Photo by Matthieu Lavanchy
As far as I'm concerned, you can find some of the best cooking in London in Café Cecilia, and I’m always urging those visiting to make sure to eat there, and not just go to the bigger, more established restaurants. I’m a West Londoner, and Café Cecilia is (from my perspective) way out East, so I don’t get there as much as I'd like, but whenever I eat Max Rocha’s food, I feel a sense of hope. Perfect simplicity is hard to find, as Diana Henry notes in her introduction to this wonderful book, and whenever one comes across it, it makes the soul a little bit lighter. It’s not a fancy restaurant by a long chalk, nor a dauntingly pricey one, but the food, while simple, is exquisite: uncluttered, unshowy, pitch-perfect, and bright with life; it’s the sort of cooking in the kind of environment — laid-back, assured, collegiate and exceptional — that I thrill to in Australia, but find here less often. For me, there is no higher praise.
Even better, now Max Rocha has produced his first book — and it’s a beauty! I read it in advance as a PDF and thus had no idea of the size and elegance of the finished article: it’s large format, with a calming amount of white space, almost-art-book-sized photos that are free of super-styled decorativeness, and it radiates and bestows confidence and clarity; I rather feel this first edition will very soon become a collector’s item. Rocha’s Irish provenance is paramount: it underscores everything, but it’s as much about a sensibility as about ingredients and traditions. Still, it’s very much in evidence in the gorgeously fudgy Guinness Bread which is the first recipe in the book and the first thing to land on your table in the restaurant; this, in turn, leads to a couple of other favourites of mine, the Guinness Treacle Tart and the Guinness Bread Ice Cream. And now I’m going to have to tell you about some of my other favourites, most of which I’ve eaten in situ. I shall begin with a knock-out dish that I find hard not to order if it’s on the menu, the Mussels and Datterini Tomatoes on Toast; then there’s the gossamer light Sage and Anchovy Fritti; Pig’s Head Croquettes; Ham Hock and Roast Shallot Salad; Wild Garlic and Potato Soup; Pappardelle with Walnut Sauce; Broccoli and Sausage Pasta; Cold Roast Beef, Horseradish and Dripping Toast; Rabbit Leg, Roast Shallots, Bacon and Mustard; Marmalade Ice Cream; Raspberry and Almond Tart; and, the positively iconic recipe I just had to share with you today, namely the — wait for it! — Deep-Fried Bread and Butter Pudding with Cold Custard.
Café Cecilia Cookbook by Max Rocha is published by Phaidon.
Photos by Matthieu Lavanchy.
