AN ALTRINCHAM chef who had a successful campaign for people to get their hands on his second cookbook which aimed to get everyone excited about French home cooking.

Oliver Troalen, the chef-proprietor of La Boheme, the acclaimed French restaurant in Lymm, who lives in Altrincham, is on a mission to shake the reputation of his nation’s cuisine for being inseparable from fine dining and classical techniques and show people what French cooking is really about – the food that French people enjoy at home every day.

He does this by providing more than 90 recipes, spanning over 200 pages, for the sorts of dishes that you will find on dinner tables across France.

Many are inspired by Troalen’s memories growing up in the south of France, including a version of a chicken fricassée that his grandmother used to make and a surprisingly simple Gruyère soufflé.

They include comforting weeknight dinners, such as a French take on cottage pie (made with oxtail). There are instructions for lunches that can be made from storecupboard ingredients in 15 minutes (gratinéed crab croissants, for example), and recipes for cooking for larger numbers of people while minimising the time spent in the kitchen, including a roast shoulder of lamb, Breton-style (with garlic, spices and flageolet beans).

Earlier this year, hundreds of people pledged to support the book’s publication via a crowdfunding campaign, which raised over £30,000. In return, the supporters’ names are printed in the book and they receive a signed copy.

Olivier Troalen said: “I’m absolutely delighted with how the book has come together. It looks amazing, and I think I’ve accomplished what I set out to achieve. I’d like to thank everyone involved in getting it to this stage, particularly those who signed up to the crowdfunding campaign, whose support made the book possible.”