Those of you who regularly visit Islay, or have an interest in whisky, or both, must have heard about Martine Nouet. She is a resident on Islay, at Nerabus and she is an author and journalist who writes exclusively about food and spirits and has done so for many years, and she knows how to cook too! She is also very well known for pairing beautiful whiskies, not only from Islay, with food, in fact she can be called an authority on this subject.

A few weeks ago Martine launched a new book titled "À Table - whisky from glass to plate". This very attractive new cook book has 60 delicious recipes divided into three sections: Appetizers, main courses, and desserts/cheeses. Each recipe has a recommendation for matching whiskies from all over the world, but mostly Scottish and many from Islay. The moment I laid my hands on this book and browsed through it there was one thought crossing my mind: I want to eat this and drink that whisky too. It's an inviting and stylish book and the pictures of the food are mouthwatering, absolutely superb.

This is not just a book with recipes only as Martine goes into detail about the art of pairing food and whisky, and also the art of cooking. There is also a section with the do's and don'ts of ingredients such as don't pair smoked salmon with a smoked whisky and do pair blue cheese with a peated whisky. There's a section about the art of cooking, where you can learn more about certain techniques, and some pages which explain how to read the recipes.

This book is a joy to read and to look at and with all the folk on Islay just now for the whisky festival I can only recommend to save some space in your suitcase or backpack for this book. The retail price is £20 and as it so happens, Martine will be at every open day during the Islay Festival to promote and sell her book so you can see it before you buy and ask Martine personally to sign it for you. If you miss her you can pop in the Celtic Shop in Bowmore as they are selling it too. For those who are not visiting Islay you can get a copy at Amazon. You can also buy it directly from Martine, please contact her by email on martine@martinenouet.com for enquiries.

Enjoy reading, cooking, eating and drinking too :-)

Tag: martine nouet whisky food pairing book