Good Chef Bad Chef — Adrian Richardson's Cooking Philosophy Explained
I picked up the Good Chef Bad Chef Recipes Adrian Richardson book a few years back when I was trying to move beyond my usual weeknight pasta routine. The premise is straightforward: Adrian Richardson, the chef behind Wellington's Quanjia, lays out recipes that walk the line between simple home cooking and proper restaurant technique. What makes it interesting is that he doesn't shy away from showing where things can go wrong. The book is organized around ingredients rather than courses, which is different from most cookbooks. Each chapter focuses on a category — vegetables, fish, meat, bread — and for each ingredient Richardson gives you two versions of the same dish. One is the good version, properly executed. The other shows what happens when you make common mistakes. It sounds gimmicky but it actually teaches you more than either approach would alone. I found the vegetable chapter particularly useful. I had been throwing roasted carrots into salads for years without realizing the difference between high-heat caramelization and slow-roasting was what made my results bland. Richardson explains that carrots need about 40 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius for proper caramelization. Lower temperature and longer time gives you sweetness without browning. That distinction changed how I approach every root vegetable since.
How to Actually Use This Book
Don't read it cover to cover. Pick one ingredient you want to improve at and work through that chapter. Make both versions. Taste the difference. The "bad" version is not just a joke recipe — it shows real techniques I have seen home cooks mess up consistently, like salting eggplant before frying without draining properly, or overworking pastry dough until it becomes tough. One thing Richardson doesn't emphasize enough is timing. Some of these recipes are designed to be approached a certain way for the technique to work, and the book assumes you have basic kitchen setup. If you are working with a standard home oven that runs hot or cold, you will need to adjust. I keep an oven thermometer and it saved me several times where a recipe came out differently than expected.
The Counter-Intuitive Parts
Richardson's approach to fish is where I learned the most. He argues that you should season fish well in advance — 20 to 30 minutes before cooking, not just right before. Most people season at the pan, which causes the salt to draw out moisture surface-level and then evaporate. Early seasoning penetrates. The trade-off is you need to hold the fish uncovered in the refrigerator during that time so the surface dries properly for searing. Skipping that drying step gives you steamed fish instead of a proper crust. He also makes a point about butter that contradicts conventional wisdom. He uses butter for roasting vegetables at higher heat, which most cooks avoid because butter burns around 150 degrees Celsius. His workaround is combining butter with a neutral oil — roughly two parts oil to one part butter — which raises the smoke point while keeping the flavor. I was skeptical until I tried it. The difference in browning was immediate.
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Limitations and When It Fails
The book assumes you have access to a decent stove and some basic equipment. If you are cooking on an electric coil hob or a small induction unit with low max output, some of the high-heat techniques simply do not work. The searing chapter expects at least 1800 watts of continuous heat delivery. With less, you are better off using the book as a reference rather than trying to replicate every technique exactly. Another issue is ingredient sourcing. Richardson writes with New Zealand produce in mind — certain varieties of tomatoes, specific cuts of lamb, local fish species. I lived in Australia and found myself unable to source some of the exact ingredients he references. Where possible, I substitute similar varieties but adjust cooking times accordingly. The technique remains the same even if the ingredient is different.
Download and Where to Find It
The Good Chef Bad Chef Recipes Adrian Richardson book is available through major retailers and library systems. I prefer the physical copy because having it open on the counter while cooking is more practical than scrolling on a phone with wet hands. Digital versions exist but the formatting sometimes breaks the step sequences. If you cannot find a copy, Richardson has contributed recipes to various publications and some of the techniques appear in videos. The book itself is the most complete collection though. I would recommend getting it if you are serious about improving your cooking technique, not just looking for quick meal ideas. The learning curve is steeper than typical cookbooks but the results are noticeably better after a few attempts.
A Practical Edge Case
One specific problem I encountered was with his bread recipe. The book calls for a specific flour protein content that I could not find locally. I substituted with a higher protein bread flour and the hydration balance was off — too dry at first mix. The workaround was adding water incrementally, roughly one tablespoon at a time, until the dough reached the right consistency. Richardson's original recipe assumes a particular flour absorption rate. Mine took about five extra tablespoons over the stated amount. It is worth noting that different flour brands absorb differently even within the same protein category. The bread turned out acceptable after adjusting. Not identical to the original but functional and edible. I made a note in the book margin so I remember the adjustment next time. That kind of practical tweaking is something the book does not cover directly, but it is necessary when working outside the original context.
