The River Cafe Look Book: Recipes for Kids of all Ages

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The colorful book is a master class in graphic joy, to say nothing of what will happen in your kitchen. Concentrating on authentic Italian flavours, Rogers and Gray created their Mediterranean utopia in an unloved corner of Hammersmith.

Later, they say: when I worked with you my biggest problem with the day was making my ravioli thin enough to see through. Ruthie was set on the idea of the book being cut ‘flush’ (with the cover trimmed to the same size as the pages), which ultimately meant opting for a paperback rather than hardback.They found they effectively had ‘two books’: the collection of images and the recipes themselves, ‘which were, for quite a long time, black text on white paper,’ says Ruthie. Each pair features one of the fifty recipes in the book, accompanied by non-food image, which reflects the recipe photo in some way, making you think about the colours and textures of the food.

Yet, whichever you (or your kids) use, you’ll find their recipe easy to create, and packed with the kind of flavour that crosses the language barrier. Many of the restaurant’s classics have been pared back for the Look Book, too: in lieu of the chocolate nemesis cake, for example, readers will find a “pressed chocolate cake” which is easy enough to make with under 12s, but impressive enough to serve at a dinner party. A compilation of the London institution’s much-loved recipes, it’s light enough to carry around the kitchen as you move between a cutting board and a simmering pot, but still gorgeous enough to display. An idea started to form about how to create something that felt less infantalising – and more exciting. To make it you’ll need 1kg (2lb 4 oz) of courgettes (zucchini), ends trimmed; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil; the juice of a lemon; 10 basil leaves; 100g (3 ½ oz) of washed rocket (arugula) leaves;’ and 100g (3 ½ oz) Parmesan.If I have one piece of advice for anyone setting up on their own,” she says, “it is just: start small. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.