Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
BOOK OF THE WEEK with Linda Jennings. Kew on a Plate with Raymond Blanc, Raymond Blanc, ISBN 9781472224378 (Headline) BD13.900 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
THE best dish on Raymond’s menu, according to Raymond, is the ‘one that’s in season’.
In this unique TV series and book, Raymond Blanc and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have created a stunning Kitchen Garden at Kew to showcase the heritage and botany of our favourite plants as well as uncover their growing and cooking secrets.
We’ll explore how these plants arrived in the UK, brought back by intrepid plant hunters, how they flourished and how they spread to become part of our everyday meals.
The Kew gardeners offer their tips and expertise in growing this produce, from carrots to potatoes, rhubarb and gooseberries, apples and peas.
And, interwoven with these stories will be Raymond Blanc’s detailed tasting notes and 40 mouth-watering recipes. Raymond’s unparalleled expertise is drawn from three decades of experience in his own restaurant kitchen garden. He brings with him a lifetime’s passion about fruit and veg, knowing exactly which apple is the perfect variety for his Tarte Tartin and which potato makes the perfect Sunday roast.
With a wealth of stunning historical illustrations, woodcuts and images as well as beautiful recipe photography, this will be a book to treasure for life and a perfect gift.
* Read it now in paperback
The Son, Jo Nesbo, ISBN 9780099582151 (Vintage) BD3.500 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
This is a stand-alone fast-paced thriller from the master of Norwegian crime, Jo Nesbo.
Sonny Lofthus, son of a disgraced policeman who committed suicide, has happily sat in prison for 12 years listening to others crimes in return for the endless supply of heroin that dampens the pain of his existence.
Until, that is, he learns that the truth surrounding his father’s death may all have been a lie. Breaking out of jail, Sonny is soon creating a trail of havoc and terrible destruction in his quest for answers and revenge.
Simon Kefas, the long-serving police officer and old friend of his father, hot on his trail, seems to be the only one with a chance of stopping Sonny and bringing him in alive but with Nesbo things are never that simple.
If you are a Nesbo fan, you will not be disappointed with this exciting yet disturbing picture of rampant corruption within the prison and the police service. It is not a Harry Hole thriller but you still won’t be able to put it down and like his other books it will keep you thinking right until the last page.
Currently at number two in the charts, I will be surprised if it doesn’t make the number one spot this week. A great read!
* My favourite read-of-the-week
The One & Only, Emily Giffin, ISBN 9781444799019 (Hodder) BD4.5 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
The Number One New York Times bestseller.
Ask yourself: what would you do if the one for you was the only person you couldn’t have?
Shea Rigsby is content enough with her life in the small town of Walker, Texas. She has her dream fan-girl job working for Walker’s football team, a mostly satisfactory relationship with her boyfriend, and even if she’s got the sneaking feeling life is passing her by, she doesn’t quite have the confidence to do anything about it.
But everything changes when the mother of Lucy, Shea’s best friend, dies suddenly. Lucy’s father, now a widower, is the town’s charismatic football coach and Shea’s hero since she was a young girl.
Coach Carr is now alone and as he and Shea grow closer than ever, Shea realises she can’t help how she feels ...for the father of her best friend, who’s grieving for his wife.
The One & Only is a thoughtful, luminous and brilliantly observed novel about believing in something amazing for yourself – a modern day Jane Austen.
