“Few chefs know and love their beef like John Torode. Now he’s written a book that cuts through the bull and gives home cooks the confidence to find the best beef and do it full justice in the kitchen. A rare book and very well done!”
-Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, author of The River Cottage Meat Book, named the 2008 Cookbook of the Year by the James Beard Foundation

“BEEF is informative without the snobbery, it is a real book with a purpose–explaining more about the great Bovine beast and making it easy for the layman to appreciate. It’s amazing that it has taken so long for a comprehensive book to be published. Bravo John!"
-John Besh, Chef of Restaurant August, named Best Chef of the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2006

“Though based in the UK, Torode has a global palate, evidenced in dishes like Oxtail Ravioli, an easy Thai salad, Russian beef dumplings known as Pelmeni and Aussie meat pies. Torode’s volume is a modern classic on the subject of beef, deserving shelf space in the kitchen of any self-respecting carnivore.”
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A hugely popular and influential figure on the UK culinary circuit, John Torode is best known as the straight-talking co-presenter and judge of the hit BBC TV series MasterChef and for his well-established restaurant at the heart of London's meat market - Smiths of Smithfield. He is poised to make his mark across the pond with the U.S. publication of ‘BEEF’ and other bovine matters (February 10, 2009; $34.95).

John has an unrivaled passion for one of the greatest ingredients, beef, and in this meaty book, he not only gives the reader every which way to cook with beef, but also gives the history and importance of great and rare breeds, butcher's recommended cuts and true head-to-tail eating.

With his passion for the subject, the recipes are straight from the heart – down-to-earth, tasty, easy to make and gathered from around the world. They include classics such as pies, roasts, steaks and hamburgers as well as contemporary Italian, French and Thai specialties. The book is truly revealing about beef from farm to table and brings this great ingredient back into the limelight with a superb collection of recipes for the boys and the girls!

BEEF also features a jacket that opens out into a poster showing the different cuts of meat, where they come from and how best to cook them and a gatefold visual of how to cook Beef for 100!
*John Torode will be available for interviews in NYC on Feb. 19 & 20.
For more info, please contact:
Pamela Duevel (203-304-3773; tauntonbookspr@taunton.com) or
Janel Noblin (203-304-3893/JNoblin@taunton.com)

About the Author:
Australian by birth, John Torode came to the UK in the early 1990s and joined the Conran Group, where he was head chef at Mezzo. John now runs Smiths of Smithfield in the heart of London’s Smithfield Market and a new restaurant, The Luxe, is due to open in Spring 2009 in another historic London market, Spitalfields. Torode lives in London. Visit him at www.johntorode.com.

John is no stranger to television. As well as making numerous appearances on food and travel programs, he was the resident chef on ITV's “This Morning with Richard and Judy” for four years before being chosen to co-present the highly successful MasterChef and Celebrity MasterChef series for the BBC.

John has worked in some of the most prestigious restaurant kitchens in London, such as Pont de La Tour, Quaglino's, Mezzo, and the Bluebird restaurant and food market in King's Road.

John has been credited as being one of the main chefs to introduce Australasian food to the UK in the mid-1990s. He is also dedicated to sourcing high-quality, rare-breed meat, and to supporting organic food and the farming process. He has built relationships with many small farmers across the length of the UK.

In addition to being the author of three cookbooks, John is a regular contributor and columnist of Olive and BBC Good Food Magazine.