This book is an all-time classic, and multi-award winning garnering the André Simon Award in ‘94 and Glenfiddich Award in ’95. Many good cooks and chefs will have this in their bookshelf or in their kitchen. 

Roast Chicken and other Stories by Simon Hopkinson is a real find. A quintessential cook’s cookbook. Simon cooked at Bibendum, then at Hilare on Brompton Road in London. A place I fondly remember eating at when I was in London being interviewed for the William Heptinstall Award, many years ago.

There are simple dishes to be made from this book, and others a bit more technical, but overall, it’s a book for everyone. He has a chapter on sweetbreads, a long forgotten and utterly delicious part of an animal that’s so hard to find these days. But I adore a veal sweetbread, breaded and fried with a tartare sauce. There’s also a fabulous lamb sweetbread blanquette recipe. Another chapter focuses on parsley, with a few stories on the origin of curly parsley with a couple of recipes. It is brilliant.

There’s a delicious recipe for omelette Arnold Bennet—created at the Savoy—containing hollandaise sauce, béchamel, smoked haddock and cream. It’s so rich, but wonderful. I ate this omelette a few years ago after I was asked to cook a private dinner at the fabulous hotel. 

I think if I was starting out in a restaurant kitchen, I would have this book by my side as a guide. I will take it to bed tonight for inspiration. I love the bit about making a brine using rainwater or mineral water, a recommendation from Jane Grigson. Simon was the first of the proper cooks.