Degustation - Alain Fabregues

[caketin]

I luckily went into Kitchen Warehouse at the right time today and had the opportunity to get Alain Fabregues sign his cookbook 'Degustation'. He is head chef and owner of The Loose Box in Mundaring (near Perth, WA). I'm so excited by his recipes I am going to try cook most of the things from his book! I don't think I'll splurge on the truffles to make all of his dishes though! If anyone else has a passion for French cooking, could you possibly share some recipes that I could make in my Thermo? Thanks in advance!

[cookie1]

Lucky you.

[Frozzie]

just checked the book out online...wow kind of overpriced in my opinion..in oz he is selling it at 85AUD and here 75 euros lol..yep definately wont be bothering...

[caketin]

Yes it was a little pricey but I can't resist cookbooks, its usually my little treat (my husband likes to spend lots of money on his homebrewing and computers etc!) but my Mum actually bought this for my early birthday present. I've tried to stop buying cookbooks but sometimes I cannot resist!

[CreamPuff63]

frozzie, he has a restaurant up in the hills near Perth, Western Australia. If his book is expensive, you should take a look at his restaurant prices   I have only ever been there once, nearly 24 years ago, when I was 8 months pregnant with my first baby. Beautiful meal, and one day I hope to go back again.

[Frozzie]

yes i saw cp aftger doing a search not having heard of him before and the ONLY thing i found was his restaurant in WA and book....and no record of him in any french search which is kind of odd..only english saying he worked under jean delaveyne...have to say it annoys me when people do that ie go to places like oz and charge a fortune ...we noticed it with wine too..cellar wines (french) in oz costing in the thousands what we have at home and you can buy for maybe 30 40 euros max  a bottle but anyway..good on them in one sense for earning what they would never earn in France but a disgrace all the same imo ...there are some very well known chefs here who still have their michelin stars etc etc and still dont charge that for a cookbook...does his restaurant have michelin stars in perth?? if so that would explain the prices to a certain extent...many people travel the world to eat in different michelin star restaurants but i saw that he has no a la carte menu and its just blind menus  all int he name of experience pfft ...anyway does nothing for me but then again i have a huge choice right at my back door..dont know what his restaurant prices are but if his book is anything to go by i wouldnt be bothering either...there are many other GREAT chefs out their who arent so puffed up like a hot air balloon..i also love cookbooks and great food but i dont appreciate being ripped off!

[caketin]

All I can say in response is eating out in WA is expensive no matter where you go! It is unlike Melbourne in the fact that you can go anywhere, have good food and service and not pay a fortune! And cookbooks are the same in Aus, I sometimes buy the ones I want online from UK or USA because it is way cheaper with shipping costs than buying them here!

[Frozzie]

i really do hope you enjoy your book however caketin and sorry to hear that all cookbooks and restaurants are expensive in WA (cant comment as only been there once...too much time travelling elsewhere)...i know you had no choice with this book as its more expensive o/s and only in english......its just a sore subject for me as I see it alot living with two cultures and dont worry for some items it hapens here too...they truly rip you off for aussie favs like vegemite, tim tams etc etc and even buying the items overseas they get you on hugely overpriced shipping but thankfully i get a steady stream of friends and rellies briging me my fav aussie items.  I saw in the intl section of one of our supermarkets the other day the tiniest tub of vegemite (and i mean tiny) and it was 5 euros lol...i dont miss it that much and refuse to pay such inflated prices but thats me!

[em]

sounds wonderful caketin. hope you enjoy your book and please share how you go cooking the recipes.  good on you for getting something you enjoy, if the price doesnt bother you then it probably doesnt matter! 
ouch frozzie 5 euros for a small tub of vegemite, i dont love it enough to bother with it either!

[CreamPuff63]

I really love vegemite, but I read somewhere the other day that its not that good for you. oh dear, something else to add to the list...

If you are able to pick up from Boffins bookshop the price is cheaper than picking up direct from the chef's restaurant, and I think the $20 on top of the chefs price is also a bit rich - can't stand how people profit from the postage cost as well - thumbs down Alain

[caketin]

Yeah anyone in my husbands family ends up being the couriers for aussie goodies like tim tams, twisties, violet crumbles and even tomato sauce when ever any of us travel to europe! And we have to bring back salted licorice and Pålægschokolade which is just awesome stuff! Thin layers of chocolate that just melts beautifully!

[Cornish Cream]

Bought salted licorice by mistake ( at IKEA),popped a piece in my mouth and it was soon expelled by me once I realized it was salty.I was relaying this story to a friend once and a lady sitting on a table near us said that it's popular in Scandinavia.I always read the packet now before I buy licorice.

[caketin]

It's a good idea! I personally hate the stuff but the in-laws love it. My Mother-in-law lived in Denmark as a child and grew up on it! I made the mistake whilst I was over there (didn't want to be rude!) haha!

[Twitterpated]

we noticed it with wine too..cellar wines (french) in oz costing in the thousands what we have at home and you can buy for maybe 30 40 euros max  a bottle but anyway..good on them in one sense for earning what they would never earn in France but a disgrace all the same imo

It was the same when we went to Singapore - I was amazed at the prices that they were charging for Aussie wines.

As for the licorice, my MIL was born in Holland and I love salted licorice ever since I was first introduced to it. In fact I love the double and triple salted variety best. It's something you either like or don't.

[Frozzie]

we noticed it with wine too..cellar wines (french) in oz costing in the thousands what we have at home and you can buy for maybe 30 40 euros max  a bottle but anyway..good on them in one sense for earning what they would never earn in France but a disgrace all the same imo

It was the same when we went to Singapore - I was amazed at the prices that they were charging for Aussie wines.

I think in asia and surrounds it has something to do with having a huge muslim popuation that alcohol is very expensive in general and not just aussie wines??

we asked some of the guys who specialised in the cellar wines why they are so expensive when it is so accessable in france and also why it was so young..dont know if you have noitced but most cellar wines in oz are only 1 or two years old even the pricey ones and the guy said its because in oz they drink it and dont have the habit of buying and keeping it for years which is obviously what cellar wines are except if you buy them at a certain age...buy them young and cheaper to keep it and get a more valuable product and better tasting one at the end but obviously only cellar wines as not all wines can be kept..i felt like puttig out a general broadcasts to all aussies and telling them they were being treazted like fools.....one of the bottles that we saw at a couple of thousand in a locked case we have a couple of bottles left of it here and ours was much older and its not worth any where near that much !!...if you dont laugh you cry so we ended up just buying our friends a bottle of aussie wine and left it at that..was very disapponted and felt peeved for the locals!