In the world of celebrity chefs and their revenue-generating cookbooks Hong Kong's own 'celebrity' chefs have been slow to join the potential cash-cow bandwagon. There are a handful of known Hong Kong chefs who have published books, although most of these are in Chinese. This year things will change with a number of the city's more infamous chefs releasing cookbooks. The first of these chefs is Harlan Goldstein, whose self-published cookbook, The Gold Collection was released recently.

About the Book

As the name implies the book is an eclectic collection of recipes for signature dishes currently available at Goldstein's glamourous restaurant, Gold. The book is divided into six sections: Sexy Cocktail, Bread & Flat Breads, Tapas & Starters, Pasta & Paella, Main Event, and Something Sweet, for a total of 39 recipes. According to the official press release the book, "Embraces recipes collected and developed over the larger than life restaurateur's colourful career that began on New York's tough Lower East Side."

The recipes included reflect Goldstein's self-described cuisine signature - bold, innovative and brash flavours with plenty of heart and soul. Included are such popular dishes as Scallop Carpaccio, Soft Cooked Egg and Truffles; Italian Red Prawns & Black Ink Spaghetti; Roasted Colorado Lamb Rib and Cannelloni Bean Stew; Wagyu Beef Cheek; and Graffeo Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee. 

There is also an introduction to Goldstein and highlights from his culinary career that began at 14 washing dishes in his Uncle's restaurant. 

Goldstein says of the book, "I hope that this book gives diners the chance to try and enjoy some of my recipes at home, to share my life's work."

Pros

On the whole the recipes seem quite simple to execute and instructions are clear. There is a good mix of recipes using high-end ingredients such as truffle and recipes that use simple and inexpensive ingredients.

Cons

Some of the dishes look unappetising and some more time on food styling may have countered this...the style of photos on a personal level is not something I care for - food placed on white plates photographed on a white background with plates blurred out, resulting in a dish the ends up looking more like a splash of food on a white page than an image of a dish that has you salivating from the first glance. This does not apply to the images of the cocktails, which all look great.

The sense of connection is not there...I would have like to have seen some intros or background snippets for each recipe...what are the stories behind those dishes chosen worthy of being recorded for eternity. For example, what lead Mrs G to create her Secret Sauce. The best, and often award-winning, cookbooks do more than provide access to recipes, they tell stories, they create a personal connection between the author and the home-cook...something that The Gold Collection doesn't do.

There is an imbalance of oven and non-oven dishes in the Main Event section, many Hongkongers don't have an oven, although one imagines that most Gold regulars do, with someone to cook the dish for them too. Home-cooks without an oven would only be able to attempt two of the main course dishes...and one of those two mains requires a water bath.

The book is self-published and from an editorial perspective it shows with numerous errors, such as style inconsistency, wrong section heading in contents page, missing punctuation, etc. While these errors will largely be unnoticed by most people and this is a small con I would be remiss as an editor not to mention them.

The Road Test

I decided to put the book to the test by trying two of the recipes: Gambas al Chirizo from the Tapas & Starters section, and Organic Chicken Piccata - "The Way I Like It" from the Main Event section.

Both recipes had some method problems...the starter calls for smoked paprika in the method, but it is not listed in the ingredients (from which I prepared my shopping list) and the timing needs to be watched and varied accordingly. And, if I had cooked the chicken for as long as it calls for in the recipe it would have been like rubber and the amount of liquid cannot possibly reduce in the implied time frame and I would use much less stock next time. 

From a taste perspective I enjoyed both dishes, the flavours were big and bold, which I expect from all of Goldstein's food...and I would make both dishes again - although with tweaking. The recipes are sound from a flavour profile and taste perspective but based on my experience they do not seem to be the result of rigorous testing for the home and as such the home-cook would need to use their intuition when it comes to reproducing the dishes.

Reasons to Buy

Overall the book seems more like a self-pat on the back for a job well done, than a serious cookbook, and why not. A book for Goldstein to give/sell to fans of his food and his many regular diners. That said I am happy to have my copy because with a little common sense there is some delicious food to be created from The Gold Collection.   

Recipe - Organic Chicken Piccata - "The Way I Like It"

4 Organic/Free Range Chicken Breasts

120g Capers 

120g Black Olives

40g Sliced Garlic

12 Semi Dried Tomatoes

32g Flat Leaf Parsley

16 Basil Leaves

80g italian White Butter

800ml Chicken Stock

Butterfly the breasts horizontally to get two pieces from one breast. In a saute pan pre heat olive oil, season chicken and dredge through flour until well coated. Gently place in pan. Brown well on each side for three minutes and then remove from pan. Add garlic to pan, cook gently until fragrant. Add stock, caper, olives and tomatoes to pan and cook for three minutes. Add chicken breasts back to pan and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Once sauce has been reduced add butter in small cubes...add chopped parsley and basil. Mix and incorporate all ingredients and serve.

Where to Buy

The self-published book is only available at Gold and is priced at $248.