LUMIRE LIGHT: Recipes from the Tasting Bar

The recipes for cocktails and food from the tasting bar at swank Vancouver restaurant Lumière are many things—inventive, time-consuming, multi-layered—but "light" they are not, neither in the caloric sense, nor in the whipping-up-something-quickly sense. Feenie, Lumière's chef/owner, and Coldham, its sous chef, certainly cannot be faulted for presenting the same old thing. Deep-Fried Brandade with Black Olive Tapenade temptingly rolls chunks of cod and potatoes in breadcrumbs, then crisps them. In an example of successful fusion, Sake and Maple Marinated Sablefish with Hijiki-Soy Sauce marries Japanese flavors with a Canadian classic, maple syrup. Other dishes, however, sound overpoweringly rich, like Squash and Mascarpone Ravioli with Truffle Butter. The one thing all have in common is their complex preparation. Lumière Shepherd's Pie takes comfort food haute with layers of duck confit, caramelized onions, roasted corn and truffled mashed potatoes stacked in a mold. It's a clever concept, but a lot of work. Color photos. (July 1)

Forecast: Feenie's earlier book, Rob Feenie Cooks at Lumière (published here by Ten Speed Press as Lumière in 2001), has sold 15,000 copies in North America, but this new work looks like a tough sell in the U.S., where Feenie's restaurant is not well-known and lengthy ingredient lists tend to put off home cooks.