There are many people who have helped me put this book together, and without their help I could not have done it. I am very proud of this book and also of all of the people who have helped to bring it into your hands. So to everyone at Murdoch Books, I say thank you. To Kylie Walker and Janine Flew for guiding me through the process, for giving me the good and the bad feedback and ultimately coming around to the idea that beer truly is a fabulous ingredient. To Hugh Ford for the wonderful design, look and feel of the book. To the recipe testers Grace Campbell, Joanne Glynn and Nick Eade; to Kirsty Sands and Caroline Jones for cooking at the photoshoot; to Cherise Pagano for styling the food; and to Julie Renouf for the wonderful photos – thank you all. Thanks also to Dave, Cam and the crew at Mountain Goat Brewery for allowing us to shoot there.
I want to thank my two youngest daughters: Emily for her constant encouragement and positivity, and Erin for taking all the cakes, muffins and scones I made to school to share with her school buddies – who actually loved them, by the way. I want to thank my long-suffering wife Andrea for eating every dish in this book and liking nearly all of them. Asking me ‘What’s for dinner?’ was always a daunting experience for her, as invariably the answer was beer. Thank you for putting up with my mad, weird and strange obsession with cooking with beer and the dishes that I served you. Thank you for dipping your finger in the sauce almost every time I asked you to taste and for giving me your honest feedback about the flavours and balance of the 100 or so dishes that I cooked for you while writing this book. Thank you also for insisting on drinking wine with every meal I served up to you, thus proving that wine goes perfectly well with the fine recipes in this book.
My greatest debt of gratitude I hold for my eldest daughter, Elise. She really was my rock, my assistant and my teacher, especially when it came to baking. She cooked with me, argued with me, got fed up with me, supported me, inspired me and very rarely washed up. Thank you, my gorgeous daughter, for being my faithful assistant, companion and supporter during the journey of making the recipes that are in this book. I know secretly you think this is actually your book – and truth be told it is our book, as I couldn’t have done it without you.
Lastly thank you to the brewers of the world, for without your inspiration, ingenuity and hard work I wouldn’t have had anything to cook with.