Joe Trivelli has been cooking as co-head chef at the River Cafe for a number of years; it is of course a restaurant that has launched a number of chefs who have gone on to leave the restaurant for other pastures; Stevie Parle, Theo Randall and Jamie Oliver among them. Trivelli remains behind the stoves at the Hammersmith establishment serving up the ultimate Italian food. This book is a book for the home cook; progressive Italian cooking as he sees it. In the introduction Trivellli states that "Contemporary cooking isn't necessarily new fangled (I don't yet own a Thermomix); for me it is about being simple, clever, sympathetic and creative." The recipes include those for charred new potatoes and artichokes, fried aubergines with mint, preserved tomatoes, rabbit roasted in parmesan and chickpea biscuits. Trivelli writes beautifully as well; the book is a joy to read as well as to cook from, or, at the very least, be inspired to cook from.