River Cafe London: Thirty Years of Recipes and the Story of a Much-Loved Restaurant: A Cookbook

by Ruth Rogers, Sian Wyn Owen, Joseph Trivelli, Rose Gray

Overview

A stunning Italian cookbook collecting 120 recipes from the legendary restaurant that sets “the benchmark for Italian food outside of Italy" (Eater).

At the River Cafe in London, Ruth Rogers and her co-founder, Rose Gray, helped to shape the way we eat, trained a new generation of chefs, and, with their best-selling cookbooks, transformed the way we prepare Italian food at home.

Now, with River Cafe London, Ruth and her restaurant’s head chefs, Joseph Trivelli and Sian Wyn Owen, invite you to join them in marking thirty years of memories and good food—the simple, high-quality Italian cooking that River Cafe has been providing since 1987.

Here are 120 recipes for incomparable antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni, and dolci—both revised and updated favorites from Ruth and Rose’s first cookbook, as well as thirty new classics from their menus today: Ravioli with Ricotta, Raw Tomato, and Basil; Spaghetti with Lemon; Risotto Nero with Swiss Chard; Pork Braised with Vinegar; and, of course, their famous Chocolate Nemesis cake.

River Cafe London also incorporates Ruth’s memories of the restaurant’s storied history and of its founding: unseen archive images; careful cooking tips and hand-drawn illustrations; new photography by Jean Pigozzi and Matthew Donaldson; and bespoke menu designs from the restaurant’s many artist friends.

This beautiful cookbook encapsulates the essence of the restaurant and its food—and is a must-have for all food lovers to cook from time and again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525521303
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/10/2018
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	286,553
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray (1939–2010) founded the River Cafe in 1987. Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli, both head chefs at the River Cafe, have worked in its kitchens for more than sixteen years.

Read an Excerpt

Change is timeless. A good restaurant is alive. It lives, it grows and so do its recipes.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "River Cafe London"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Ruth Rogers.
Excerpted by permission of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

01/15/2018
This celebration of the 30th anniversary of London’s lauded Italian restaurant is more victory lap than fresh offering. Much has changed since Rogers and Gray met at a McDonald’s in March 1987 to talk about opening a restaurant called the River Cafe in a reclaimed warehouse space. What was initially a sandwich shop eventually transformed into a Michelin-starred success. Cofounder Gray died in 2010, and since then the restaurant’s signature simple style (many recipes have five or fewer ingredients) have not changed and now feel commonplace. That said, the authors include many delightful and trusted recipes, among them chickpea-flour farinata, pappa al pomodoro, nettle risotto with taleggio, sea bass baked in salt, veal shins with sage cooked in Barolo wine, and zucchini alla scapece. Instructions are sparse and recipes free of headnotes, so the reader has little clue what to do if Castelluccio lentils aren’t available, or why to choose one chocolate cake over another. Chef April Bloomfield contributes a perfunctory introduction. Photographs and whimsically decorated menus by artists who are members of the “extended family,” including a polka-dotted spread by Damien Hirst, are fun. Ultimately, however, the 30 new recipes included here do little to justify the cover price for what feels like little more than a reprint of previous recipes. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

An instant classic. . . . Those who know the original blue book—or landmark restaurant—will fall in love with it all over again. Those who don’t have a surprise in store. . . . The River Cafe has always espoused the simple, ingredient-forward ways of the Italian kitchen; revisit it here and now in a book built to engage cooks for years to come.” —Eater

"Ruth Rogers celebrates 30 years of creating some of the most exciting Italian food outside of Italy. The book features classic recipes, new favorites, and memories of Rogers’s late cofounder, Rose Gray." —Rachael Ray Every Day

“Practically perfect in every way. It is artistic. It has a story to tell. . . . It doesn’t gussy up any of its food, which is a hallmark of the famous cafe on the Thames. . . . [These] Italian recipes are simple yet empowering.” —The Washington Post

“The next best thing to having Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray in your kitchen.” —Goop

“When Rogers Gray Italian Country Cookbook was published in 1995, it launched a food moment, the ripples of which are being felt to this day. . . . While the dishes at the fabled restaurant were flawless, the published recipes were . . . rather loosey-goosey. This stunningly designed edition corrects that, as the recipes have been tested and updated. Like the restaurant, they feel as vital as ever.” —Christine Muhlke, Bon Appétit
 
The original River Cafe Cookbook debuted in 1996, and this update transforms it into a book that feels as relevant and modern as anything written today. . . .  The overall ethos remains timeless: Simple food (many of the recipes feature 10 ingredients or less) merely requires great ingredients and an unwavering dedication to getting it right." —Grub Street

“[A] lovingly curated collection of favorites.” —The Wall Street Journal

“River Café London distinguishes itself as something worthy of both display and dinner-making. . . . Indeed, it might be worth getting a copy for the kitchen and the coffee table.” —T Magazine

“An intriguing mix of updated classic recipes from the restaurant and 30 new ones like ravioli with ricotta, raw tomato and basil—all of which are refreshingly straightforward in their tone. With art direction by Michael Nash Associates, which balances vintage menus drawn or painted on by artists who frequent the restaurant, with black and white photos inside the space, and crisp shots of food, the book belongs as much on a coffee table as it does in the kitchen.” —Food & Wine

“A vibrantly designed celebration of the restaurant’s 30th anniversary.” —Melissa Clark, The New York Times

"With its minimalist cover and hot-pink page edges, [River Cafe London] is a beautiful object in and of itself, but also feels very necessary. The 120 recipes culled from the playbook of this legendary London restaurant—where chefs Rogers and Gray transformed Italian staples into no-nonsense masterpieces—travel from fig and cannellini bean salad to pork braised in milk, garlic and sage, buttressed by gorgeous photography." —Newsday 

“This book, with its bold graphics and bright colors, is like an invitation to eat at one of the best restaurants in the world. . . . I hope River Cafe London will change your life the way working at The River Cafe changed mine.” —April Bloomfield, from the Foreword

From the Publisher