Exploring Taste and Flavour - Hardcover

This unique book applies the Eastern theory of taste to all dishes and ingredients, with sensational results. Truly delicious and stimulating food is created when the four main tastes that we can recognise (hot, sweet, salt and sour) are present and in balance. Here are 150 impeccably designed recipes that guarantee to excite all the senses, using the fresh flavours, vibrant colours and contrasting textures of seasonal produce. When all these bases are covered, food is sublime, and with Tom Kime's guidance, easy and enjoyable to prepare for every occasion, from on-the-run lunches to relaxed and decadent dining. Tom's comprehensive introduction details the Eastern taste theory and explains why it can make such a spectacular difference to the food that we cook and eat at home. The nine chapters offer recipes for every occasion; Sauces, Light Bites, Salads, Soups, Quick Dishes, One-pot Dishes, Mains, Sides and Desserts. The recipes are inspired by the great classics of world cuisine and incorporate three-dimensional taste in every bite - from Hot and sour green mango salad to Salt-and-spice roasted pork belly with caramelised peanut, chilli and lime sauce to Creme brulee with cinnamon and earl grey. Magazine-style features throughout the book enlighten you about important aspects of cooking such as using a pestle and mortar and what to look for when buying fresh fish. Once learnt, the principles of the Eastern taste theory enable an extremely creative and instinctive way of cooking.

Tom cut his catering teeth at Conran's Le Pont de la Tour, the River Cafe and Rick Stein's restaurant in Padstow, before moving to Sydney to work at Darley Street Thai with David Thompson. He has written and presented two TV series on Vietnamese and Thai cooking and refined this expert knowledge in the creation of Tesco's Thai food range. He regularly writes for Olive and BBC Good Food Magazine and is head chef of the Cutting Edge Food & Wine School in East Sussex. At a recent party he cooked for Sam Neill and Kirsten Dunst and he created unique Moulin Rouge-themed canapes for the film's media premiere.