After being in the works for over two years, Chef Jason Bangerter and food critic Chris Johns are preparing for the release of their much-anticipated cookbook. Langdon Hall: A Cookbook is composed of recipes from the menu of one of Canada’s best country house hotels.
Alongside the original recipes, the cookbook includes notes with wine pairing recommendations, stories about the ingredients and farmers, and photographs that will transport readers to the stunning and tranquil grounds of the Cambridge estate.
“I’m a huge fan of Langdon Hall and all that it stands for,” says Johns. “It’s just so impressive to me that they consistently operate at the highest possible level. They’re this big hotel property, and have a lot of plates spinning. It’s not easy to do. And it takes a real talent to do that. I respect and admire that they can do it.”
Johns is a highly acclaimed food and travel writer. Langdon Hall: A Cookbook is Johns’ fourth book publication, following True North, A Taste of Prince Edward County, and The Last Schmaltz. With this much success, Johns knows good food and he knows good dining. That’s why he was so eager to work alongside Chef Bangerter to share the specialties of Langdon Hall to the rest of the world.
“Jason is such a creative chef that his food is always evolving,” adds Johns. “It’s always changing.”
Bangerter has been the Executive Chef at Langdon Hall since 2013. Before that, he was winning awards nationally and internationally, having worked in hotel kitchens across the globe, from London to Paris to Switzerland.
Johns acknowledges that he put a lot of pressure on himself while writing because he felt the need to do “justice” to the high standards set by Langdon Hall.
Part of the difficulty was figuring out how to include enough of the history without losing the culinary focus of the cookbook.
“There’s just so many incredible stories to tell. And there’s so many interesting characters, and the history is so rich.” If he were to include everything there is to say about the Hall, he adds, the book would turn into a “10-volume encyclopedia.”
Instead, Johns described the book as a “snapshot in time” featuring some dishes that fans of the estate might recognize, but also dishes that inspired Chef Bangerter in a particular season. “We wanted to give a snapshot of those recipes that very much draw on the uniqueness of Langdon Halls.”
What makes Langdon Hall so unique, continues Johns, is that it’s “completely informed by its gardens, by the seasons and by the local produce.”
This is why the cookbook is organized seasonally into four sections: Eight Degrees, Solstice, First Frost and Snow Cover. In the spring section, readers will find a recipe for a Sweet Pea Tart, made through a combination of creme fraiche, fresh peas and mint; in the summer section, Golden Vegetable Soup, complete with beets, tomatoes, yellow pattypan squash and golden potatoes.
The cookbook balances recipes that are “Langdon Hall specialties,” which might be harder to recreate without the same access to ingredients that Chef Bangerter has, and recipes that anyone can manage.
“But even within some of the more involved recipes, there are often techniques that people can pull out and just use on their own and find creative and interesting ways to incorporate those things into their own cooking.”
Their cookbook recipe seems to have paid off: Langdon Hall: A Cookbook already made the top spot in Canada, reaching the peak six weeks before its publication date.
Thanks to everyone who pre-ordered! Even though we're still 6 weeks away from the official launch we're already #1 in Canada. pic.twitter.com/XJTwl9PqGY
— Chris Johns (@ChrisandVinegar) February 15, 2022
Langdon Hall: A Cookbook is available April 5 through Penguin Random House Canada.
