Book Review – 'The Grand Tour Cookbook' by Hannah Grant

The Grand Tour Cookbook By Hannah Grant
"They are what they eat" says Hannah Grant—at the time Head Chef for Team Tinkoff-Saxo – one of the most successful professional cycling teams on the UCI World Tour circuit.

It is a motto that I subscribe to very strongly. Food is an integral part of cycling. Food is your fuel, and your conditioning agent, as well as your recovery. Energy bars and gels can do so much, when you are on the bike; but it is what you eat the rest of the time that really makes a difference.

Cycling teams realised the importance of nutrition some time back, and that is why a number of the top teams now have Michelin level chefs working for them; their role is to ensure that the nutritional intake of the riders is absolutely optimal for their performance.

Hannah Grant is one of those top chefs, and just as the mechanics at Team Tinkoff-Saxo played an integral role in preparing the bikes for the riders each morning and evening, Hannah has a fundamental role in ensuring that the riders are correctly fuelled throughout the day.

A Grand Tour is clearly the most demanding in terms of athletic requirement, as well as the need for nutritional variety—so in The Grand Tour Cookbook Hannah showcases the kind of meals that she would prepare for the team, to keep them in the best possible physical (and mental) shape.

I do not own many cookbooks. In fact, most of my recipes are jotted in notebooks or on blog posts; but this is one cookbook I am incredibly pleased to own.

It is beautiful book. It is a work of both photographic and nutritional art, as well as giving an incredible amount of detail and insight into why certain food groups are good for you; and why Hannah has selected them for the riders throughout a Tour.

There are also some excellent interviews with riders, where they explain the difference wholesome food makes to their performance. Christopher Juul Jensen advocates: "proper food makes a massive difference in terms of performance". Peter Sagan agrees: "Diet is one of the basics of performance". Michael Rogers gives the ultimate praise: "I have never been faster". These recipes make a dramatic difference to the success of a cycling team.

Do I have any favourite recipes from the book? Yes, for sure. I have tried a lot of the recipes from this book, and there is not even one that I would not make again. My favourites include the chicken with peach, capers, and tarragon; ruby grapefruit with avocado and pine nuts; cinnamon toasted muesli, and monkfish cheeks.

You are indeed what you eat. This book supplies some of the best insights I have read on how you can tailor your diet to optimise your performance; all through are mouth-watering and simple recipes.

If you are a fan of great recipes, or you are stuck on how you could improve your own home-cooking to boost your speed—then this should be on your bookshelf.

» Shop 'The Grand Tour Cookbook' at Amazon «



The Grand Tour Cookbook by Hannah Grant
Monkfish cheeks with pointed cabbage and spring onions


The Grand Tour Cookbook by Hannah Grant
Chicken with peaches, capers and onions


The Grand Tour Cookbook by Hannah Grant
Cinnamon roasted muesli with seeds and berries


The Grand Tour Cookbook by Hannah Grant
Fresh salad with yellow tomatoes and frisée lettuce


The Grand Tour Cookbook by Hannah Grant
Couscous with melon, orange and carrot


The Grand Tour Cookbook by Hannah Grant
Speck with braised fennel and fresh fig salad


"You are what you eat. I have never been faster..."
Michael Rogers


Comments

  1. Great review and mouthwatering pictures. I bought this book January 2014 and it is indeed an excellent and inspirational cookbook.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have had this cookbook for some time now, and the recipes are just so good, I mean really good. The photos in the book are so beautiful, that it is a pleasure just to look at all of them.

    ReplyDelete

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