Bistecca Italian Steak House: The Book is the first self-published cookbook from Dining Concepts Ltd and is co-authored by the group's director of culinary operations, Chris Mark, and writer Andrew Sun, with photos by fine art documentary photographer Andre Eichman, and a forward by chef Umberto Bombana. According to the press release the book, "...captures the excitement and energy of the casual steakhouse's warm and rustic charm."

About the Book

The book presents over 60 recipes from the Italian Steakhouses's repertoire, which are divided into: The Basics, Salad, Appetisers, Soup, Sandwiches, Pasta, Meat and Seafood, Side Dishes, and Desserts. However before the reader gets to the recipes there is the following:

As mentioned there is a Forward by Umberto Bombana who reminisces about the Italian steak houses of his childhood...going on to say of Bistecca and its success, "Most of all I think the food is good." Going on further to praise Mark and his food interpretations.  

Next comes The Intro, which introduces readers to Bistecca, the chef, the photographer, the book, the wine pairings and the spirit of the concept, "Enjoy at your own leisure." 

Dining Concepts follows, a section that tells us more about the fast growing hospitality group, which all began with the opening of Bombay Dreams in 2002. We also learn more about the group's driving force, Sandeep Sekhri, who is a vegetarian - a little ironic given how many of the group's successful restaurants are meat-centric -  Craftsteak, BLT Steak, BLT Burger, Blue-Smoke Bar-B-Que, Prime Steak House, Tango, and of course Bistecca. Other restaurants in the group's portfolio include Cecconi's, Nahm, Olive, and Bouchon Bistro Francais. 

Not surprisingly the next section (The Chef) is all about Chris Mark, who once looked down on grilled meats as boring. We learn that it has been a dream of his to do his own Italian restaurant since the age of 12 through to the present, and his view on Bistecca, its success and the beef.  

Bistecca: The Origin introduces the word "bistecca" with a clever segue into the experience of dining at Bistecca, the restaurant and its origins, and the reasons behind choosing the beef that it serves.

This is followed by The Day, a look at 24-hours in the restaurant in text and images - something that Ferran Adria is famous for and most likely the inspiration for this section.  

Lastly, The Beef, explains more about the cuts the restaurant serves, info on steak and wine matches, steak seasoning, how to cook a steak, and recipes for sevens sauces.

Pros

Andrew Sun has ensured that the well-written text (pre recipes) is lively, interesting, at times amusing, and always informative - written in a way that it makes you want to read the text from beginning to end instead of skimming for the good bits. In some ways, because of the way it is written, instead of thinking marketing tool for the group and the restaurant, you are left with a sense of value-add, a sense of knowing more.  

Many of the dishes have wine recommendations, and there are also scattered tips and hints.  

All the recipes have a brief intro or story about the history of the recipe, this for me distinguishes a good cookbook from an average one.

The design and the photography are half the appeal of the book. Time has been spent on getting the book to look a certain way. The images...a combination of food images and shots from the restaurant and kitchen...tell a story, and importantly they make you hungry, they entice you to try the recipe.

Cons

For me, the recipe section has a number of issues. 

I find it strange when recipes call for non-liquid ingredients in ml, for example 45ml of basil, 15ml of garlic...some recipes even have non-liquid ingredients in mls and gms in the same recipe. I understand that in a professional kitchen chefs work in volume and the use of mls is often a standard...but this is not the case in the home kitchen and the user of the book needs the ingredient measurements to be easily understandable...and consistent.

Some measurement ratios are curious, for example the appetiser of Eggplant Parmigiano, calls for one Australian eggplant, and yes they are large, but you are asked to slice the eggplant and saute/fry it in one litre of oil! 

All the recipes have simple methods, which at first seems a plus, but on closer inspection you realise that the method is perhaps too simple. For example one recipe instructs the user to "...roast (pumpkin) with garlic cloves." There is no recommended temperature or time...something which is missing in many recipes. A pasta recipe instructs the user to make ravioli, but with no instructions or hints on how to do this. Another recipe instructs the user to sweat the vegetables for one hour, is that possible? And the instructions for preparing a dish using live lobster reads as if the user is instructed to tear the claws and tail off the lobster while still alive.

It left me with the impression that Mark was holding back...perhaps not wanting to share all his knowledge. The simplicity of method will make it hard for novice cooks, or people new to cooking Western cuisine, to reproduce the recipes correctly the first time and this maybe enough to put them off trying again.  

This con does not apply to the desserts, written by the pastry chef the recipes give you all the information needed.  

The Road Test

I choose Minestrone Verde from the soup section, and Rack of Lamb from the meat and seafood section as the two recipes that I would attempt to recreate by following the instructions as given. 

It was the soup's method I found lacking. The intro to the recipe says that light things such as peas and herbs are added last, but there are no peas or suggested herbs in the ingredients. The recipe calls for cooked pasta, yet the method does not tell me when to add the cooked pasta. It tells me because of all the green vegetables I am going to have a soup with a vibrant colour, yet all the vegetables needed to be simmered in stock for at least 45 minutes, draining pretty much all the colour from the vegetables. It also tells me on one hand it is "dense and a meal in itself" - true, on the other it says it is a spring soup, but I don't equate spring with hearty dishes.  

When it came to the taste I have to say the recipe was a success. It was a hearty, rounded, rustic soup packed with comforting, satisfying flavours and textures and I would make it again. 

The name Rack of Lamb is a little cheeky. You take a rack of lamb and cut it into chops so the dish really is a grilled lamb chop dish. What gave the dish a restaurant level element was the marinating of the lamb in fresh mint and lemon zest with some oil and a little sugar...the sugar helps give that charred look and taste from caramelisation and the hits of zest and mint a twist on traditional pairing of lamb and mint sauce. I followed the cooking time according to the minimum time in the method resulting in lamb that was close to being well done...the tip on the page recommends lamb cooked medium. There is also no instructions to rest the meat before serving. From a flavour standpoint the recipe is a success. 

Reasons to Buy

Despite the book's recipe shortcomings, something that could be rectified before a second print (or before the next Dining Concepts cookbook), the two recipes I tried resulted in dishes that tasted good, that I would cook again, which encourages me to try others. Ultimately, if you can work around the methods and measurements and bring a little experience to the table, the reason to buy it would seem to be because the end result tastes good. 

Recipe - Chicken Diavolo

45ml chilli flakes

4 pieces chicken (900g)

3 lemons - juice and zest

1 orange - juice and zest

15ml course black pepper

45ml paprika

salt

80ml extra virgin olive oil 

Marinate chicken with all other ingredients for a few hours. Leave out in room temperature for 20mins before cooking. Place skin side down in pan with no oil. Add a weight on top of chicken (brick, heavy pan). Cook for 25 minutes until brown and crispy. Let rest for five minutes before serving.

Where to Buy

The book is priced at $288 and is available from Bistecca or email info@diningconcepts.com.hk.