Confession time, I hardly watch any TV and therefore I regularly embarrass myself at local foodie events for not knowing the Irish top chefs. I had the pleasure of meeting Chef Adrian and his gorgeous girlfriend Fiona at the Shemazing awards this year, needless to say, that I didn’t have a clue about who they or half of the people surrounding me were. But something about them struck me, they were so friendly, cheerful and passionate about what they are doing that we ended up chatting all night.
Naturally, when I heard that he released his first book I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. For those of you who don’t know Adrian, he is the star behind RTÉ Player’s online shows Fakeaway and Chef Adrian Eats Ireland. His long-awaited book Fakeaway includes over ninety drool-inducing recipes that will have you running to the kitchen instead of the takeaway.
Tandoori Halibut with Raita by Chef Adrian
I like his approach to cooking “real” food without falling for fads. Even though I would have liked to see a few more plant-based dishes he has done a great job in creating healthy versions of everyone’s take away favourites. He is giving you insides why and how he started his career at the age of only 14 and shares a lot of tips and tricks he has learned along the way.
Irish people and their love for takeaways
Irish people spend a whopping €19m on takeaways every week. This amounts to a total of almost €1.5bn on fast food every year according to the 2016 DKM Economic Impact Report by JUST EAT. The biggest consumers of takeaways are twenty-five to thirty-four year-olds, spending an average of €56.33 per month. Men spend considerably more than women on takeaways, with an average spend of €48.86 per month compared to €31.93 per month.
Parmesan Fries by Chef Adrian
Fakeaway will allow you to enjoy delicious, healthy versions of the food you love, whilst saving money and keeping your waistline in check!
Personally, I really like that the book is structured into chapters on dishes by destination including Indian, Italian, Chinese, American, Western Europe, and World Cuisines. Recipes include The Spice Bag, A Cheeky Nando’s, Sloppy Joe, Smokehouse Ribs, Mojito Courgetti and Cheat’s After Eight Cheesecake.
Adrian was voted by Joe.ie as one of the top fifteen rising stars of 2015. Keen to promote the idea of avoiding fad diets or diet-based trends, he travels the country working on food education for primary and secondary schools with regular weekly visits and cookery demos. He hosts cookery demonstrations for charities, GAA clubs, ICA guilds, festivals and appears regularly on RTÉ and TV3’s The Six O’Clock Show.
If you want to get your hands on a copy of Fakeaway by Chef Adrian click the link or enter the competition below. Feel free to also check out my other cookbook recommendations.
Get the recipe for Chef Adrian’s Healthy Slaw!
Healthy Slaw by Chef Adrian
Your turn
What are your favourite cookbooks? Let me know, I’m looking forward to reading your comments.
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Disclosure
Mercier Press has kindly given me a free copy to review and a copy to give away. I haven’t been paid for this review and all opinions are my own.
This page contains an affiliate link, which means I get paid {a very small} commission if you purchase the book through my link. This in no way affects you, the price you pay or the way in which I write about products featured on this site. My content is not influenced by advertisers, affiliate partnerships, brands or PRs but it helps me to cover the costs to keep bringing you delicious recipes each week.
