Adam Handling publishes luxury book collection

Michelin-starred chef Adam Handling has announced the launch of a boxset of his recipe books, a definitive collection telling his story, the journey of his restaurant group, the road to his first Michelin star and the ethos of sustainability that underpins it all.

Handling is the chef and owner of a group which operates venues across the country, including Frog by Adam Handling and Eve Bar in London, The Loch & the Tyne in Old Windsor and Ugly Butterfly in Cornwall. Describing himself as passionate about British food, sustainability and fighting food waste, the industry star has a number of impressive awards under his belt, including Scottish Chef of the Year, British Culinary Federation’s Chef of the Year, and Chef of the Year in the Food & Travel Awards. Voted for by both the public and a selection of industry judges, Handling was named Restaurateur of the Year in the British GQ Food and Drink Awards 2020, before earning his first Michelin star at his flagship restaurant, Frog by Adam Handling, in 2022.

Ten years in the making, the newly published trilogy shares his and the team’s story, with memories from the chef’s childhood and early career. There are recipes from his flagship restaurant (including much-loved fan favourites – yes, chicken butter is in there!), alongside insights into the lessons the team have learned on their journey to becoming zero-waste, as well as Handling’s favourite cocktail recipes.

The three books, Frog by Adam Handling, Why Waste? and Perfect, Three Cherries encompass everything that the brand, its owner and team have developed over the years. The content is extensive, from recipes and ingredients to their approach to sustainability, as well as forewords and contributions from respected leaders of the food and drink industry. In Handling’s words:

“This collection is something I would have loved to have had when I was learning more about my field. It only started as one book, showcasing Frog, but the more we dove into it, the waste book and cocktail books became clear. It’s the stuff that people don’t see behind the scenes – the researching, the training, the things we had to do to make Frog what it is today. To understand what Frog is, you need to understand the waste element, the foraging, the sustainability, provenance of ingredients, everything. It became clear that there really was no Frog book without the other two.”

Alongside the recipes and personal anecdotes, the books are filled with beautiful imagery, ingredient and produce maps of Britain, and personal photos from Adam’s own family collection. 

“I’m unbelievably proud of these books,” he says, “Not just because of what they represent, but because of the team that’s helped me to write them. My chefs, front-of-house, back-of-house, bartenders, my operations team – people that have dedicated years of their lives to me and my restaurant group – they’ve all contributed to these books. Education, inspiration, motivation, that’s what we do as a team and that’s what I want these books to do. They’re designed for people that want to learn and do something different.”

Frog by Adam Handling

This is the book based on the Michelin-starred flagship restaurant, featuring around 100 dishes from all the London kitchens, including Handling’s very first independent restaurant. Focusing on “British food, inspired by London”, it takes the reader on a journey across the British Isles, showcasing exceptional homegrown produce, the incredible suppliers whose ingredients feature in his dishes, and foraging and seasonality guides.

For Handling, this book is about elevating luxury British food to compete on a global level, using flavours from around the world but using only British ingredients to make them. “It’s a British cookbook,” he says, “and I hope it helps pave the way for what British food could be. What I want to show the world is that the UK can produce incredible dishes, but it doesn’t have a full identity yet, it’s a very young food style. It’s finding its feet and I hope this book helps to build on that – British food isn’t going to be in the history books until people write books about it. And I don’t think anyone’s written a book on this level, on this scale, to this standard of luxury before.”

Why Waste?

Adam Handling’s sustainable motto is simple: “Why waste?” It’s something he and his team question in everything they do. This book demonstrates their passion for sustainability and looks at the ways we can all utilise commonly wasted ingredients and transform them into spectacular dishes, illustrating that there should simply be no such thing as food waste. It’s a collection of sustainable, zero-waste recipes, but also a comprehensive guide to sustainability and using seasonal produce. Featuring detailed foraging and produce guides to the British Isles, recipes, smart techniques, practical advice and tips for chefs and home cooks, and a commitment to be part of a positive change, it leads from the front in the fight to protect the environment.

Its creator explains: “Do you remember when you were at school, working on a maths question, and the teacher says, ‘Show me your workings out’? Well, this is my workings out. It’s how the team and I have developed our recipes in my kitchens. Not only that, it also contains all the research we had to do on our journey – a ten-year journey. Finding alternative ingredients, sustainable companies, amazing people in the industry that are passionate about sustainability because, when you find people that are as passionate about something as you are, you learn so much more. And this book is everything I’ve learned. It’s got diagrams, pictures, foraging tips – everything that’s taken us years to discover.”

Perfect, Three Cherries 

The third in the collection is named after Handling’s favourite cocktail (a perfect Manhattan, with three maraschino cherries, naturally), and it features a raft of recipes that are sustainable takes on the classics. To the chef, creating a cocktail is just as much an art as designing a plate of food, and this book contains recipes, cocktail histories, drink styles, glassware, techniques, lab equipment, different types of ice – everything he’s discovered since launching his own bars.

“I opened my first bar, Eve, to enhance Frog. The dream was to have a world-class bar attached to a Michelin-starred restaurant. That dream is now a reality and this book is all about what happens when you get phenomenal bartenders that have the skillset to work side-by-side with chefs in the kitchen to create drinks. And what’s produced is cocktails that are really special and a book that’s really special. Don’t just take my word for it, I’ve got some of the best bartenders in the world to foreword the book!”

The food desk

Frog by Adam Handling, Why Waste? and Perfect, Three Cherries are available to purchase now on the Adam Handling website, individually (from £30 to £70), or as a luxury, limited-edition boxset containing all three books (£160). For further information visit here.