Simon Hopkinson: the man who changed how I cook

The chef and TV food critic sings the praises of the charismatic French cookery writer Richard OlneyI first read Richard Olney’s The French Menu Cookbook in the early 80s. I have no idea how I came across it. And I had never read anything like it. It’s an extraordinary book, intensely instructive and precise.Olney lived in Solies-Toucas, in the south of France. He wasn’t in any way a professionally trained chef, but neither was he an amateur, which made him unlike any other. So