superlatively elegant, redefining modern British food in its own terms--a collection of stories about ingenuity, nostalgia, humour and craft, told across a series of courses."
The story of Core unfolds in Smyth's own voice, as she outlines her journey from discovering a fascination with cooking and working in some of the best restaurants in the world to opening Core. This story is interspersed with beautiful photographs of the location, the food production and even the growers and producers who provide raw ingredients to the restaurant. Thanks to this volume--more of a coffee-table book with recipes than a traditional cookbook--anyone can have a small taste of Core right where they are. Recipes for featured menu items as well as "core basics" appear toward the end of the book. These include straightforward instructions for readers to attempt their own versions of Smyth's creations. Core is a must for anyone who appreciates the art in the creation of food. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer