Michel Roux’s Pastry

When it comes to pastry, even the most confident cooks get disheartened from the frustrating and complicated task of attempting to make it. Master chef Michel Roux, whose Waterside Inn restaurant in Oxfordshire has held three Michelin stars for an astonishing 20 years, is the perfect author to dispel the myth that pastry-making is beyond the reach of most cooks.

Designed in an easy-to-follow format, this compilation presents all of the classic pastries from quiche lorraine, traditional pizza, fillet of beef in a brioche crust, apple tart, pecan pie and lemon tart – to contemporary ideas for canapés, seafood pastries and filo croustades. Classic recipes are given a modern twist, while original recipes boast new combinations of flavours or a lighter and simpler style of cooking. Fully illustrated with Martin Brigdale’s stunning photographs and step-by-step guides to making the classic doughs make this book simple to work from. A good – perhaps essential – addition to any kitchen library.

Paperback Publication Date: May 2010. Price: £9.99. 304 pages. Quadrille Publishing Ltd.