ROMSEY resident, Paul Dawkins has published a new cookery book, “Bistrot Cookery – Cooking Bistrot food at home”.

Bistrots exist across Europe. In some cases, they are less expensive option to other leading restaurants.

The origin of the bistrot is in Paris and, as a consequence, bistrot food tends to be of a traditional European and particularly French style. In modern times, bistrots have embraced the popular desire for Southern European, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking.

Bistrot Cookery brings bistrot cooking to the home. It contains a broad range of contemporary and traditional recipes that are reasonably priced and not too difficult to prepare.

Paul said: “I wrote this book because I have strong ideals in the way food is sourced, prepared and served. I wanted a cookery book that contained recipes from across Europe and the Mediterranean. I wanted it to encompass innovation of modern cuisine at the same time as building on traditional ways of cooking. I am a strong believer in using fresh local produce and I wanted a cookery book that reflected this.

“The recipes needed to be practical and reasonably easy to prepare at home and particularly when entertaining guests. I was looking for a cookery book that could be used for everyday cooking, for special occasions and for entertaining. My ideal cookery book needed to have easy-to-follow recipes but should not be patronising.

“Another one of my beliefs is that a meal is not complete without wine but the subject of wine is often not understood or is ignored by chefs even though they can produce the most wonderful food. I was keen, therefore, that the book should contain wine recommendations for each dish.”

The book is available from www.lobsterclawbooks.co.uk and major book shops.