The Royal Chef At Home: Easy Seasonal Entertaining

I ’ve cooked in some of the grandest palaces in the world for kings, queens, presidents and celebrities—too many to mention. Yet, the biggest pleasure of all is cooking at home for family and friends. For them, I want each dish to be a perfect expression of gratitude for everything they bring to my life. “The joys of the table belong equally to all ages, conditions and times: they mix with all other pleasures and remain the last to console us for their loss.” – Brillat-Savarin – ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I couldn’t have written this book or Eating Royally without the love and support of my wife Wendy, who makes it all worthwhile, and of my children, Kelly, Lexie and Harry, whose companionship I treasure inside and outside of the kitchen. I love you four with all my heart. Thanks to my mother Pauline and my nan Florrie Lambert, who through innumerable home cooked meals broadened my palate and showed me the depths of their love. My deepest respect and love to my dad Michael, for supporting us all and providing a stable home for my brother Chris, my sister Sacha and me. Thank you to my writer and good friend Susan Ruffins for working with me on my second book and translating my stream of consciousness into something sane and worth

reading. Her discipline kept us on track and moving forward. Thank you to Dick Patrick for his amazing photography throughout this book, bringing my food to life, and thanks also to his assistant Jesse “The Hands” Chacon and to Rocio Gonzales for all her help setting up shots. A thank you to Carmaleta Whiteley for making our tea shots memorable and for her perfect pouring. Thanks to my agent Laura Cutler Herbert for nudging me every day to get the book done. You are the best agent in the world. Thanks to Donnie and Martha Miller, Dee Wyly and especially to Debbie, John and Kacy Tolleson (you know why!).

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