French Lessons – Justin North

A book review by Franz Scheurer

Justin North’s new book will make an excellent teaching aid for a new generation of cooks, taking beginners step-by-step through a complex array of techniques and flavours. But, for the rest of us, it’s also simply a joy to read, with informative and appropriate photography by Steve Brown.

Early chapters deal at length with flavourings, stocks, soups, savoury sauces, eggs, preserving and confits, before going on to explain steaming, poaching and sous-vide, fricasées, ragouts, braising, slow cooking, grilling, frying and roasting. Vegetables are singled out and, towards the end, North deals with sweet sauces, fruits, sorbets, ice creams, gelatine, meringues, soufflés and chocolate, finishing with pastry, breads and yeast doughs, cakes, biscuits and petits fours. If you still have imaginary room, you’ll find the cheese course concluding the book.

French Lessons is more than a cookbook; if you simply select a recipe from the index, you may fail to recreate the aromas, flavours and textures that North produces daily. The idea is to read and absorb the ‘teaching sections’ before you venture on to the recipes. This is not an easy book to read; if you’re looking for a quick recipe bible this may not be the right book. If, however you’re after a book that can lift your cooking skills to the next level and improve the way you handle food, then you’ll find something new on almost every page.

And, once techniques are mastered, the recipes are divine. I adore potatoes (must by my Swiss upbringing) and the ‘Potato Velouté’ hits the right spot. North’s ‘Hazelnut emulsion’ is pure genius and the ‘Salade Provençale’ is a work of art. Eat the ‘Little Gruyère and Onion Tartlets with Chive Sabayon’ on a cold winter’s day or learn how to make a ‘Pâté de Campagne’ in easy to follow steps with instructive photographs. Whenever I eat at Bécasse I gorge myself on some kind of pork dish and the ‘Confit Belly of Pork’ is just the ticket. I grew up with Blanquette, a classic French provincial white braise, and to find a recipe for ‘Blanquette of Veal’ in the book makes me smile. A ‘Crème Brûlée’ can be really hard to get right, but if you follow North’s recipe step-by-step you will succeed. I have made puff pastry myself and the difference compared to commercially available pastry is immense. North shows us exactly how to make our own and he is thorough; try it, you’ll be surprised just how good it is.

I recommend French Lessons to anyone serious about taking the time to learn more about the art of cooking and striving for perfection. If you’re a ‘speed reader’ you might just miss too much.

Published by Hardie Grant Books

ISBN 978 1 74066 537 7

RRP $ 59.95