Our selection of cookbooks, from cheese pairings to sports performances

THE MORNING LIST

In our selection of books, Hannah Grant, who cooks for professional cyclists, reveals competition recipes. Franck Meier teaches the art of cocktails, and Cyril Jacquot that of cheese pairings. Finally, Raphaël Haumont, researcher in physico-chemistry, learns how to correct culinary failures.

Cyclists' cuisine, performance on a stage

Without ever having to prove herself on a bike, Hannah Grant managed to make a name for herself in the world of professional cycling. It all started in the early 2010s, when the Danish chef was offered a position as a cook with the Saxo Bank Sungard (now Tinkoff) cycling team.

She, who was officiating in a large restaurant, then makes a hairpin turn. On board a truck converted into a traveling kitchen, she will accompany sports training during major competitions such as the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia or the Vuelta (the Tour of Spain). He has a crucial mission: prepare tailor-made meals, to allow athletes to optimize their performance.

Since then, Hannah Grant has become one of the leading experts in “performance cooking”. In 2018, his adventures on the Tour de France were adapted for the screen into a successful series, Eat. Race. Win.broadcast on Amazon Prime. She also just published New Grand Tour Cookbook (Rossolis), expanded version of a previous work, in which she shares the richness of her experience. In this beautiful book prefaced by Bjarne Riis (a famous Danish cyclist), with a story interspersed with testimonies from professional runners, Hannah Grant offers one hundred and twenty recipes. Divided into twenty-one chapters, all have been designed to meet the dietary requirements of athletes: meatballs “special rollers”rich in proteins, to the wok of rice noodles which hold to the body, through this terrine “rainbow” with root vegetables and « power cake » with potatoes and rhubarb (for a boost).

Alongside the preparations, we understand how, thanks to a balanced intake of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals, it becomes possible to put yourself in the best conditions to improve your time. At the end of the book, the author offers a “recovery meal” : chicken burrito and protein drink made with peanut butter. Enough to get back in the saddle, at least until the next plateau.

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