The Eagle pub in London, EC1, was set up in 1991 by Michael Belben and chef David Eyre in reaction to the 'ponciness' of restaurants. Offering excellent food, broadly Southern European in inspiration, at reasonable prices, it was hailed as 'the first gastropub' by the media, and has changed the face of Britain's pub scene. It is still winning awards and recognition both nationally and internationally. BIG FLAVOURS AND ROUGH EDGES brings together over 100 recipes from sixteen contributors: Eagle chefs past and present whose diverse backgrounds (six different nationalities, including Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian) have influenced the colourful and hearty style of Eagle food. This is real, rough-edged, exciting food that anyone can cook - a million miles away from the pretentiousness and over-complication of traditional restaurant books.