The restaurant was filled to overflowing with many of Soul’s patrons, as well as specially invited guests and media. Soul’s proprietor is the charming Judith Tabron, so very well-known in Auckland, and she wrote the book with Gareth Stewart…
Tuesday 16th August saw the launch of The Soul Cookbook at Soul Bar and Bistro – just in time for their 10th anniversary.
The restaurant was filled to overflowing with many of Soul’s patrons, as well as specially invited guests and media. Soul’s proprietor is the charming Judith Tabron, so very well-known in Auckland, and she wrote the book with Gareth Stewart, her Head Chef.
We were treated to 3 courses, straight from the book itself. The entrée was a Waikanae crab risotto with smoked mussels and crème fraiche, with the main being Baby roast chicken, Brussels sprouts, pancetta and chestnuts – followed by Lemon cream and lemon syrup cake. The food was quite simply perfect – the kitchen and the wait-staff working perfectly in tandem to make it all happen.
We got to hear from Nicola Legat from Random House who described Soul as ‘the epitome of Auckland’ and also from Lauraine Jacobs, who has known Judith for many years, who tested the recipes for home cooking. She has the pedigree to do the job with many years in the industry, and she is head of the Food Writers Guild.
Jacobs described the book as having ‘thoughtful accuracy’ and has she has always been impressed with the amazing kitchen and consistent staff. She praised the slow roasted lamb recipe, as well as the Country terrine with piccalilli and the Crystal Bay prawn boudin blanc on braised cabbage, as some of her favourite recipes.
As well as hearing briefly from Gareth Stewart, we finally heard from Judith Tabron herself. She spoke about her very first job with Logan Park in 1977 when the only fish you could get was frozen in shatter packs that needed to be dropped on the floor to get at the fish, and deep fried Camembert was a delicacy! It wasn’t until 1982 that she saw fresh herbs, and 1984 before she saw any variety of lettuce other than iceberg! Tabron spoke of trying to get milk-fed lamb 10 years ago when they first opened – and it only just happened that they found a supplier – last year. We forget how far our food industry has come in such a short time.
Tabron has worked for many of Auckland’s memorable names – Sails, Mikano, Hotel de Brett, as well as L’Escargot in London – and all that experience is packed into this one book.
The book itself is beautifully photographed by Aaron McLean and more than just a collection of beautiful recipes, it is a homage to Auckland – to the city we live in. There are chapters from Judith, from Garth and also from Geeling Ng who has been with Judith as operations manager for over 15 years.
This is not a book for kitchen novices, but rather true foodies who love the whole process of food, and its making. A divine book to add to any food-lover’s library. The book is published by Random House and is available from the 19th August for $60.
By Anya Brighouse
25 August 2011
Leave a Reply