Floyd on Oz

Exuberant TV cook and bon viveur Keith Floyd has undertaken his most entertaining and adventurous journey yet - round Australia. From the great cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to the Little England of Tasmania and the remotest outback, Keith Floyd discovered, to his surprise and delight, the best of European cuisine, excellent Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian food, superb New World wines and a fabulous array of fresh produce. With great wit and style, Floyd recounts his breakneck journey round the continent. He describes making seafood chowder while standing knee-deep in Sydney Harbour, diving off the Great Barrier Reef, learning how to survive in the outback, how to cook Carpet Bag Steak on the engine of his jeep and, of course, how to perfect the art of the great Australian barbie. Despite his unrelenting quest, Floyd does not find an Australian heiress but he does meet a wealth of other characters: restaurateurs at the forefront of the exciting developments in food in Australia; wine growers; cattledrovers; and business tycoons. Floyd brilliantly evokes the majestic landscapes, the places, the people and their history. He also hilariously describes the various calamities and inevitable hiccups that occurred during filming. In the second half of the book, Floyd gives over 130 exotic recipes from blinding little vegetable curries, dishes for special occasions such as a curry fit for a Bishop or sea trout with champagne (in the cook as well as the pot), to nifty prawn and seafood stir-fries. There are plenty of notes on ingredients, tips on the best wines to accompany the dish, and ideas for barbecues. This is far flung Floyd, cooking and writing at his best.