Jon Croft Editions – The Bell Bookshop

The Seafood Restaurant Cookbook

Emma — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Featuring 50 signature recipes covering five decades, with evocative photography and tales of life at the quayside’s edge of seafood cookery, this is a glorious celebration of a world famous Cornish restaurant from the legendary chef and television icon, Rick Stein, and his ex-wife and business partner, Jill Stein. Rick and Jill Stein’s legendary seafood restaurant first opened its doors in Padstow in Cornwall in 1975 and has been setting the standards for cooking delicious fish dishes ever since. A glorious celebration of half a century of excellence through signature recipes, evocative images and charming tales of a family restaurant, this book is worthy testament to a remarkable Cornish hospitality legend. 50 signature seafood recipes – with a few classics desserts – sit proudly at the heart of the book, covering the very best from over five decades of hospitality excellence. Ten signature recipes from each decade show how a classic dish never dates when the star of the show is always the freshly caught fish, simply cooked and delicious to eat. Evocative photography and fond memories, spanning the half century of the restaurant’s existence at the quayside in Padstow, contribute to a must-have cookbook for all lovers of Rick Stein and The Seafood Restaurant.

Gaucho

Emma — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Gaucho has been serving Argentine steak – widely considered the best in the world – for over 30 years. Through more than 80 recipes, this book brings together the restaurant’s expertise for grilling with its passion for all things Argentina – from the gauchos who tend the cattle across Los Pampas, to the street-food vendors hawking choripán buns and empanadas to the chic urbanites who sip cocktails into the small hours in Buenos Aires’ hippest bars.

Throughout the book, evocative stories of history, food and culture, punctuate the carefully curated recipes, brought together by Gaucho’s Culinary Director, Anthony Ekizian to balance the influences of traditional and modern Argentina.

The recipes draw on Gaucho restaurants’ unrivalled reputation for exceptional steak cookery. The book starts with a chapter on Beef, including expert guidance on choosing the right steak cut, cooking it to perfection and serving it with sauces and sides that match each steak’s particular characteristics. Chapters on Chicken and Fish follow, before the spirit of easygoing Argentine food is celebrated in Relax (street-food, including choripan, chivito, fugazzeta and croquetas), Sundays (Gaucho’s fusion Sunday roast for family feasting), and Sweet (dulce de leche, churros, chocotorta?). The book concludes with Drinks – celebrating Argentina’s wine from the vineyards that nestle in the foothills of the Andes to Gaucho’s modern twists on favourite cocktails inspired by the bars in Buenos Aires.

Illustrated with breath-taking photography by award winning food and travel photographer Sam A. Harris, shooting the places and food of the country itself, as well as photography of every recipe, the book brings to life Gaucho’s fiery passion for Argentina and shows how the magic of this South American cultural mosaic can be reimagined with delicious results at home.

The Platinum Jubilee Cookbook

Emma — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

70 wonderful recipes, alongside profiles of Great British ingredients and diplomatic stories, to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee19th century British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston once declared that ‘dining is the soul of diplomacy’ and this unique and sumptuous new book, published as part of the celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 years on the Throne, presents 70 recipes from British embassies and high commissions around the world.With a foreword by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, this book celebrates the landmark occasion of the Platinum Jubilee by bringing together recipes – many of them served during Royal Visits – that are proudly British, inspired by local influences from the embassy’s host country, or a fusion of the two. Throughout, the book shows off the spectacular food and drink produce found within our shores that our embassies are proud to showcase around the world, including: · Spanish Marmalade, from the Madrid embassy · Green Fish Curry, from the Islamabad high commission · Jollof Rice, from the Abuja high commission · Mince Spies, from ‘C’, Chief of MI6 · Cardamom Lamb, from the New Delhi high commission · Chicken Wellington, from the Lisbon embassy · Toffee Apple and Rhubarb Crumble, from Chevening House · Whisky-laced Bread & Butter Pudding, from the Washington D.C. embassyAlongside the delectable recipes, stories abound of culinary diplomacy in action. Contrary to the clichés, you will not find an Ambassador’s table piled high with Ferrero Rocher, but food is nonetheless central to the diplomatic cause. Ameer Kotecha delves into the Foreign Office archives to reveal diplomatic dinner party anecdotes through the years – the good, the bad and the highly entertaining – and provides contemporary stories of food being used as a potent diplomatic tool. For the first time, this book tells the story of how nations break bread as a means to resolving differences, and seek to get to the negotiating table by first starting at the dinner table.A mixture of recipes, food history, anecdote and stunning photography, this book is an engrossing read for anyone with an interest in food, diplomacy or British heritage. With contributions from Her Majesty’s representatives around the world, it is also a celebration of Britishness that makes for a unique memento for the Platinum Jubilee, delving into an underexplored part of Her Majesty The Queen’s reign.The author is donating 100% of royalties from sales of this book to two charities: The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) and The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF).