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Perhaps the best part of the book for the restaurantgoer, though, is the over 100 full-colour reproductions of actual menus- some at the cutting edge of contemporary culinary innovation, and others that are relics from another age.
From the classic to the innovative: a Christmas menu served during the siege of Paris in 1870, which featured rats and zoo animals; the wittily illustrated menu at Quo Vadis in London, which gave the restaurant a new lease of life; and many more.
( Le Gavroche), April Bloomfield( The Spotted Pig), Daniel Boulud( Bar Boulud), Ruth Rogers( The River Café) and many more, who reveal how they decide what food to serve and what inspires them to write their menus.
In this much-anticipated book, Nicholas Lander, restaurant critic and author of The Art of the Restaurateur, rejoices in the history, design and evolution of the world’ s favourite piece of paper: the menu.
Between the reproductions, Lander examines the principles of menu design and layout; the evolution of wine and cocktail lists; the menu as a record of the past; and he even takes readers behind the scenes at Mario Batali’ s Babbo, to sit in as the staff are briefed on the evening’ s menu.
All in all, this coffee table- or perhaps, dining table- book will make an ideal Christmas present for anyone who loves eating out, and is fascinated by what Lander calls( and we agree)‘ the world’ s favourite piece of paper’.
On The Menu by Nicholas Lander
Published by Unbound ISBN 978-1-78352-242-2