The Natural Cook

Food, nutrition and eating are the most basic elements of life. Eat well and you live well. Cook creatively and life becomes more interesting and enjoyable. Consider the provenance of your food and live a more sustainable life.

These ideas are central to Matt Stone’s food philosophy, cooking and now first book The Natural Cook. With a philosophy akin to Rene Redzepi and Kylie Kwong, Stone is a bright young chef producing beautiful food with a cause – changing our food system for the better.

Many people love the idea of sustainability, but put waste reduction in the too-hard basket. The Natural Cook challenges that. It cuts through the marketing and hype and breaks down the steps towards no-waste cooking in a revolutionary way.
Stone takes inspiration from many traditional cooking techniques.

Fermenting and pickling are on trend but have been used for health benefits and preservation for centuries – as have making dairy products, milling flour and rolling oats. He also believes wholeheartedly that we must move forward from the gimmicky ‘bush tucker’ movement and embrace these amazing ingredients in a natural way. This book includes many recipes where herbs, spices and fruits are shown as the perfect addition to a dish.

The Natural Cook is about making food with maximum taste and zero waste. So try your hand at Fermented chilli paste; Smoky eggplant dip; Lamb, chickpea, pomegranate & saffron salad; Beef soup with greens and mushrooms and Hay-smoked beef, onions and miso. This is where food for thought expands into new territory…