Kew on a Plate with Raymond Blanc
Accompanying a very special 4-part BBC2 series with Raymond Blanc and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this is the story of our favourite fruit and veg.
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’s 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.
RAYMOND BLANC is renowned for his passion for seasonal, sustainable and organic produce. When sourcing food for his two Michelin-starred restaurant, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, he makes sure to know everything about its provenance. With his gardeners, he has cultivated herb beds, a two-acre vegetable garden, a mushroom valley and heritage orchard. Raymond champions an ethical approach to cooking with sourcing and seasonality at the heart of it. He is involved in many movements and is honorary President of The Sustainable Restaurant Association and Vice President of Garden Organic.
THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW is a world-famous scientific organisation, holding an unrivalled position for its outstanding collections of plants and fungi, artefacts and art, world-class Herbarium as well as its expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development. From its beginnings as a small physic garden in 1759 it has grown to become a top international visitor attraction and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kew’s 132 hectares of stunning landscaped gardens and iconic glasshouses make it one of the world’s best-loved gardens, a paradise for plant lovers, offering a wealth of ideas and inspiration to all.
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