Product Description

John Bishop of the renowned Bishop's Restaurant in Vancouver takes greate delight in showing people how enjoyable it is to cook. Over the years, he has created a collection of recipes that showcase his enthusiasms: wonderful dishes that feature seasonal ingredients with the trademark Bishop's emphasis on flavour and texture but that are easy to prepare.

in addition to using fresh, local ingredients in season, chef John Bishop believes in making the preparation and presentation of food as simple and as elegant as possible. It's this philosophy that is the underpinning of Bishop's Restaurant and of the way he cooks. Simplicity in cooking is learning to let quality seasonal ingredients speak for themselves.

Here are more than 100 new, easy and tempting recipes to prepare throughout the changing seasons -- spring, summer, autumn and winter. For ease of use, the recipes are organized into sections of appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, side dishes, and desserts.

With the recipes, there are many useful and friendly tips about sleecting produce and preparation techniques. John Bishop also supplies wine suggestions for entrees and a section on basic stocks. And he offers interesting and helpful ideas for people who enjoy cooking at home for family and friends: menu suggestions for special events, as well as tips on preparing for and giving dinner parties, setting up an attractive buffet and keeping a dinner party diary.

(20021001)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #451290 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .77" h x 6.74" w x 11.24" l, 1.93 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 126 pages

Amazon.ca
Many of the recipes in Simply Bishop's, the eponymous Vancouver restaurateur's third cookbook, were created for a class Bishop and his chef, Dennis Green, taught to showcase local foodstuffs harvested and prepared according to the rhythms of the year. With ingredients such as morels, chanterelles, duck breasts, and heirloom tomatoes, these are recipes for special occasions. Keeping to the book's title, however, the introduction lists several good ideas for lessening the hassle of entertaining: "One secret ... is to keep it simple. Another secret is to plan. A third ... is to prepare dishes or parts of dishes ahead of time." For instance, in a section about stocks, Bishop suggests the time-saving shortcut of freezing stock in stackable containers and storing it in zip- lock bags. He also includes a recipe for a stock based on corn cobs, illustrating his desire to experiment and avoid waste. Since the theme is seasonal, Bishop cross-references the sections of the book--from appetizers to dessert--to the appropriate seasons. Full-page colour photos of finished dishes appear every four to six pages, alternating with smaller, uncaptioned black-and-whites, usually vegetable gardens, grocery counters, or close-ups of cooking procedures.

The simplicity of these elite recipes is admirable, but occasionally beside the point. Some main ingredients are often expensive and may not be available in small towns. Also, some dishes have many clashing ingredients, typifying the excesses of fusion cuisine, as with the halibut fillet sandwiched between a pesto sauce and red lentils. That said, many of the celebratory dinners herein will have guests asking for seconds. A meal of Slow-cooked Pork Shoulder with Pan-roasted Vegetables followed by Spiced Poached Pears with Red Wine Caramel is a crowd pleaser, no matter how simple the preparation. --Ted Whittaker

Review
"Seriously recommended for everyone passionate about eating superb local food." (Georgia Straight 20021001)

"Like the restaurant, this book is solid, understated, gracious; helpful and delicious at every turn." (Globe & Mail )

About the Author
Dennis Green was born in Alberta, though his family has lived in British Columbia for five generations. After extensive travels with his parents, he returned to BC when he was seven years old. His love of cooking led him to apprentice at the Avenue Grill in Vancouver, and he went on to serve as the chef at Barbara-Jo's Restaurant. He has a passion for regional-style cooking using organic, fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. He joined the team at Bishop's in 1993 and was chef there from 1997 to 2007.

John Bishop's love for cooking began when he was a child growing up in Newton Powys, Wales. Starting out by helping in his mother's kitchen to eventually as a young man learning the formal requirements of traditional French food preparation at a hotel school. After working as a chef in Great Britain, Bishop moved to Vancouver in 1973. At the urging of friends and investors during the recession of 1985, John opened Bishop's. Since then, Bishop's has consistently been one of the city's top restaurants. Annually the restaurant receives top grades from local as well as all the respected North American guides.

Bishop has authored four cookbooks with Douglas & McIntyre: Bishop's, Cooking at My House, Fresh and Simply Bishop's.

Dawne Gourley was born in Vancouver, where she has worked in restaurants for twenty-five years. In 1999, Dawne joined Bishop's as pastry chef, where she creates new recipes every week, inspired by the changing seasons and the restaurant's focus on the best ingredients available. Dawne has contributed to both Simply Bishop's and Fresh.