The River Cafe Cookbook

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.

THE RIVER CAFE COOK BOOK is one of the most influential cookbooks ever published and is the winner of both the Glenfiddich Food Book of the Year and BCA Illustrated Book of the Year awards. Acclaimed for their innovative re-interpretation of Italian farmhouse cooking - CUCINA RUSTICA - at the River Cafe restaurant, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers have produced an outstanding selection of Italian recipes with an emphasis on uncomplicated food which is vibrant with flavour. Beautifully illustrated, THE RIVER CAFE COOK BOOK is a wonderful guide to this approachable and exciting form of Italian cooking and a celebration of a great restaurant.

Thirty years after its doors first opened, The River Café remains one of London's most iconic restaurants, loved for its innovative Italian food. Pioneering chefs Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers together changed the face of Italian food in Britain, championing seasonality well ahead of their time from their West London kitchen, which won a Michelin star in 1998 and has kept it ever since. The restaurant helped launch the careers of Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, to name but two. Over the course of decades, Rose and Ruth visited Italy time and again, fascinated by the subtleties of dishes from the many different, and diverse, regions of the country. Their unique approach to Italian farmhouse cooking was learned from local mothers, grandmothers, cousins and wine makers who invited them into their kitchens and shared wisdom and precious family recipes. This book gathers together Rose and Ruth's personal interpretations of those heirloom recipes. It's a celebration of the real, classic food of Italy; the traditional, regional food they ate on their travels; and the food they went on to cook at the restaurant and at home. These are the recipes they became well known for, as well as some that are cooked less and less in Italy these days and which Rose and Ruth longed to preserve and pass on.

Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray have an unswervingly clear vision of how food should be cooked: they take immense care over the ingredients and cook them as simply as possible. But one vitally important element in the art of preparing good food is one which we have increasingly lost sight of: seasonality. If you cook food in its right season it will inevitably taste better. And that's what River Cafe Cookbook Green is all about. Divided into months, the twelve chapters look at which vegetables, herbs, leaves, fungi and fruits are at their best at any given time, with information on how they are grown, which varieties to select and how to prepare them. The focus is also on organic produce, something in which Ruth and Rose have come to believe passionately. Meat and fish recipes are certainly included in the book, but the emphasis here is much more on vegetables, pasta recipes etc, in line with the way we are increasingly eating today. Fully illustrated throughout, and even larger than before, this cookbook is an education as well as a culinary treasure-trove.

With River Cafe Cook Book Easy Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers pioneered a new approach to cooking and eating. Knowing that people lead busy and demanding lives, they made their innovative Italian recipes even more accessible to those who love good food but have little time to prepare it. Recognising that the key to quick cooking is often in the ease of buying the ingredients, the easy recipes highlight the fresh produce you will need to shop for as well as the ingredients that are store cupboard essentials. Rose and Ruth then take you through simplified steps to cook great Italian dishes that are bursting with flavour and style. To complement this new concept, the cookbook has a fresh, dynamic design and superb photographs that will delight both new and established fans. Like River Cafe 'graduates' - most famously Jamie Oliver - you can learn the secrets of cooking fabulous Italian food, but now it's even easier.

The first River Cafe Cook Book was a publishing phenomenon, winning both the Glenfiddich Food Book of the Year and the BCA Illustrated Book of the Year Awards. As well as the innovative, striking design of the book, the appeal also lies in the exquisite simplicity of its food. A sophisticated re-interpretation of the cucina rustica or farmhouse cooking of northern Italy, the food of the River Cafe relies on good quality, fresh, seasonal produce. Ruth and Rose's direct, uncomplicated approach means that many of the dishes are strikingly simple - fish, meat and vegetables are chargrilled, pan-fried and baked - but all of them are vibrant with flavour. This cookbook retains the essential style of the River Cafe while reflecting the new directions Ruth and Rose's cooking took since their first book; meat is less prominent, for example, while vegetables and vegetarian food have become more important; techniques, such as wood-roasting are featured, always with advice on how the results can be achieved in a domestic oven. With over 200 new recipes, River Cafe Cook Book 2 is a must both for the many people who loved the first volume and for those who have yet to discover the delights of the River Cafe's unique style of Italian cooking.

'One of the most beautiful hardbacks we’ve ever seen' The Evening Standard Simple, modern, Italian cooking from one of the world's most iconic restaurants on its 30th birthday. This bold and beautiful cookbook shares over 120 simple, modern Italian recipes - revisiting favourites from the first iconic River Cafe blue book, updated for home cooks today, and introducing 30 new recipes, with new tips and anecdotes from Ruth Rogers. Written by Ruth and head chefs Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli, with new photography by Matthew Donaldson and Jean Pigozzi, River Cafe 30 is peppered throughout with previously unseen archive material and exclusive bespoke menu artworks from friends of the restaurant. A must-have for all food lovers.

The RIVER CAFE COOKBOOKS are a publishing phenomenon, with over a quarter of a million sold. Following a successful pilot on BBC, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers were asked by Channel 4 to make a series in which they showed how to make some of their fantastic dishes and explained why they cook how they do. This unique book, which is photographed at both the River Cafe and in Italy, complements the existing cookbooks, contains all the recipes shown in the series 1 and 2 of ITALIAN KITCHEN and provides a platform for the authors to explain the philosophy behind their food with passion and verve.