Greek scholar Archimedes is attributed to have exclaimed ‘Eureka!’ on stepping into a bath and realising that the volume of water displaced was equal to the volume of the part of his body that was submerged, helping him towards his famous principle but also giving birth to the notion of the Eureka moment.
In his book of the same name, Simpons’ chef-patron Andreas Antona was also inspired by displacement, this time not of water but of people away from restaurants and into their homes as a consequence of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Antona’s Eureka moment - or maybe better described as a grim realisation – was that he had to feed his customers by way of a food delivery service or face the very real prospect of losing his business. So Antona at Home was born, marking what he describes as a major landmark in the history of the restaurant.
Eureka is a celebration of this service, which went on to sell more than 800 boxes a week at its peak, and of the creativity and innovation that went into developing dishes that could be prepared at home with minimal fuss. As Antona says in his introduction, it is called the Eureka cookery book, not the Simpsons cookery book, as it represents a specific time in the Kenilworth restaurant’s almost 30-year history.
The no fuss approach, twinned with some excellent dishes, that made Antona at Home such a success is replicated in Eureka, with no preamble from the chef for each dish describing memories it may have evoked or championing suppliers. This is a book to be picked up and cooked from, clear and to the point in its instructions and bereft of any distraction to making the dish.
This doesn’t, however, mean that the book is full of simplistic recipes that can be rustled up at the drop of a chef’s hat. While with Antona a Home the Simpsons team did all the heavy lifting before the arrival on the doorstep, good prep is required, as is a well-stocked larder and a requirement to deal with numerous ingredients to recreate these recipes.
The book is divided simply into chapters on starters, fish, meat, vegetables, and desserts as well as a section on staples and basics. Within each chapter is found often quite intricate recipes of restaurant-quality dishes, whether it be mushroom soup with pickled Japanese mushrooms with wild garlic and truffle pesto; miso roasted cod with puffed rice and roasted aubergine; or blade of beef with potato terrine and bone marrow sauce.
For many in the industry the travails of Covid and the ensuing lockdowns are a distant memory as they contend with fresh challenges. Eureka serves as a reminder not just for how Antona and his team survived the pandemic but how many others in the restaurant industry also grasped the nettle and thrived with DIY meal kits.
“Antona at Home was borne out of necessity but quickly became a joy and a release for our chefs during a challenging time, allowing them to express their creativity and ultimately do what they love,” says Antona. “I didn’t think I would ever launch a cookbook again, but we received so much praise for our 'at home' meals that we decided to share our treasured recipes with the home cook.”
Eureka
Andreas Antona
Number of pages: 224
Must try dish: Blade of beef, onion and anchovy puree
Publisher and price: Away with Media, £38