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A Girl and Her Pig: Recipes and Stories
“April, April, April—what a chef! Delicious, brilliant, inspiring. . . . Now, with the publication of A Girl and Her Pig, you can sample her remarkable food in your own kitchen.”—Fergus Henderson
April Bloomfield, the critically acclaimed chef behind the smash hit New York restaurants The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, and the John Dory, offers incomparable recipes and fascinating stories in this one-of-a-kind cookbook and memoir that celebrates all things pork and more.
In A Girl and Her Pig, April Bloomfield takes home cooks on an intimate tour of the food that has made her a star. Thoughtful, voice-driven recipes go behind the scenes of Bloomfield's lauded restaurants and into her own home kitchen, where her attention to detail and reverence for honest ingredients result in unforgettable dishes that reflect her love for the tactile pleasures of cooking and eating. Bloomfield's innovative yet refreshingly straightforward recipes, which pair her English roots with a deeply Italian influence, offer an unfailingly modern and fresh sensibility and showcase her bold flavors, sensitive handling of seasonal produce, and nose-to-tail ethos. A cookbook as delightful and lacking in pretention as Bloomfield herself, A Girl and Her Pig combines exquisite food with charming narratives on Bloomfield's journey from working-class England to the apex of the culinary world, along with loving portraits of the people who have guided her along the way.
A Girl and Her Pig is a carnivore’s delight, a gift from one of the food industry’s hottest chefs—in the upper echelon alongside Mario Batali, David Chang, and the legendary Fergus Henderson—featuring beautiful illustrations and photographs, and refreshingly unpretentious, remarkably scrumptious recipes for everything from re-imagined British pub favorites such as Beef and Bayley Hazen Pie to Whole Suckling Pig.
April Bloomfield, the critically acclaimed chef behind the smash hit New York restaurants The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, and the John Dory, offers incomparable recipes and fascinating stories in this one-of-a-kind cookbook and memoir that celebrates all things pork and more.
In A Girl and Her Pig, April Bloomfield takes home cooks on an intimate tour of the food that has made her a star. Thoughtful, voice-driven recipes go behind the scenes of Bloomfield's lauded restaurants and into her own home kitchen, where her attention to detail and reverence for honest ingredients result in unforgettable dishes that reflect her love for the tactile pleasures of cooking and eating. Bloomfield's innovative yet refreshingly straightforward recipes, which pair her English roots with a deeply Italian influence, offer an unfailingly modern and fresh sensibility and showcase her bold flavors, sensitive handling of seasonal produce, and nose-to-tail ethos. A cookbook as delightful and lacking in pretention as Bloomfield herself, A Girl and Her Pig combines exquisite food with charming narratives on Bloomfield's journey from working-class England to the apex of the culinary world, along with loving portraits of the people who have guided her along the way.
A Girl and Her Pig is a carnivore’s delight, a gift from one of the food industry’s hottest chefs—in the upper echelon alongside Mario Batali, David Chang, and the legendary Fergus Henderson—featuring beautiful illustrations and photographs, and refreshingly unpretentious, remarkably scrumptious recipes for everything from re-imagined British pub favorites such as Beef and Bayley Hazen Pie to Whole Suckling Pig.
355 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 24, 2012
78 people are currently reading
559 people want to read
About the author
April Bloomfield
5 books5 followersApril Bloomfield has spent most of her life in the kitchen and had the pleasure of working with some of the most revolutionary chefs before taking on a kitchen of her own. A native of Birmingham, England, April began her culinary studies at Birmingham College. From there, she went on to hone her craft through cook positions in various kitchens throughout London and Northern Ireland, including Kensington Place and Bibendum. It was under the guidance of Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray at The River Café where she learned to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of food.
Before moving to New York, April spent the summer of 2003 in Berkeley, California at the legendary Chez Panisse. In February 2004, April and restaurateur Ken Friedman opened New York City’s first gastropub, The Spotted Pig. Under April's direction, The Spotted Pig has earned one star from the Michelin Guide for six consecutive years, and since 2010, April & Ken’s The Breslin Bar & Dining Room also earned a star in the esteemed guidebook. A Food & Wine “Best New Chef,” April continues to receive widespread attention for her food. In fall 2010, she and Ken opened The John Dory Oyster Bar, which joined The Breslin at New York’s Ace Hotel and earned a glowing, two-star review from the New York Times. April’s first cookbook, A Girl and Her Pig, was published by Ecco in April 2012.
Before moving to New York, April spent the summer of 2003 in Berkeley, California at the legendary Chez Panisse. In February 2004, April and restaurateur Ken Friedman opened New York City’s first gastropub, The Spotted Pig. Under April's direction, The Spotted Pig has earned one star from the Michelin Guide for six consecutive years, and since 2010, April & Ken’s The Breslin Bar & Dining Room also earned a star in the esteemed guidebook. A Food & Wine “Best New Chef,” April continues to receive widespread attention for her food. In fall 2010, she and Ken opened The John Dory Oyster Bar, which joined The Breslin at New York’s Ace Hotel and earned a glowing, two-star review from the New York Times. April’s first cookbook, A Girl and Her Pig, was published by Ecco in April 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 14, 2012
Straight away this book has seemed to spark controversy in some quarters. The front cover features a woman with a dead pig over her shoulders, not quite how a fox fur would be worn, yet there is nothing controversial, campaigning about the picture.
It is almost a serene, respectful scene. Nothing more, nothing less. The author, a renowned chef who was born in England but escaped to the United States, clearly likes her pigs - one of her restaurants is even named after a pig. A good chef will respect their ingredients and if an animal, they will obviously care about the animals welfare before they make their journey to table. Why do anything different?
This is quite a personal work of love for the author, more than just a recipe book, yet it is not so autobiographical first and recipes second. Maybe the author's life and personality starts to come out through the eclectic mix of recipes. Not just porky goodness but the whole gamut of food... even vegetables.
Sometimes one gets the impression that books of this kind are a little too navel-gazing for the author, one of those things a chef "has" to do at a certain time, i.e. issue a book, and thus a lot of the text accompanying the recipes is filling - like sawdust in a cheap sausage. In this book, it doesn't feel like that. There is just some form of harmony. A culinary ying and yang if you will.
Certainly reading about the author's life and her philosophy to her art helps take her food into another, more personable dimension. The author just has a sort of devil-may-care, unplanned rebellious streak that is truly subconscious. Good food often takes discipline (right recipe, right ingredients, etc.) yet on the other hand things like precision are eschewed. Yet it works. Formality and pomposity is similarly given a bit of derision for good measure. Whatever you feel, there is balance here, it makes sense to the author and it will no doubt make sense to you once you get on to the same wavelength.
Even the book's signposting and organisation in some ways shouts planned rebellion yet there is no call for change or doing something, well differently. Sure there is organisation but can you see a thread? Recipes are split into sections, namely breakfast; nibbles; big bowls of soup; well-dressed greens and things; meat without feet; birds; cow; a little lamb; fine swine; the not-so-nasty bits; veg; potato and friends: sweets; dressings, sauces and condiments; a couple stocks and libations. See. No real thread. No chronological order. Yet ... well, this reviewer understands. So maybe it is the "rest of the world" who is at fault if they just don't get this. It is really, really hard to describe.
Even taking a recipe at random - in this case the first one: pancakes with bacon and chilli. Chilli for breakfast? Yet why not? In fact it can be a very nice balance. This book is full of these unfamiliar things and of course some of the more familiar to boot, but do look carefully for hidden differences.
Each recipe is surrounded by lots of chatter - there is no other word for it and this is not being disrespectful. It is like having a loud-mouthed, good-natured Brummie (a person, like the author, from the Birmingham area of England) just talking and telling you things as you go along. It doesn't feel stilted. You are learning whilst (hopefully) having fun. But if there was a test at the end you might struggle to know what you have specifically learned thanks to the structured, unstructured-ness (if there is such a word) to it all. The recipes are easy to follow, challenging but not necessarily hard. Would it be fair to say a positive experience possibly unlike others you will have.
Now, usually at this point YUM would note with disdain if the recipes fail to give an approximation of the preparation and cooking times. What's the point here? No doubt the author wouldn't keep to them - even in a professional kitchen the sense is that the timer might be buried beneath a pile of cloths - intuition rules OK.
So either the author has found a great niche for a book of this kind which is, let's face it, not overly innovative (good chef writes book, adds bit of a life story, recipes etc). Yet it is innovative. Probably not by design either but by nature. So either the author and this reviewer are similarly "mad" (which is a possibility as we were both born relatively near to each other) or there is just a little something that will be shared with you once you start looking at the book.
Let time and your thought determine it. Even if for whatever reason you don't gel with the author and her style, the recipes will still be more than good enough to make this book a great buy. And if you can gel with the overall wavelength which is really, honestly not trying to get you to buy into something. Then well, boy!
A Girl & Her Pig, written by April Bloomfield and published by Ecco Press/HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062003966, 352 pages. Typical price: GBP20. YYYYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
It is almost a serene, respectful scene. Nothing more, nothing less. The author, a renowned chef who was born in England but escaped to the United States, clearly likes her pigs - one of her restaurants is even named after a pig. A good chef will respect their ingredients and if an animal, they will obviously care about the animals welfare before they make their journey to table. Why do anything different?
This is quite a personal work of love for the author, more than just a recipe book, yet it is not so autobiographical first and recipes second. Maybe the author's life and personality starts to come out through the eclectic mix of recipes. Not just porky goodness but the whole gamut of food... even vegetables.
Sometimes one gets the impression that books of this kind are a little too navel-gazing for the author, one of those things a chef "has" to do at a certain time, i.e. issue a book, and thus a lot of the text accompanying the recipes is filling - like sawdust in a cheap sausage. In this book, it doesn't feel like that. There is just some form of harmony. A culinary ying and yang if you will.
Certainly reading about the author's life and her philosophy to her art helps take her food into another, more personable dimension. The author just has a sort of devil-may-care, unplanned rebellious streak that is truly subconscious. Good food often takes discipline (right recipe, right ingredients, etc.) yet on the other hand things like precision are eschewed. Yet it works. Formality and pomposity is similarly given a bit of derision for good measure. Whatever you feel, there is balance here, it makes sense to the author and it will no doubt make sense to you once you get on to the same wavelength.
Even the book's signposting and organisation in some ways shouts planned rebellion yet there is no call for change or doing something, well differently. Sure there is organisation but can you see a thread? Recipes are split into sections, namely breakfast; nibbles; big bowls of soup; well-dressed greens and things; meat without feet; birds; cow; a little lamb; fine swine; the not-so-nasty bits; veg; potato and friends: sweets; dressings, sauces and condiments; a couple stocks and libations. See. No real thread. No chronological order. Yet ... well, this reviewer understands. So maybe it is the "rest of the world" who is at fault if they just don't get this. It is really, really hard to describe.
Even taking a recipe at random - in this case the first one: pancakes with bacon and chilli. Chilli for breakfast? Yet why not? In fact it can be a very nice balance. This book is full of these unfamiliar things and of course some of the more familiar to boot, but do look carefully for hidden differences.
Each recipe is surrounded by lots of chatter - there is no other word for it and this is not being disrespectful. It is like having a loud-mouthed, good-natured Brummie (a person, like the author, from the Birmingham area of England) just talking and telling you things as you go along. It doesn't feel stilted. You are learning whilst (hopefully) having fun. But if there was a test at the end you might struggle to know what you have specifically learned thanks to the structured, unstructured-ness (if there is such a word) to it all. The recipes are easy to follow, challenging but not necessarily hard. Would it be fair to say a positive experience possibly unlike others you will have.
Now, usually at this point YUM would note with disdain if the recipes fail to give an approximation of the preparation and cooking times. What's the point here? No doubt the author wouldn't keep to them - even in a professional kitchen the sense is that the timer might be buried beneath a pile of cloths - intuition rules OK.
So either the author has found a great niche for a book of this kind which is, let's face it, not overly innovative (good chef writes book, adds bit of a life story, recipes etc). Yet it is innovative. Probably not by design either but by nature. So either the author and this reviewer are similarly "mad" (which is a possibility as we were both born relatively near to each other) or there is just a little something that will be shared with you once you start looking at the book.
Let time and your thought determine it. Even if for whatever reason you don't gel with the author and her style, the recipes will still be more than good enough to make this book a great buy. And if you can gel with the overall wavelength which is really, honestly not trying to get you to buy into something. Then well, boy!
A Girl & Her Pig, written by April Bloomfield and published by Ecco Press/HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062003966, 352 pages. Typical price: GBP20. YYYYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
June 9, 2012
Four stars for the stories, two stars for the recipes - just because so few of them appealed to me.
She uses a lot of ingredients that would be difficult for me to find locally, so it's helpful that she provides sources at the end of the book.
She uses a lot of ingredients that would be difficult for me to find locally, so it's helpful that she provides sources at the end of the book.
May 11, 2017
I liked this book, but I did not love it.
There are a lot of great recipes in this book, and I would purchase it. (And Probably will.)
However, it's not as good as it should be.
I liked some of the narratives of the author, and in the end, it was nice, but some of it seemed uneven or incomplete. Some of the narratives were also uninteresting, so I wondered why they were added.
Many of the recipes are solid, but many also leave me cold.
I think that the photography could have been better frankly, and I wonder if it was meant to be more arty, but not too much involved in making me want to eat most of the food.
i would like to see another book from Ms. Bloomfield, and maybe a cooking show.
There are a lot of great recipes in this book, and I would purchase it. (And Probably will.)
However, it's not as good as it should be.
I liked some of the narratives of the author, and in the end, it was nice, but some of it seemed uneven or incomplete. Some of the narratives were also uninteresting, so I wondered why they were added.
Many of the recipes are solid, but many also leave me cold.
I think that the photography could have been better frankly, and I wonder if it was meant to be more arty, but not too much involved in making me want to eat most of the food.
i would like to see another book from Ms. Bloomfield, and maybe a cooking show.
May 8, 2017
The stories were charming and the recipes (for the most part) simple and easily tweeked.
January 28, 2016
I'm really just not into Anchovy Anything (especially Not on Lamb...BAH) or Deep Fried Pigs Ear Salad..... but if you can get past that, some of the recipes sound absolutely delightful: carrot, avocado, & orange salad; Caesar salad; Lentil/chickpea salad w/ feta & tahini; Grilled rib eye w/ romesco; Skirt steak w/ watercress & chiles; Tongue sandwiches; Tomatoes stewed w/ white wine & saffron; Swiss chard w/ olive oil; Beef & bayley hazen pie; or Whole suckling pig.
Then there is the section: "Not so Tasty Bites" & "Not so Tasty at All" which contains... Liver & Onions....Veal kidneys in garlic butter.....
The photographs are very nice, but not available for every recipe... The recipes seem time consuming and detailed.
I don't think I'll be using the recipes in this book any time soon.
April 13, 2012
The book is down to earth, straightforward and simply delicious - like her food. The recipes are approachable, and easy to follow, not intimidating in the slightest.
She is generous and encouraging with her instructions, and hands on in every possible sense. The stories that she shares reveal her love for the tactile and sensory pleasures of cooking and her respect for ingredients, as well as her gratitude and affection for the people who showed her the way.
It makes me want to go directly to my butcher now.
She is generous and encouraging with her instructions, and hands on in every possible sense. The stories that she shares reveal her love for the tactile and sensory pleasures of cooking and her respect for ingredients, as well as her gratitude and affection for the people who showed her the way.
It makes me want to go directly to my butcher now.
July 5, 2012
Gorgeous pics, adorable illustrations and an incredibly likeable chef. . . what more could you ask for? However, it really made me want to go to one of her restaurants - I'm not that likely to cook Fried Pig's Ear with Salad at home (or faggots, or most of the edibles in here). Even if I had the time, I'd be eating alone! However, her instructions are clear and her voice is great. Don't miss the chapters on sweets and libations - I did get to taste-test some of those and they're very worthwhile!
May 6, 2013
Though at first it thought it a bit foolish to rate the literary merits of a cookbook, I would say that "A Girl and Her Pig" is significantly better than some of the non-fiction I've recently read. Bloomfield's narration provides context to her recipes, allowing the reader to fully envision the experience of preparing one of her dishes. She clearly has a great respect for food (specifically ingredients); her recipes make preparing offal seem approachable, while elevating porridge to a high art form.
August 16, 2013
Came across the book from one of the Amateur Gourmet's blog posts extolling her adobo and curry recipes. While I have my family's adobo recipe, I love researching other adobo recipes and trying them out. I like that she uses chunks of unpeeled ginger and smashed garlic cloves. It's rustic, nonfussy, and simple. I like the curry recipe too, but its spice list does seem daunting. This is where "mise en place" comes in! Other than these two recipes, I didn't find others useful or interesting. I tried to read the narrative, while browsing recipes, but it didn't hold my attention.
September 24, 2012
Looks good, but I have yet to actually cook anything. Will wait to rate until I have. I can say my friend made a ginger cake that everyone loved (from this book).
Just shared 9 dishes from "A Girl and Her Pig" by April Bloomfield with friends. Gotta say they were all really yummy. You need to use your own good sense a little with her recipes, but they are basically really good flavor combinations.
Just shared 9 dishes from "A Girl and Her Pig" by April Bloomfield with friends. Gotta say they were all really yummy. You need to use your own good sense a little with her recipes, but they are basically really good flavor combinations.
December 29, 2012
Most of the negative reviews are based on the cover. If you have ever had the good fortune to eat at an April Bloomfield restaurant you will love the recipes in this cookbook. The Fried Pig Ear Salad, no wonder it tastes so good its slowly cooked in duck fat, cooled then deep fried.
I eat meat so seeing a dead pig so what. Its going to wind up on my plate in all its lovely glory and this cookbook has some great recipes in it. From the poppy seed dressing to the pig ear salad.
I eat meat so seeing a dead pig so what. Its going to wind up on my plate in all its lovely glory and this cookbook has some great recipes in it. From the poppy seed dressing to the pig ear salad.
June 4, 2015
I really appreciate a technical, specific cookbook. Do I simplify when I use these recipes? yes, almost always. But first, I make better substitutions (grad student budget) when I know exactly what purpose an ingredient is serving. Second, when things go wrong, good source material is invaluable for diagnosis and making correcting notes for the future. My approach to cooking is that of a lifelong student, and this is an excellent text.
October 15, 2015
Even if you might not appreciate the recipes in this book, which I mostly do. This book is so well written, the directions so clear and Bloomfield's storytelling so interesting you can't help but love it. The photos and illustrations make it even more special.
I'm going to learn a lot from cooking my way through this book. Thank you April Bloomfield!
I'm going to learn a lot from cooking my way through this book. Thank you April Bloomfield!
July 29, 2012
I got this from the library and it was a fun browse-through. I only found one recipe I wanted, and it was a cocktail. I loved my meal at the Breslin, but I suppose I'd rather Ms. Bloomfield cook it for me. :)
June 1, 2014
Gorgeous book. I love the abundance of pictures. I find the mix of easy and complicated recipes well-balanced. Only one of the recipes screamed at me: Cabbage and Bacon. It sounds so unassuming, but to me the melange of sweetly softened cabbage against the rich chew of bacon seems fantastic.
October 9, 2014
Very interesting, rustic, and shall we say hearty recipes, many of which include some bit of offal. However, it is unlikely that I will be allowed to roast a whole lambs head in the oven. Mores the pity...
May 28, 2012
Some items I'd like to make. Many just a bit too fussy for the time and energy I have. Definitely loves her sardines, pequin chilies, and Maldon salt.
June 4, 2012
Fabulous and highly readable from Mario Batali's protege and owner of the Spotted Pig in NYC. Loved.
May 19, 2012
This is a great book. It has funny stories and great recipes. I loved it.
October 7, 2012
Great book. Believe it or not some of her salads are great. I love the girl, and her pig. And her inventive, spicy and strong drinks.
January 1, 2014
this is an extremely nice cookbook, from which i would make all the recipes if i wasn't a.) broke, b.) a lazy, and c.) a broke and lazy slob. but you totally should!?#@#*!
August 13, 2012
I thought this book would be more autobiographical but it is more of a recipe book. I'm a bit disappointed because I prefer to know more about her and her pig. :)
December 10, 2012
Cozinha sem frescuras: receitas e historias deliciosas e capa é sensacional!
February 7, 2013
Thank you April for being alive. The best cookbook I have read in quite awhile.
April 10, 2013
the meat recipes are awesome but the veggies leave a bit to be desired....
December 31, 2013
Absolutely charming. I particularly loved the illustrations.
July 29, 2013
Some great recipes and stories in here. Must get to cooking!
November 10, 2013
There weren't many recipes I was drawn to make. The summer tomato soup was good (I like that it isn't cream based), but it was too salty. Other recipes I tried were fine, but nothing special.
May 22, 2015
Some good looking recipes in here,excited to try them out. Will update then.
August 17, 2015
I really enjoyed this cookbook. I liked her background on her recipes. Most of it I will never cook, simply because the ingredients aren't readily available here in Bugtussle, TN.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews