IN THE KITCHENS OF CASTILE Gijs van Hensberger 1 873429 04 5 £9.95 192 pp plus 16 pp plates Trade pbk with flaps 140 x 215 mm portrait The lovely slapstick humour makes the book irresistible Felipe Fernandez-Armesto in The European This unpretentious book, where scenes from provincial life are interspersed with recipes, will make your mouth water Sir Raymond Carr in The Evening Standard There are few other books in English that convey so well the enthusiasm with which Spaniards eat, or explain so fully their idiosyncratic eating rituals Michael Jacobs in Petit Propos Culinaires Art critic Gijs van Hensbergen had long dreamed of mastering Castilian cuisine – the least known and most delicious in Europe, with its suckling pigs and milk-fed lambs, and its extraordinary variety of seafood. He left England and travelled to Segovia, the oldest and most beautiful city in Castile, with the idea of apprenticing himself to one of the major restaurants there. Soon he was working for twelve hours a day, in temperatures of over a hundred, but rapidly learning the traditions, not only of Castilian kitchens, but also of the architecture, the literature, even the agriculture of the region. He absorbed himself in the Castilian way of life and describes it here most vividly. We read about wild boar hunts, auctions conducted over church altars, twenty course banquets and the most exclusive wine grape in the world. Gijs describes it all with wit and exuberance. This book is essential for anyone interested in food, travel, and the history of Spain. Gijs van Hensbergen graduated from the Courtauld Institute of Art and became a freelance art historian and food journalist. In 1986 he scripted the South Bank Show on Anthony Caro and in the same year decided to leave England and settle in Spain. He has published many articles on Spanish food with pieces appearing in the Independent, Country Life and Taste magazine. He writes frequently on Spanish art for the Burlington Magazine and organises exhibitions of young artists' work in Spain.