OP: The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating

Ecco, New York, 2004. Paperback. Very Good. Signed first US printing.

Chef Fergus Henderson (1963– ), at his landmark London restaurant St. John, is one of the major creative forces in the food world. In the early 1990s he introduced an imaginative, energetic style of cooking that owed more to the very best home kitchens than it did to cheffy tradition. The cooking is bolder than it is refined, most notably in its use of the variety meats, or offal—tripe, spleen, hearts, kidneys, brains, etc.

Henderson’s sorrel, chicory, and crispy ear salad—an accompaniment for a meal of pig’s head and trotters—is typical, based on country food but, through his ingenuity, given a new personality. Quickly following publication of his first book in 1999, Nose to Tail Eating, chefs on both sides of the Atlantic flocked to eat at his restaurant and to experiment with his ideas. He almost single-handedly brought about a turn-of-the-21st century culinary revolution.

The book was an instant cult classic, often difficult to find as cooks and chefs hoarded their copies. Only after its US release, revised and retitled The Whole Beast (2004), did it become widely available. It is that first US printing we offer here.

Our copy, only issued in paperback, is in Very Good condition with minor bending to the corners and is totally clean inside. It is signed and inscribed by Henderson to a previous owner.